Hectic and Hairy

Morning all,

Ok, I know I say we have been really busy most weeks, but that was quite a week. All the usual challenges of getting enough drivers and vans operational at the right time to get the orders out, but this time the volume of stock needing to be processed and delivered was huge. We have just had our busiest week ever, even capping the mega weeks when all the garden centres reopened after the covid lockdown and not just by a whisker, we were over 18% higher in numbers of pots sent out. We had been a bit behind on just about everything with the rather cool damp spring we have had so far, but this has shot us back much closer where we had hoped to be in the master plan. The master plan is not written anywhere, it only exists in my head and changes daily, so please don't ask me what it is!

Stock levels have been hit fairly hard, although having just had a walk round to check and I still managed to find a fair range despite the clearout. The volumes left are smaller so please don't go mad on ordering quantities, we will have more coming back online as we go over the next few months so there is no need to panic. In fact a slight lull in ordering volumes should give us time to do something else other than dispatch all through the week!

Big thanks to our drivers in particular this week, some of whom came in for extra days, set aside injuries and also managed to overcome some very disrupted journeys due to road works, accidents and high traffic volumes. Also there were heroic feats of engineering by Eddie and his team at our local workshop pulling out all the stops to get the repaired gearbox, new clutch and flywheel, back into our Fiat, plus a full service, by the end of Wednesday. This gave us just enough van space to get most orders out before the weekend, although we did miss out on a couple of longer distance late ones, which is always a bit frustrating, Never mind we did our best and that's about all we can do.

Got into a bit of trouble by pinching all the microprop lab staff for nearly the entire week to bolster numbers in despatch, so although the sales figures look good there is a bit of catching up to do in there!

Potting team in again tomorrow, but I know I have to pop out to the garage as it's Caroline's birthday on Sunday so must find a moment for that. Her treat for the day is to go and watch Southampton in their last premiership game for a while, not the best celebration for such a big day but hey ho, perhaps the games next season will be more competitive and entertaining. It would be nice to be in with a chance of winning something.

Hosted a whistle-stop nursery tour on Wednesday illustrating our peat-free growing experiences to some nursery folk from Northern Ireland, doing research. It was a quick one as we were so busy, but managed to answer their main queries and I think I surprised them with the amount of other sustainable stuff we were doing alongside the peat -free results. Sometimes I forget how far away we have strayed from 'normality' although many may say I have been on that trip a very long time.

Electrician and plumber coming in next week to finish off (in theory) the last bits of our rainwater harvesting installation, just in time for the rains to stop, but this is a long-term thing so I mustn't get too wound up about the time taken to get these things done. Another solar installer visiting at the same time, to try and tie down a more accurate costing and sort out the planning details. We need to get a move on and get these tilting panels installed. The payback time will now be longer because wholesale energy prices are falling back quite quickly, but we are going to need more electricity over the next few years for charging vehicles, lighting and heating so need the infrastructure in place to cover at least some of the demand and keep costs under some control.

Availability list highlights.

Not a lot with bud or flower due to the fact that it has moved on before the buds get a chance to appear. The warmer weather will bring a few on and quite a few may well have some bud even if I don't mention it in the list.

The first batches of the hardy Osteospermum Tresco Purple have a nice flush of bud although they will sell through fairly quickly and the second batch may well be a week or two later.

Batches of all varieties both perennials and herbs are selling through very quickly, so the weekly list will change a lot from week to week. Always best to try and use the most recent list for your order otherwise there maybe a few shortages. If your weekly list doesn't come through just ask and I will try and send it again. The initial sending is via MailChimp but I know some computer systems will sometimes decide I'm junk and cut us off. If this happens I can't reinstate you myself onto MailChimp but I can send you a link so you can reinstate yourself.

Phlox paniculata are upright and strong and starting to produce bud. A great overwintered crop in a good range of colours. A batch of super strong Sedum Autumn Joy, a great one for the pollinators later in the summer.

Best wishes from all at Kirton Farm Nurseries.

Hairy Buttercups

Morning all,

Spring at last, a lot brighter even if the temperatures are still quite modest. I'll take that. The plants are certainly responding with a nice flush of fresh growth, even the herb range has recovered a bit although some of the lines that got clobbered overwinter like the Rosemary's are still a little way off yet.

We are at that time of year when there just aren't enough days in the week. I have plants ready to pot but just can't find enough time on the potting machine to catch up with where I would like to be. We are potting a lot, just not enough. Extra staff could help but then they need training and looking after and again we are just too busy to attend to that at this time. We could employ extras earlier in the year but we don't really need them then and I'm not sure the cash-flow would stand it. In the end I know through experience that we usually get most young plants into a pot, if not always done at the perfect moment, so I will try not to fret.

Next week is another bank holiday weekend so if you are in need of any stock please do send your orders in fairly promptly as I can already see that transport is going to be challenging next week. We are a driver and a half down (don't ask) and the Fiat van with the g earbox issue, is currently in pieces at the garage awaiting the return of the rebuilt gearbox. Hoping it might make a return towards the end of the week but not sure. We have some extra driver cover to paint over the cracks, but we may well end up having to send a few extra orders via Bleach of Lavant which takes the pressure off our vans but adds to tension in despatch.

Classic situation this week when we thought we were coping nicely when the Bleach lorry pulls into the yard expecting to pick up his 5 trolleys. He was 30 hours early, but their plans were obviously quite fluid this week, so we had to stop work on everything else and process and pack the orders to get him away. It worked ok in the end after a bit of an initial panic, the girls from our microprop lab came out to help and once the dust settled we ended the day being ahead of where we had planned. Every cloud and all that. It reminded me of a time many years ago when we used to deal with a large DIY multiple and their lorry collection times were always a complete lottery. Many a morning I would walk down the track and get that sinking feeling as I came round the corner to find their distinctive liveried truck parked outside the gate ready to load and we hadn't even made a start on the job. It used to take a while to process and load a full size arctic even with 50 people on site. Now we are smaller and leaner, generally managing to avoid that sort of challenge and most of the time feeling a lot better about what we do.

Nearly good news on our electric car, it has made it into production and would appear to be nearly ready. Still a few weeks before delivery and they still can't give us a date, but progress. Assuming we get it early June that will be a wait of 22 months since ordering, not quite the 12-14 weeks originally estimated. We will be on our third finance deal and unfortunately interest rates have gone the wrong way, but at least we will have a car with a decent range at an ok price. The same spec car in the newly launched model range is £12,000 more so it looks like we got a bargain. Let's hope it is worth the wait.

The sunshine this week brought out a fantastic display of buttercups in our 'lawn'. Very proud to have more flowers in our grass than in the borders. Don't get much time for gardening!

Availability list highlights.

Not much to report on the 'highlight front' other than we do have a reasonable amount of stock of perennials, it just isn't in flower. Anything with a hint of a flower has sold out over the last few weeks.

The herb range has recovered a bit this week but will be subject to alteration each week as demand this year seems particularly high.

Batches of all varieties both perennials and herbs are selling through very quickly, so the weekly list will change a lot from week to week. Always best to try and use the most recent list for your order otherwise there maybe a few shortages. If your weekly list doesn't come through just ask and I will try and send it again. The initial sending is via MailChimp but I know some computer systems will sometimes decide I'm junk and cut us off. If this happens I can't reinstate you myself onto MailChimp but I can send you a link so you can reinstate yourself.

Phlox paniculata are upright and strong and can't be far off budding. A great overwintered crop in a good range of colours. A batch of super strong Sedum Autumn Joy, a great one for the pollinators later in the summer.

Best wishes  from all at Kirton Farm Nurseries.

Hairy predators

Morning all,

Another crazy week and another short story to tell, due to shortage of time and energy.

Last weekend's events surrounding Charles getting a new hat seemed to go down fairly well , although the weather wasn't really very helpful for the celebrations or for gardening and plant sales. We benefited from a delivery of surplus cake from the local village lunch and tea party which I think was the highlight of the weekend for us (getting the cake, we never made it to the party).

Nursery dramas continued to occur despite the shorter week. We had a massive thunderstorm on Tuesday evening with a huge amount of water falling very quickly. All the storm drains choked up and flooded many of the tunnels , whilst washing away a lot of track surfaces. I am still coming across mud slicks in tunnels which never usually get flooded, it will take weeks to clear it all up as we will just have to deal with it a tunnel at a time as we clear them in preparation for new crops. Earlier today we managed to get round most of the drains and get them cleared again as they were completely ineffective after blocking and any following showers just flooded us again. We must have shifted a tonne of silt out of one of the main large drain traps which makes me wonder how many tonnes are thinly spread over the production beds. Luckily it shouldn't cause a major issue with most crops as the water gets away fairly quickly in most cases, it just makes everything very slimy and unpleasant underfoot.

Transport proved eventful again this week with the 3 year old Fiat misbehaving by jumping out of first gear. A quick check with the garage and sure enough new gearbox innards are required. Naturally it is 2 months out of warranty and quite a few miles outside it too. We did call Fiat and they agreed to take a look at it and assess if they could financially help as a goodwill gesture. The snags were plentiful, they could not even inspect it until the end of the month and then we may still have to pay for most of it, plus the parts are unlikely to be in the UK so there would be a further delay to the repair and return of the vehicle which could run into months. They won and we have booked it in to our garage for next Thursday to have the gearbox removed, sent away for specialist repair. We should get it back in a week and while everything is dismantled they will replace the clutch and flywheel which are apparently the next things likely to die. Because all is already taken apart we will only have to pay for the extra parts so saving another big expensive job a little further down the line. Compared with the estimated cost of a replacement gearbox direct from Fiat we should pay about the same amount but get a lot more done for the bucks. Almost a bargain, aren't we lucky.

Big delivery of predator bugs this week as temperatures rise and they become more effective at controlling the pests. We will be getting 3 weekly deliveries over the rest of the season of various beasties from visible beetles to tiny mites and almost invisible nematodes. Numbers vary from 100 per sachet to 250 million depending on application rates and of course cost. Quite scary on the cost front. Although we are not organic we use this sort of control whenever we can and spend over 90% of our Pest and Disease budget on this effort, running into many thousands each year. Overall they seem to work ok most of the time, even though some of the larger ones will occasionally have a nibble of the staff while they are passing.

Take care out there. 

Availability list highlights.

Not much to report on the 'highlight front' other than we do have a reasonable amount of stock of perennials, it just isn't in flower. Anything with a hint of a flower has sold out over the last few weeks. Frustratingly cool weather and low light levels is slowing growth of the fresh stock but things are coming on line again gradually. Lots more to come over the next few months. Herbs are frustratingly a bit short after high demand, some winter losses/damage on some lines and a lack of growth on the fresh stock. There will be lots to come but not for a few weeks.

Phlox paniculata are shooting strongly. A great overwintered crop in a good range of colours. Lots of Echinacea in a good range. A late one to appear but then goes nuts. Some lovely Asters, very strong overwintered stock, but quite a while from flowering. A batch of super strong Sedum Autumn Joy, a great one for the pollinators later in the summer. Fresh batches of Delphiniums, Lupins and a few Digitalis. Going quickly, get them while they are hot. 

Best wishes  from all at Kirton Farm Nurseries.

Short and Hairy

Morning all,

The title is 'Short and Hairy' and that is what this week's message will have to be. It has been extremely busy, we have shipped out lots of stock and I have run out of hours in the week again. I can't quite believe we have two four day weeks in a row and we are only past the first one. At such a busy time the last thing we need is less time, but hey-ho it is what it is and I'm sure lots of people will be having a lovely time over the next day or two.

It will be interesting to see how the celebrations and jollities over the long weekend impact on plant sales. I know the Jubilee weekend last year was a bit of a disappointment and rather curtailed  gardening activity, but that was slightly later in the year.

I will try and find some time next week to think of some exciting news but right now I need to lie down, we have an early potting shift tomorrow so some of the crew can go home and watch the procession and fly past on the telly. Luckily I have been able to stretch the shift to run on a bit later with a few non-royalists, so we should get a bit extra done. Tunnels have been cleaned today so space is ready and machine topped up for a flying start.

If only we had a couple of extra days to get the machine running a bit longer, very frustrating, but it's the same every year you think I would be used to it by now!

Hope everyone enjoys the weekend whatever you are up to.

Availability list highlights.

Not much to report on the 'highlight front' other than we do have a reasonable amount of stock of perennials, it just isn't in flower. Anything with a hint of a flower has sold out over the last few weeks. Frustratingly cool weather and low light levels is slowing growth of the fresh stock but things are coming on line again gradually. Lots more to come over the next few months.

Herbs are frustratingly a bit short after high demand, some winter losses/damage on some lines and a lack of growth on the fresh stock. There will be lots to come but not for a few weeks..

Phlox paniculata are shooting strongly. A great overwintered crop in a good range of colours. Lots of Echinacea in a good range. A late one to appear but then goes nuts. Currently nicely within the pot! Some lovely Asters, very strong overwintered stock, but quite a while from flowering.

A batch of super strong Sedum Autumn Joy, a great one for the pollinators later in the summer. 

Best wishes from all at Kirton Farm Nurseries.