Peat-free and hairy

Morning all,

Another chilly week passes but milder conditions forecast soon, fingers crossed. Looking forward to getting back up to some uninterrupted work as it warms up, the number of cold weather jobs has nearly run dry.

Greg has spent the last 3 weeks, on and off, clearing out and reorganising the tool shed which was a mammoth task after probably 10 years with only an occasional sweep up. We had accumulated some much detritus it was an embarrassment, but luckily out of sight to visitors. Now we can see the walls and floor again, it looks huge.

I have managed to finish screen printing the wooden box components, ready for construction over the next few weeks, and I've nearly completed the wooden POS boards, which will be a big pre-season job ticked off.

In an effort to get more winter jobs sorted I have managed to delegate a bit more this year, firstly with the rainwater harvesting groundwork and installation out-sourced for February, and this week the solar panel chaps popped in the see what they could fit us in later in the year. Looks like we might get close to 50 kW installed which would cover the area of one of our polytunnels. They have just got to check with the local electric company that the sub-station will cope and then they will plan it out and put in a planning application. Hoping it all goes smoothly as we could really do with more power coming on tap to compliment the wind turbines and cope with the expected extra consumption when we eventually start using vehicle chargers and possibly installing more air source heat pumps.

If you have the space, solar is looking like a great investment at the moment, prices of panels are low, and if you are able to use a good proportion of the power yourself, the payback period is very quick. I was quite surprised they weren't busier with the price of energy so high, but apparently there was a lull in demand when the government price caps were announced, so we are hoping not to have to wait too long. Get in quick.

Had an exciting day out on Monday when I attended the Peat-free Growers Forum at Calke Abbey near Derby hosted by the National Trust (fantastic shortbread biscuits!). It was, I think, the second meeting of the group which aims to promote peat-free growing from the consumer through to the commercial grower. It was full of some very enthusiastic people trying to drive forward the groups agenda, some big names from media and horticultural organisations, as well as a smattering of growers, most of whom were peat-free or on the way. There was a lot of talk of gathering and sharing information to allow peat based growers to move over to peat-free as seamlessly as possible, plus there was some light 'patting on the back' for those who had led the peat-free way. Now I know I'm a cynical old bugger but I did wonder if the peat-free growers had really thought this through. Legislation is coming soon to ban consumer sales of bagged peat products and later make it illegal to use peat in the commercial sector, so everyone will have to be peat-free in a few years, The current crop of peat- free growers currently have a nice USP which gives them a market advantage and in a few years that advantage will be taken away, so why should they be asked to help their competitors avoid all the pain and anguish they went through to get where they are, when those peat growers couldn't be arsed to do it of their own accord. The marketplace already supports growers wanting to change by having very professional (in most cases) potting media companies, who have knowledge and experience to help with the change over, and in the end it will always be individual nurseries who have to fine tune their media's to suit their own needs. Luckily for us the peat-free element is only a small part of our nursery offering, so I'm not going to lose too much sleep over it.

One very interesting piece of information that came out in conversation afterwards was that DEFRA plan to ban anything for sale with any peat content, once the full grower restrictions are applied. This means banning imports that aren't peat-free! That is a big one, as Europe is well behind us on the peat-free road, and I'm surprised more hasn't been said about this.

2023 Retail price reviews

In view of our price increases for 2023, don't forget to review your own retail prices and let us know ASAP if you want us to pre-price at new rates. I will have to update our records and make sure I have the printing plates ready to roll. Thanks. 

Availability list highlights

Winter and spring flowering Cyclamen coum are now available in small numbers with more coming on stream for later. Most are in bud with some colour showing.

Spring must be on the way, the Pulmonaria are up with most varieties showing bud with the odd flash of colour.

The Aubretia Regado Red are in bud now with the odd flower opening. Do remember we are growing cold here so the cold snap next week may reduce the colour showing. The blue variety is close behind but will be fractionally later budding up. Spring bulbs are beginning to pop up and buds are already on show on both the little hooped petticoat Narcissus. Helleborus niger Advent Star have loads of flower and bud now. 

Best wishes from all at Kirton Farm Nurseries.

Hairy Packaging

Morning all,

Sun is shining which puts a very pleasant gloss on things, when in actual fact it's been a very cold 'two trouser week' with almost all jobs made doubly difficult by the low temperatures. At least it has stopped raining for a bit which must be a relief for many. The workshop wood-burner in despatch has been well fuelled and visited this week, and has made the screen printing work on the new box stock we are constructing much more manageable. There's nothing worse than cold thick ink to mess up the screens, but to be fair it went pretty well. Just another 1,000 prints to go and that is the boxes done for this season, just a few more sets of POS boards to print and we are done, I can put the printing bench back into the barn.

After getting the Peugeot van through its MOT, it is now the turn of the big van which is due its 10 weekly inspection on Monday. Unfortunately the cold weather and lack of activity means the battery is flat as a pancake so I'm just waiting for the breakdown mechanic to pop in and start us up. Normally we would manage ourselves but it is a 24V system not 12V and nothing we have here will start it. Bit frustrating, as the older version with ancient batteries didn't do this, but the 10 month old new one has. Hey ho, at least we aren't looking to make any deliveries, so not as panicky as we might have been.

In this upbeat report I will now be informing you that last Monday was officially (on average) the most depressing day of the year, I think it's a combination of realising how much we overspent/overeaten at Christmas, the winter weather and the long dark nights. Anyway I think they were wrong, it was Wednesday. I attended, a seminar on-line, organised for growers to find out more about the EPR (Extended Packaging Regulations). Not only were there only 5 or 6 growers attending which was sad in itself, but the experts report on what it was all about was shocking in its lack of factual content. These DEFRA regulations are meant to be making producers contribute towards the disposal or recycling of the packaging waste they sell along with their goods and encourage them to use more environmentally friendly materials. You have to be over a certain size business and produce over 25 tonnes of packaging to come within the scope of the scheme, at which point you have to record all the packaging sent out with your goods. It is all measured by weight and recorded in numerous different categories (material type, where the waste ends up, and whether it is recyclable, biodegradable etc. Charges will be made for each different type of waste produced, more for the least environmentally friendly option and less for the others. No one yet knows how this is to be best recorded (records are to be kept from Jan1st 2023) as DEFRA haven't decided and no-one knows what the charges will be. The only thing said so far is that because they haven't sorted out the details, in 'year one' everyone will be charged based solely on the weight of materials in their packaging, whether they are environmentally friendly or not. Now you would think that we would be ok because our packaging is all either sustainable and reusable or 100% biodegradable, and we keep the packaging to a minimum. However the potential spanner in the works for us is that pots are included in the packaging list and our pots are relatively heavy compared to plastic. The wooden trays are also weighty in comparison to plastic alternatives, although because they are reusable we only have to weigh and count them on their first use. Having be thoroughly deflated by all this news I have since spent a day drying out and weighing all our packaging, working out how much we used last year, and thankfully arriving at a total weight of about 22 tonnes. I suspect we will still have to record everything as we go, just in case we have to justify our packaging to DEFRA at some point. Anyway if you fancy some light bedtime reading I can recommend the following pages; https://www.gov.uk/guidance/packaging-waste-prepare-for-extended-producer-responsibility

One the good news front our broken turbine got repaired on Wednesday after several windy weeks off-line. The repair team looked frozen to the core when they finished but as pleased as we were to have got the job done at last.

2023 Retail price reviews

In view of our price increases for 2023, don't forget to review your own retail prices and let us know ASAP if you want us to pre-price at new rates. I will have to update our records and make sure I have the printing plates ready to roll. Thanks.

Availability list highlights

Winter and spring flowering Cyclamen coum are now available in small numbers with more coming on stream for later. Most are in bud with some colour showing.

Spring must be on the way, the Pulmonaria are up with most varieties showing bud with the odd flash of colour.

The Aubretia Regado Red are in bud now with the odd flower opening. Do remember we are growing cold here so the cold snap next week may reduce the colour showing. The blue variety is close behind but will be fractionally later budding up. Spring bulbs are beginning to pop up and buds are already on show on both the little hooped petticoat Narcissus.

We have a good range of Helleborus in stock. The Christmas Rose Helleborus niger Advent Star have loads of flower and bud now. Not a lot of flower yet on the H. orientalis types but they are full of winter promise.

Best wishes  from all at Kirton Farm Nurseries.

Hairy packaging

Morning all,

A rare lull in the rain today with some welcome sunshine and the world looks more acceptable again. I know it will be short lived as tomorrow looks wet again. If we are going to have bad weather now is the time I suppose and the reservoirs and aquifers definitely needed topping up. I can safely predict a dry spell coming, from the beginning of March when our rain water harvesting installation gets finished.

We are experiencing a similar situation with the wind at the moment. One of the turbines had a flexible coupling fail on Christmas Eve and since then it has been really windy, so windy that the engineers can't get up the tower to mend it. We had a really poor year on turbine output in 2022 with only one month of above average output. 2023 has started really strongly but we have lost out on 33% of the returns we should have had, ace. Hoping for a rearranged mending visit next week, fingers crossed it isn't too wild and the wind doesn't die back afterwards. I suppose on the bright side the last three weeks of reasonable output will help pay for the repair.

Got the Peugeot van through its MOT this week. Its starter motor died during the pre-inspection and some fancy electronic exhaust valve ceased up so after emptying the bank account it sailed through. At least it is ready for the new season. The other three are all due theirs over the next few weeks so fingers crossed all goes well.

I got stuck into the new packaging regulations this week, life is just so thrilling. If we qualify, (not sure at this stage), we have to start recording all our packaging use for lots of different materials, as from the beginning of 2023. We don't need to report them officially until January 2024 (we would be a small producer) but will have to have the records for the year ready to go. The tricky thing is that the rules have still not been clarified and the more you look into it the more complex it seems to get. We have gone to huge efforts over the years to eliminate plastic packaging being sent out with our plants (pots, trays, POS and labels) but we still have to weigh and record all the different materials sent out, even if they are reusable or totally natural and biodegradable. Another massive job to do with no return. I am hoping for some clarification when I attend the BPOA online seminar next week. That's something to look forward to!

Ok now for something definitely worth looking forward to, tonight's dessert. Over the last three years there has been a foodie trend happening in St Ives which we have loved. Many fancy puddings now come with a drizzle or slosh of PX and it's delicious. We had no idea what it was initially, but it turns out to be Pedro Ximenez Sherry and it is now all over the place. This Christmas we lashed out on a bottle (very cheap from most supermarkets) and had to buy another last week despite me being here on my own most of the time. It goes beautifully with simple ice creams or with Christmas cake/pudding and cream. I'm no sherry drinker, we have a part bottle of Harveys in the larder that must be 10 years old, but this is a revelation. Ok I don't get out much, but do give it a go and if you don't like it, send me the bottle.

2023 Retail price reviews

In view of our price increases (see below) don't forget to review your own retail prices and let us know ASAP if you want us to pre-price at new rates. I will have to update our records and make sure I have the printing plates ready to roll. Thanks.

2023 Prices

Prices for 2023, if you need to know them, are attached to the Mailchimp version of this email, together with a note about why the prices have risen as they have. Naturally it all comes down to those scary rising costs. We have desperately tried to keep our price rise as low as we can as we don't want to fuel inflation ourselves, or frighten off our customers, whether they are retailers or the final consumer, but margins are already pretty tight so there isn't much slack to accommodate these increases.

Availability list highlights

Winter and spring flowering Cyclamen coum are now available in small numbers with more coming on stream for later. Most are in bud with some colour showing. Spring must be on the way, the Pulmonaria are up with most varieties showing bud with the odd flash of colour.

The Aubretia Regado Red are in bud now with the odd flower opening. Do remember we are growing cold here so the cold snap next week may reduce the colour showing. The blue variety is close behind but will be fractionally later budding up. Spring bulbs are beginning to pop up and buds are already on show on both the little hooped petticoat Narcissus.

We have a good range of Helleborus in stock. The Christmas Rose Helleborus niger Advent Star have loads of flower and bud now. Not a lot of flower yet on the H. orientalis types but they are full of winter promise,

Best wishes from all at Kirton Farm Nurseries.

Hairy New Year!

Morning all,

Happy New Year everyone, here's hoping it's a good one. We had a very quiet Christmas ourselves and are getting back to something more normal now with the nursery gradually coming back to life after the break. Looking forward to getting organised for another busy season.

The overwinter plant tidying has been a bit easier to push on with once the cold snap passed with many tunnels looking surprisingly fresh and almost spring like, although there are still several looking very 'end of season'. 

At last I have managed to pin down the groundwork contractors to come and start our rain water collection installation, after 15 months of trying. A large deposit has been paid and weather permitting they are due to start at the beginning of February. They are hoping to be done in a month, which hopefully will mean minimum disruption to our season and the water savings coming on stream quickly. It's a big investment for us (about £70,000) with remarkably little direct financial benefit, but it is the right thing to do and should help add some level of future proofing into our longer term water security. If it works well then the last step will be to install a bigger storage facility, but let's not run before we walk.

One of the winter improvement projects is to rescue our tool-shed which was in danger of becoming overrun with detritus. Years of saving stuff that 'might come in useful one day' made it impossible to find anything or actually use it as a workshop. It has taken many hours but it is all looking much more organised in there now and a monster amount of broken or useless kit has been recycled. The last main issue to sort out was the ingress of water whenever it rained. The shed is tacked onto the end of an old grain storage barn and the main valley gutter has leaked badly for years. It isn't actually our barn so repairing the old gutter was always going to be tricky, especially when we looked into the potential cost of getting a specialist team in to do it. So we have installed an internal guttering system to catch and redirect the flow, which has worked pretty well so far but will need extending to achieve closer to total capture. It's great to feel we are regaining control of something that had really got away from us.

The domestic chaos pre Christmas was eased with the warmer temperatures, but continued to be exciting. In preparation of the heating engineer coming to fix a dodgy valve in the hot water system I went into the loft to clear the way to the system header tank, only to find the tank empty. The ball-cock had got stuck shut. A quick wiggle and it opened and all seemed well. The system refilled and a degree of heating was recovered. Feeling rather pleased with myself I tucked into a light lunch, only to then hear the rather loud crackling of the fire in the wood-burner. I went to check it, only to find it wasn't thefire, it was running water coming through the light fittings in the utility. The water tank had filled and not stopped, overflowing into the bathroom below and then down into the utility. Ace. Luckily I caught it in time, so although we had no electric for a bit, the ceilings stayed up and all was recovered over a few days. Still no engineer has appeared, but main panic is over.

Another 'no-show' this week was the meter contractor to change our faulty smart meter, the third appointment missed despite being a 'priority visit' and no call to let us know. Is it just me? Stayed in for 6 hrs waiting but hey ho, worse things happen. Like the cat tearing a tendon on Christmas Eve (out of hours of course), one of the turbines breaking down on the same day (should be repaired next week) and the potting machine tripping out (electrically not recreationally).

2023 Prices. 

Prices for 2023, if you need to know them, are attached to the Mailchimp version of this email, together with a note about why the prices have risen as they have. Naturally it all comes down to those scary rising costs. We have desperately tried to keep our price rise as low as we can as we don't want to fuel inflation ourselves, or frighten off our customers, whether they are retailers or the final consumer, but margins are already pretty tight so there isn't much slack to accommodate these increases.

Hopefully the inflationary pressures will ease a bit next year, although we already have quite a few big rises already in the pipeline. The easing international container transport costs will certainly help and if Mr Putin would take a step back, life would get much easier for everyone.

Availability list highlights

Winter and spring flowering Cyclamen coum are now available in small numbers with more coming on stream for later. Most are in bud with some colour showing. We have a good range of Helleborus in stock, to stretch those Autumn sales. The Christmas Rose Helleborus niger Advent Star have loads of flower and bud now. Not a lot of flower yet on the orientalis types but they are full of winter promise.

Best wishes from all at Kirton Farm Nurseries.