Hairy projects

Morning all,

A very productive week, most of it done in the warm, but with a fluffy brain produced by the end of today! Battled my way through the last of the plant orders for next year, a job I started over a month ago. The numbers are mind numbing and the decisions needed endless when you are looking at over 600 lines, multiple deliveries of each and probably ten different suppliers. Then the whole lot has to be juggled onto a label ordering spreadsheet, along with the current stock of plants and left over labels from this season. I stick in a column for this year's sales for each variety, just to add an extra level of thoroughness and complication and then pluck out a number of labels I think we will use. Then there is the final jiggle to make the total number ordered add up to a multiple of 72,000, so that they fit onto the label printing sheet efficiently. What fun. 

Now I can get back to some more fun planning and spending. I only get a very short time frame to get the winter projects ordered and underway and although some have already started like the new vehicle charger, the new van, new electric car, new potting machine and the wooden box production programme, I have a few other bits up my sleeve waiting for the go ahead. The hairy pot plant themed work-wear is coming along, just need to get the next batch of samples ordered. I know lots of people cover this sort of thing, but it adds another whole level of complication when you try to pick out sustainable items to use rather than just the cheapest. 

The irrigation water collection system should take another step forward this winter but I haven't quite decided on the scale yet. I think we will take a steady route into more investment into water storage, which we will have to fund ourselves, rather than spend £90,000 and maybe become eligible for a partial grant. I saw a very interesting bit of water treatment it this week, which I first saw 8 years ago, it should improve our plant health and resistance to disease so reducing the amount of spraying we have to do. I was a bit sceptical originally but after many years use it had proved itself to be very effective on this particular nursery. A good test was when it broke down this summer the diseases returned and once repaired it all settled down again. We don't do a huge amount of spraying but any reduction will be welcome in labour saving and fewer chemicals being needed. This will be another valuable experience we will have picked up from being part of the NBIS scheme which has served us so well over the 25 years or so we have been members, although the best bits are the talking therapy, which I need a lot of, and the pub lunch. I don't get out much. Everyone in the group is still pretty anxious about what lies ahead and the news of the South African new variant is an added worry, but I'm glad to say Caroline and I got our boosters done today so feeling slightly smug. So many ups and downs. Might go for a lie down in a minute just in case I am overcome with weakness and fatigue. That log burner is beckoning.

Autumn wooden box collections are now just about done

Most of our wooden trays have now been collected up, but if you have a collection of trays ready to go, please do drop us an email and we will call in a pick them up as soon as we are in your area. At a replacement cost now in excess of £10 a box now, we can't afford to lose too many. Just been informed of another timber price rise, so definitely need them back! 

Availability list highlights

Things are getting really quiet now and most plants are looking for their winter rest. There are still a few stars shining out there, but fewer each week. The mild weather is keeping things ticking over at the moment but the coming cold snap might slow things up.

The long flowering Cyclamen coum varieties are coming along with flowers opening already. This coum series we are growing, flowers continuously from September to April given reasonable winter conditions, it is really hardy although the number of flowers open at any one time is more subtle and modest than some of the very showy modern & less hardy pot cyclamen. A favourite of ours, Some of the Helleborus niger are in bud and flower already, Christmas has come early. 

Helleborus orientalis are looking strong with the occasional bud showing. A slightly enlarged range from us this year with the introduction of the Pretty Ellen range of a red, white and a pink.

Take care out there, from all at Kirton Farm Nurseries