Hairy consequences

Morning all, 

Looks like we are settling into some more benign conditions this weekend after the wild time we had a week ago. Hopefully it will see a return of some plant sales which fell off a cliff for us last week. I suspect the fencing trade was busy instead, it's an ill wind and all that. Having said last week that we got off lightly, we have still spent a good proportion of the week clearing up and repairing stuff, which did detract again from the plant work to some degree. One of the tunnels that lost its cover needed a bit more structural rebuilding which wasn't planned, but unsurprising given its age. Just about got that done in time to recover it this morning. It wasn't perfect, just on the edge of too windy , but we were in a sheltered spot and used a few extra hands to hold the sheet in place while we fixed it. The sun was out which helped give the sheet a bit of stretch which is always a help in getting some tension into it, and the odd disturbing wind gusts were contained before any rips appeared. All done and it looks ok, quite a relief, especially as we had lifted the entire stock (trays of modules) in the tunnel onto trolleys to help protect it from the elements. We can now get that back down and growing again. It wasn't all doom and gloom as we managed to make a few improvements to the doors and vents in the rebuilding process, which should make life easier in future. An easy spring clean of the entire tunnel was another bonus so it now looks really smart, well, for a
poly-tunnel anyway.

We had a couple more power cuts on the nursery, one of which tripped and broke a circuit trip switch running the 128 LED lights in the lab growth room, which meant an emergency call to the electricians. I was sure we would need a new consumer unit because the other was so old. I suspected that they wouldn't be able to get parts, which is the usual excuse for regular major refits, but luckily they still had some older stock in store and they replaced the trip switch with ease. The house supply didn't come back on until Wednesday morning, by which time all the lager was definitely warm. 5 days without power makes you appreciate the supply when it's there that's for sure. No major disasters, we only have a small freezer, some of which was transferred into the even smaller one on the nursery. No room for the summer fruits picked over the last couple of years which all got tipped into a pot and stewed, or the breadcrumbs saved up for nut roast construction. So we've had a week of stewed fruits and nut roast, up to 3 times a day, successfully keeping everyone at a distance, especially as we had no hot water either! We have the wood burner and oil Aga for basic heat and cooking, so it could have been worse.

Another bonus of the lack of orders this week, was finding the time to fill the 7.5T van with our accumulated card boxes from the coir pot packaging. They don't fit in our normal recycling, but stack nicely on a pallet in large volumes so ECoGen our local recycler is happy to deal with them. That cleared out a nice area in the barn which will help as we get busier. 

Availability list highlights

Please do bear in mind that it is still wintertime so our unheated plant growth, although healthy, is likely to be winter 'tight' in habit and not big, soft and lush. There isn't a lot of colour yet and where there is some, the plants are disappearing fast. A bit more warmth and we'll get another flush of varieties, I can see the signs of action, some just not quite enough to send just yet.

An eye catching burst of violent pink flowers now showing on the Primula grandiflora Rosea. I don't have a lot of stock of Primula denticulata this year, but they are now in bud.

Primula veris (Cowslip) have bud and the odd flash of very early sunshine yellow.

Pretty dark leaved Viola labridorica are shooting nicely, carrying a few blue/purple flowers and buds. A nice range of Pulmonaria in bud now, running a bit short on some varieties so don't hang about.

Not in flower but always very popular at this time of year, the Alliums and Camassia bulbs are shooting nicely. It's a shame the foliage goes a bit tatty and they are impossible to handle in a pot by the time they flower, as they are both such great garden plants. Good ones for the pollinators.

Blue Muscari showing tight bud on compact neat plants. Scilla sibirica have royal blue colour peaking through. An early spring stunner and selling through quickly.

Our dwarf Narcissus varieties are starting to bud up now and look springy. They won't hang around long, as I try not to overdo volumes of this sort of plant, just in case the weather turns on me!

Aubretia in blue and red shades are looking bushy, nice and tight in growth habit with some occasional flower colour showing, in both colours and carrying lots of tight bud. Spring favourite the Erysimum's are already in tight bud.

A spring flush of healthy shoot growth on our overwintered Phlox range, all looking very strong. Scaboius Butterfly Blue, Mariposa and Pink Mist think it's spring, with bud on show. 

Take care out there, from all at Kirton Farm Nurseries