Hairy potting machine

Morning all, 

Another hectic week on the sales front. Struggling to get anything done other than despatch at the moment which is a bit frustrating, especially as I spent last weekend setting up the new potting machine and all the associated paraphernalia. We are suffering from short staffing in reality. I am always hopeful that we will achieve full attendance one week and start catching up again, but that is a pipe dream. A raft of perfectly valid reasons left us way short of hours and the potting didn't get started until Friday morning. I was hoping for a quick thrash to fill some of the big gaps on the nursery but within 5 minutes of starting, the new machine had tripped out an internal safety device and did so repeatedly for the next half an hour. With removal of hair imminent a phone call to the supplier revealed a possible cause and a bit of investigation followed. By unplugging the rotating accumulation table the fault cleared and we realised that the new supersensitive machine would not put up with both the off-take conveyor and rotating table being in the same socket. A new lead plugged into another socket cured our problems and got everything working smoothly. The compost hopper was too small for our loading bucket but after moving, modifying and reattaching the side extensions from the old machine we are done.

Still no new van after another delay at the body builders. It has however now made it to the dealership and just needs the tacho calibrating, vehicle registration and taxing, and all the pre-delivery checks to be done, then we can pick it up next weekend. They have agreed to still take the old van despite its recent front end modifications and we will come to some sort of arrangement when the damage has been fully assessed, so hopefully that will all go smoothly.

Covid did me a favour in one department this week, with most of the local village plant committee being hit, resulting in the AGM, at which I was to speak, being cancelled. Quite a relief as I'm not a very keen speaker and I was totally unprepared as well as shockingly busy. We did 'our bit' in another area instead, by donating a few plants and lending some wooden boxes to Winchester Science Centre who were running a planting project with a local primary school and introducing their new patron who is very keen on nature and sustainability. I am not allowed just yet to say who that is, because they were filming this event as part of the press introduction to be made next week. A few of our plants should be making a star appearance, so I hope they were on their best behaviour and no-one got slapped!

Wooden box returns appeal

Just a quick note to say thanks to all those being very prompt with their box returns, it does help us make good use of these expensive items. The more times we use them, the lower the cost of packing and marketing, which benefits us all in these times of increasing financial pressure. Can I make an appeal to anyone using our empty boxes as part of their display constructions, to try and find some alternative materials to use. Each box costs us £10 to replace and it doesn't take many to disappear into such a display for large amounts valuable stock to be left unused by us. Not only do we have to buy more boxes to cover our needs but those empty boxes sitting there are not earning their keep with us, which increases our costs and consequently our prices to you.

We are getting quite low on boxes already. As the season continues returns start to match the outgoings, but at the moment we are still using more than the boxes returned, which is ok as we still have some in stock, but prompt recovery is vital. 

Availability list highlights

The first of the Camassia varieties (C. Caerulea) are now showing fat buds. They fly once at this stage so don't hold back. A couple of the Geraniums are throwing out flower buds already, the sun and warmth has moved them on. Both are great performers in sun or shade with subtle flower displays. Samobor has really dark purple small flowers over dramatic dark

blotched leaves and nodosum has small pretty pinky/purple flowers and goes on and on all summer.

The warm temperatures and sunshine have brought on several of the Geum varieties with a flush of growth and some buds. All the Ajuga varieties have suddenly shot up their low flower shoots. The odd violet-blue bloom opening in the warmth. Dicentra spectabilis are shooting and showing bud already. They are very tight short plants at the moment but will very quickly gain size and volume. Easy to handle at this stage, less easy the bigger they get, due to their fleshy nature.

Not in flower but always very popular, the Alliums are shooting nicely. It's a shame the foliage tends to goes a bit tatty by the time they flower, as they are both such great garden plants. Good ones for the pollinators. Spring favourite the Erysimum's are now in bud.

We have some lovely batches of Salvia nemerosa varieties bulking up well with several varieties already in bud. A spring flush of healthy shoot growth on our overwintered Phlox range, all looking very strong. Best crop ever.

Take care out there, from all at Kirton Farm Nurseries