Hairy and summery

Morning,

Steamy day today with warm temperatures and high humidity. The promised return of summer looks like being a short lived affair which is fine by me. Next week looks ok in the south with some more settled weather after another damp and breezy weekend. The farm are desperate for a run of better weather so they can get a decent run at the harvest. So far they have been chipping away at it between the rain and showers so aren't catastrophically behind with about 35% cleared, but this time last year they were all but finished. A run of 5 or 6 days dry warm and breezy would make all the difference so fingers crossed it all happens next week.

The news on the economy looks a bit uninspiring and I'm thankful that we seem to be doing better than most other ecomonic sectors with demand remaining strong assuming the weather is with us. Our production volumes and sales have increased marginally this year which considering the long cool spring during our main sales period, is a great result. It is probably a good thing the weather wasn't too much better otherwise we may have run short of stock even earlier and that always adds another layer of stress as a plant supplier as we can't just instantly produce more plants to sell. I am told by the accountant types that to sell out is the best thing for a business, but I can't help feeling guilty about not being able to satisfy customer demand and letting you down by not having a list bursting with range and colour! I wonder sometimes if I really have what it takes to be a master businessman, I am lacking in that killer instinct!

We had the electricians here for 4 days this week and made some progress although we are still not properly set up on the rainwater recycling front. We managed to pump a few cubic meters of water from the new sump into the new storage tank but were unable to get it to run automatically. We had been told it was all set up to work so another visit is being arranged to fettle the last bits and get it running. Par for the course so not too disappointed.

So many people on holiday and ill at the moment resulting in the potting machine not being as busy as it should have been. I can see the days shortening and the growing season slipping away I just want to get it all in a pot asap so it makes a mega plant by next spring. Must try not to panic, I know we are a few weeks ahead of recent years production but with slightly higher volumes in the pipeline for the coming season we still have a bit of sprinting to do. It is very tempting to take your foot off the pedal as sales slow a bit and the tunnels fill up, but every week earlier the stock is potted in the summer is worth 3 weeks growth in October hence the rush to get it done.

Hopefully the England women footballers are on the ball tomorrow and they put on a good show. Shame about the netball team who did brilliantly reaching their world cup final. Good job it's not the result that counts but the way you play the game!

Availability list.

The available range is steadying as sales slow a bit and extra potting volumes work their way through the system. Numbers available are still a bit limited on some lines as batch sizes tend to be smaller at this time of year but with reduced demand the pressure isn't quite so manic.

There are now a few more buds showing up and there are still more new lines growing nicely which will appear on the lists fairly soon. Our list constantly develops over the season so it's always worth just keeping an eye out for the new appearances.

Wooden box collections

Don't forget that all our wooden boxes are the property of Kirton Farm Nurseries so will need to be returned at some point. It will take us a while to get round everyone, but if you have any of our wooden boxes ready to return and aren't expecting to order anytime soon, then please do drop us an email and let us know. A rough idea of numbers might be handy but not essential. We will get to you as soon as we have a vehicle with space in your area. Thanks

Take care out there,

from all at Kirton Farm Nurseries.