Hairy pasties

Morning all,

Holiday time again for all those lucky enough to be at home and not still beavering away at work. Looks like very pleasant weather for the weekend, nicely settled and dry and not too hot, perfect weather for me anyway. Plans for a day off evaporated this week with by far the busiest pre-August bank holiday sales week ever. We were full time in despatch until late Thursday afternoon so only a tiny bit of potting got done, plans for Monday off have been shelved for a few of us and the Saturday team will be in too, trying to catch up a bit. I suspect next week will be quieter but to be honest this year has been so erratic and unpredictable I haven't a clue what Tuesday morning will bring.

Deliveries next week may be a little later in the week than usual due to some driver availability issues here, early in the week, but assuming we aren't quite so busy it should work out ok. Keeping our third slightly older 3.5t van rather than selling it for not a lot, has worked out really well with all the running about we have had to do in the last few months. It takes a lot of the stress out of the transport planning when you have a bit of flexibility in the system which makes life a bit more comfortable. Because all three are fairly new they all currently get through any emission charge zones without cost which is another bonus and I'm looking forward to the delivery of our new 7.5t van in the winter so we can clean up our act there too. NBIS (Nursery Business Improvement Scheme) meeting this week was our first on site group meeting for a year and very refreshing. It is so good to get off site and be inspired by what other businesses are up to and great mental therapy too. There is nothing like having to admit your mistakes in front of a group of understanding folk and to have a good laugh about it, even if the consequences of your slip ups are still there when you get home. It is also great to hear of everyone else's issues and successes just to help put things in perspective. Pub lunch was a treat too!

We had a bit of a holiday treat yesterday with the delivery of half a dozen frozen cornish pasties from our favourite maker in Hayle. Their arrival triggered happy memories of holidays past and the many trips to collect our days walking sustenance. I remember one year early on when I was asked what size I would like and I went for a 'large' which turned out to be a family roast size and despite my extreme hunger and best efforts I had to give up half way through. Not only that but I could face another pasty the entire holiday!

Take care out there.

Availability list highlights

Oxalis Iron Cross with two tone leaves and red/pink flowers. A fresh short bushy batch in bud and ready to go. Anemone varieties coming into bud and flower. The repeat flowering Hemerocallis Big Time Happy is flushing again with bud and flower, looking strong and pretty. Summer is still in sight with the Armeria's still with flowers coming.

Nice chunky and bushy Verbena rigida coming into bud. Fresh batches of Salvia Sensation and Marvel series are looking good, buds about to appear if not there already. A couple of Campanulas are still flowering nicely on strong plants. Posharskyana and Clockwise are the best. Still have some strong hardy fuchsia looking smart and colourful. The dainty and upright white flowered Hawkshead look fab.

Asters are coming along with bud now appearing on Lady in Blue and Starlight. More to come over the next few weeks.We have some colourful foliage plants in stock. Silver leaved Stachys and Artemesia, purple leaved Heuchera, plus a couple with paler marbled foliage. Euphorbia are there in a range of colours too and the stripy golden grass Carex Evergold. We have some really strong and colourful Ajugas to watch out for. The variegated foliage of Pulmonaria Opal and Mageste are very smart, ready to build up a head of steam for their spring flower display.

Osteospermum Tresco Purple are still selling well with flowers and buds opening. Our two forms of Erodium have lots of tiny open flowers all over the plant surface with plenty of bud to follow. Fresh batches of bushy dwarf Bran Series Chrysanthemum coming on with bud appearing. The last batch of Lobelia Starship Dark Leafed Scarlet still looking good, loads of bud on fresh attractive foliage.

Take care out there, from all at Kirton Farm Nurseries

Hairy imports

Morning all,

August Bank Holiday approaches, so one last summer fling of a week coming up I suspect. Quite a few orders already lined up and I'm sure a few more to come. Potting will have to go on the backburner again until this one is out of the way. We are going to run the potting team for a few more Saturdays yet, but hopefully the end is sort of in sight, we might even let everyone have the Bank Holiday off which would be a treat.

Took delivery of another container of hairy pots on Monday which gives us a pretty big collection to go at for the rest of this season and into next. It is always a bit of a gamble trying to judge how many pots we will need and when we will need them as I have to order them months in advance in order for the village team in Sri Lanka to get through the production process. When things took off in the Spring I must admit I did stick in an order for an extra container load, as it looked like we might need them. As it happens demand did quieten and we probably could have managed without, but better safe than sorry. They keep for ages when tucked up in their boxes in the barn, so no worries there, but at £35,000 a load it does make a dent in the cash-flow! There is a silver lining, the villagers were delighted to have the extra work over a period where there was so much disruption to their other income streams, although they were a bit panicky over the explosion in container transport costs. In the end we did well to get the pot stock in when we did, as there are now big problems getting anything out of Sri Lanka as the container ships aren't calling in there anywhere near as often at the moment and costs have soared again. Hopefully by the time we need the next load things will have settled again and costs dropped back a bit, but stories of container costs increasing from £1,200 to £12,000 are making us a bit nervous.

All this stressy stuff was put in perspective this week with some sad news of a couple of horticulturists passing on. Will George the long term chairman of our NBIS nursery 'therapy' group slipped away last weekend after a long illness and will be missed by so many. He was the driving force of our group and kept us all on our toes, challenging us when we lacked confidence and ambition and always encouraging us to make the most of our expertise, assets and opportunities. He was also an expert in so many other fields, with his steam train exploits, real ale experience and spoon playing expertise!

The second loss was someone we didn't know ourselves, but a long term employee of another nursery we work with. He had been at work out in the fields last Saturday, went home, sat in the sofa and quietly passed away. Such a shock for everyone and a bit of a wake-up call for anyone not making the most of every day. Our thoughts are with all those suffering with such sad loss, things are already challenging enough without adding more to the load.

We are living each day as it comes, looks like a curry tonight and sod the consequences for an early start tomorrow. Take care out there.

Availability list highlights

Oxalis Iron Cross with two tone leaves and red/pink flowers. A fresh short bushy batch in bud and ready to go. Anemone Pink Cloud is a new one to us this year and is suddenly thrusting up its chunky short flowers stems and bud. Loads of promise for a neat strong showing over the next few weeks. Very few left now. Summer is still in sight with the Armeria's still with flowers coming.

A couple of Campanulas are still flowering nicely on strong plants. Posharskyana and Clockwise are the best. Still have some strong hardy fuchsia looking smart and colourful. The dainty and upright white flowered Hawkshead look fab. Asters are coming along with bud now appearing on Lady in Blue and Starlight. More to come over the next few weeks. 

We have some colourful foliage plants in stock. Sliver leaved Stachys and Artemesia, purple leaved Heuchera, plus a couple with paler marbled foliage. Euphorbia are there in a range of colours too and the stripy golden grass Carex Evergold. We have some really strong and colourful Ajugas to watch out for. The variegated foliage of Pulmonaria Opal and Mageste are very smart, ready to build up a head of steam for their spring flower display.

Both Gaillardia Messa Red and Messa Yellow varieties looking strong and showy, but not many left. On the list this week is the popular Cerostigma plumbaginoides, showing its first buds and the odd flash of deep blue flowers, Penstemon Garnet are still putting on a good show and we are moving into a fresh batch of Sour Grapes which aren't quite as colourful yet, but show plenty of promise.

Osteospermum are still selling well. We have several batches potted in three varieties and all have flowers opening. Summer favourites the Gaura are all coming into bud and flowers opening on many, a nice range of colours bushy plants. Our two forms of Erodium have lots of tiny open flowers all over the plant surface with plenty of bud to follow.

Take care out there, from all at Kirton Farm Nurseries

Hairy Electric

Morning all,

Yet another busy week on the sales front which is great, although the potting is still on a go slow. We have a team in again on Saturday to push it along a bit, but getting through the backlog is proving a challenge. At least the weather is being kind to us at the moment, not too wet, not too windy, not too hot so we can work in all areas without too much discomfort. Thankfully the Southern European heat wave hasn't moved in our direction yet, 48C is just unimaginable. We struggle to find sensible work here for everyone when it gets to the upper 20's, the 30's are a real struggle, but 40's and we would have to give up.

I can't hang about long as I have to finish getting the tunnel space ready for tomorrows team. It is all very hand to mouth at the moment, as soon as there is a clean bit of space it gets filled. Looking forward to October when hopefully the pressure will be reduced and we can reduce the hours a bit, it is all getting quite tiring after 7 months of 7 days a week!

We did take a couple of hours off earlier this week to have a drive of the VW id3 electric car. Very exciting and pretty impressive. Range is now getting sensible although the cost is still a bit scary, but we have to start somewhere and our 12 year old little diesel car is certainly no longer very comfortable to live with. We have to invest in a better future and it will cost us, but I'm comfortable with that. Investing in dodgy green stuff comes second nature to us, so just need to decide on the colour and then wait 20 weeks for delivery! We are going to put the charger on the nursery wind turbine circuit so we get nice cheap charging, we only get about 5p a unit when we export into the grid, so that is the effective cost if the wind is blowing. I believe you can get clever chargers that can detect when there is spare power being exported and it just uses that excess, which will definitely keep the cost down.

Availability list highlights

Oxalis Iron Cross with two tone leaves and red/pink flowers. A fresh short bushy batch in bud and ready to go. Anemone Pink Cloud is a new one to us this year and is suddenly thrusting up its chunky short flowers stems and bud. Loads of promise for a neat strong showing over the next few weeks.

Erigeron Stallone are perfect, loads of bud and flower and a nice chunky size. One of our best sellers through the summer. Both Gaillardia Messa Red and Messa Yellow varieties looking strong and showy. Eucomis autumnalis now showing their exotic creamy flower spikes,

On the list this week is the popular Cerostigma plumbaginoides, showing its first buds and the odd flash of deep blue flowers, Penstemon Garnet are still putting on a good show and we are moving into a fresh batch of Sour Grapes which aren't quite as colourful yet, but show plenty of promise.

Osteospermum are still selling well. We have several batches potted in three varieties and all have flowers opening. Summer favourites the Gaura are all coming into bud and flowers opening on many, a nice range of colours bushy plants. Stunning batches of the Lobelia's are coming into bud, and showing colour and attractive foliage to back them up.

Nice range of the scented Phlox Sweet Summer series now showing colour, Multiple stemmed and looking good. Fresh batches of Calamintha this week, with first flowers opening. Our two forms of Erodium have lots of tiny open flowers all over the plant surface with plenty of bud to follow.

The mini Chrysanthemums are back on the list and producing bud. Very compact and bushy in a good colour range. Most Crocosmia are standing tall and now showing bud, but stock levels are getting low..

Take care out there, from all at Kirton Farm Nurseries

Hairy soaking

Morning all,

Where is all the time going, August already and not enough potted here. Mild panic setting in as to how we are going to fit it all in this summer before the nights draw in and growth slows. That point is still quite a few weeks away yet but I am determined to make sure we are carrying over loads of strong stock this winter without a spare inch of production area uncovered, I can't face running out of stock like we all did in the spring. The difficulty is just trying to shoe horn in all the different tasks at the moment, despatching, crop trimming, tunnel clearing, pricking out and potting. We seem to have lots of people on the books but never quite enough on the job. Holidays are kicking in now, as well as plenty of other absences for one reason or another, family crisis, sport injuries, car issues, study demands, dancing demands, covid scares, builder problems, long term illnesses, the list goes on. As soon as one is back another goes off. I think it was Monday we had 9 off! it's hardly surprising how it all adds up and impacts on what you want to get done. I can't even blame anyone as they are all perfectly legitimate reasons and everyone has certainly earned some time off after such a mad 18 months. One day at a time and we will get there.

Just an early heads up, that prices will be increasing at the end of the year by more than usual. I suspect this is going to be fairly typical of both UK and European suppliers, as so many costs have just gone through the roof. We have worked so hard this season and it looks like any extra returns we made have been more than swallowed up in those increases. As growers if we are going to attract the desperately needed young guns, we are going to have to be financially viable with lots of potential, at the moment that is not the case.

A combination of advancing years and tiredness manifested itself this week with a near drowning, well a bit of a soaking anyway. On the way up the track to the house for lunch, I got caught in a really torrential downpour, so heavy that I gave up outdoor progress to duck into a tunnel for shelter. I was stood there, still with the remains of my brolly above my head, for a couple of minutes before I realised that I was really very wet. With the noise of the rain on the tunnel cover I hadn't noticed the irrigation was on which added significantly to my clothing water content. Lunch was taken in my underwear while trying to dry it all out. It might have been funny if it wasn't slightly tragic.

Availability list highlights

Oxalis Iron Cross with two tone leaves and red/pink flowers. A fresh short bushy batch in bud and ready to go. Anemone Pink Cloud is a new one to us this year and is suddenly thrusting up its chunky short flowers stems and bud. Loads of promise for a neat strong showing over the next few weeks.

Erigeron Stallone are perfect, loads of bud and flower and a nice chunky size. One of our best sellers through the summer. Both Gaillardia Messa Red and Messa Yellow varieties looking strong and showy. Eucomis autumnalis now showing their exotic creamy flower spikes. On the list this week is the popular Cerostigma plumbaginoides, showing its first buds and the odd flash of deep blue flowers, Penstemon Garnet are still putting on a good show and we are moving into a fresh batch of Sour Grapes which aren't quite as colourful yet, but show plenty of promise.

Osteospermum are still selling well. We have several batches potted in three varieties and all have flowers opening. Summer favourites the Gaura are all coming into bud and flowers opening on many, a nice range of colours bushy plants. Stunning batches of the Lobelia's are coming into bud, and showing colour and attractive foliage to back them up. Nice range of the scented Phlox Sweet Summer series now showing colour, Multiple stemmed and looking good. Fresh batches of Calamintha this week, with first flowers opening. Our two forms of Erodium have lots of tiny open flowers all over the plant surface with plenty of bud to follow.

Lavender Spear Blue, very bushy with loads of bud and colour, just perfect for those smelly lavender sales. The mini Chrysanthemums are back on the list and producing bud. Very compact and bushy in a good colour range. Most Crocosmia are standing tall and now showing bud. Tiarella wherrii (Foam Flower) is in flower with its short spikes of tiny creamy blooms. Popular summer star is the Platycodon which are on the list again and both varieties are already in bud and disappearing fast. Helichrysum Nevada range has an impressive display of bright papery flowers. 

Take care out there, from all at Kirton Farm Nurseries

Hairy gig

Morning all,

Not much room for news this week due to the large number of plants needing a mention because they look so good! An easier week, with the arrival of lower temperatures which was a relief. We had some torrential downpours again which caused a few minor flash floods but nothing too damaging so far. The lack of concrete and buildings means the water has plenty of places to soak away, so we are less vulnerable than some in the cities where it all accumulates and runs down to the lowest sites. Might need a serious rethink on infrastructure in urban areas to cope with this climate change lark.

Our NHS plant giveaway has drawn to a close now, we saturated the local surgery, vaccination and hospital sites and cleared a bit of space too, so a win for all. We have had some lovely responses which adds to the whole feel good mood, now we just need to find time and space to rebuild stock levels for next spring. The race goes on. It's already August next week so can't afford to relax, we need to get plants in pots to make the most of the remaining growing time this season. Personally I'm a bit over tired after our first gig to see our favourite Boogie Woogie pianist Ben Waters. Great to get back to a proper evening out although definitely suffering today. Good to focus on something non-planty for a change, must try harder to do more. Ben has always been a great story teller and if anything can go wrong for Ben, it will, he's worse than me. I always remember the one where he and his band drove to into northern Norway to play, but had to drive back to Oslo to catch a morning plane. After the gig Ben set off in the dark to drive the band back, but after a few hours he needed a kip so looked for somewhere to pull over. There was nothing on his side of the road but he spotted a lay-by on the other side so he swung across, and parked up. He slept well, waking to find that another member of the band had taken over the driving. Unfortunately he hadn't realised Ben had parked on the opposite side until after a couple more hours they arrived back in the town they had just played in!

Availability list highlights

Erigeron Stallone are perfect, loads of bud and flower and a nice chunky size. One of our best sellers through the summer. Both Gaillardia Messa Red and Messa Yellow varieties looking strong and showy. Eucomis autumnalis now showing their exotic creamy flower spikes. New on the list this week is the popular Cerostigma plumbaginoides, already showing its first buds and the odd flash of those stunning blue flowers,

Penstemon Garnet are still putting on a good show and we are moving into a fresh batch of Sour Grapes which aren't quite as colourful yet, but show plenty of promise. Osteospermum are still selling well. We have several batches potted in three varieties and all have flowers opening. Summer favourites the Gaura are all coming into bud and flowers opening on many, a nice range of colours bushy plants. Stunning batches of the Lobelia's are coming into bud, and showing colour and attractive foliage to back them up.

Nice range of the scented Phlox Sweet Summer series now showing colour, Multiple stemmed and looking good. Fresh batches of Calamintha this week, with first flowers opening. Our two forms of Erodium have lots of tiny open flowers all over the plant surface with plenty of bud to follow. Two compact Helenium varieties in bud and flower. Salud Golden has flecks of orange in the yellow petals and Salud Yellow does what it says on the tin.

If you have a sheltered spot to keep them in we have some lovely, fairly compact, and strong stemmed Delphiniums in bud and showing some colour. They won't be around for long but they are always so popular with impulsive gardeners. Lavender Spear Blue, very bushy with loads of bud and colour, just perfect for those smelly lavender sales. New hardy Gerbera range in 4 lovely colours, just fab, real impulse plants and flower for ages. Only a few left.

The mini Chrysanthemums are back on the list and producing bud. Very compact and bushy in a good colour range. Dainty Lewisia Elise in flower. Flowers all summer in a range of pastel colours. Most Crocosmia are standing tall and now showing bud. Tiarella wherrii (Foam Flower) is in flower with its short spikes of tiny creamy blooms.

A popular summer star is the Platycodon which are on the list again and both varieties are already in bud. Oxalis Iron Cross with two tone leaves and red/pink flowers. A fresh short bushy batch in bud and ready to go. Compact Campanula's (carpatica, Clockwise and posharskyana) are colouring up, about to show off their summer displays. Helichrysum Nevada range has an impressive display of bright papery flowers. 

Take care out there, from all at Kirton Farm Nurseries