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.