Hairy pruning

Hi

December already and it's seasonal festivities all around us. I hope whatever Christmas chaos you are organising this year is going as planned, it can be a stressful time for many, it's not all fun and games. Luckily for us, with very limited Christmas fare to sell, the biggest stress is finding a suitable Secret Santa gift to open at the Christmas lunch in a couple of weeks. Even at this time of year there still seems to be lots going on. We had the tree surgeons in all this week, cutting back our Poplar and Leylandii windbreaks and it is turning out to be a mammoth job. A high reach cherry picker means there is no climbing involved, but when you see how high it is working at you realise just how out of hand the shelter belts had become. The difference it has made has surprised us all, there is masses more light coming into the tunnels close by and the whole site suddenly looks less dominated by overhanging tree growth. It almost looks like we have regained control of the site! I can actually see the horizon from the office which probably hasn't happened for 25 years. They are back for at least another two days next week when we have a big 'grab and cut' machine and a bigger chipper which should cope better with the larger trees closer to the road. We are saving all the chippings for mulching around the nursery site to help keep herbicide use to a minimum. I suspect we may need them another few days later in the winter, to finish off this year's trim and them back again next year for phase two of this hedge and tree management reshuffle. I had been thinking that the return against cost for this project was going to be all negative, but now I have seen all the extra light in the tunnels we are going greatly to improve plant growth in those areas and not have to leave blocks unused because they only suited a few shade lovers. It's always nice to justify those big expenses one way or another.

Preparations for next year's sales are bowling along. A new batch of wooden box parts has been delivered and construction on another 1,500 boxes is underway. This should give us plenty of stock to cover a few damage losses and the extra customers we may have picked up for 2024. At about £10 each it's another big outlay, but we get an average of nearly 4 uses a year from each one and they are lasting 8+ years, so they are still good value and of course they avoid the use of those single use plastic trays and give you zero waste to dispose of.

We are now back up to a full pack of working vans after the oldest received a whole new reconditioned engine, clutch and coolant system. Not cheap but the van was otherwise in great condition and it was a lot cheaper than a new one and will be a great back up vehicle. New bank manager came for a visit this week, to have a look at what we were up to and review our bank facilities for the year. These annual visits used to make me quite anxious, but luckily I think I've got the hang of it now. We are in such a better position now than we were ten years ago, which helps a lot. Luckily he was quite into environmental business development, so we pressed a lot of the right buttons and he went away happy enough.

Slightly sad week with one of our hard working Polish ladies heading off into retirement and back to Poland to look after some of her grandchildren. She had been with us for over 13 years so it was quite emotional for us all, but on the plus side she did leave us all with a mountain of Polish cakes to get through. She was a fantastic cook and we will miss her, not just for the cakes.

Prices for 2024

The last couple of years have seen some explosive cost increases in the after affects of the pandemic, the ongoing conflict in Ukraine and now Gaza. We were forced over that time to increase our prices by more than ever before, but still below the inflation rate and definitely well below the rate at which our own costs have risen. However, improved efficiencies, reduced waste and increased output do appear to have made up some of the difference and kept margins workable. Labour remains by far our biggest cost and wage rates rose significantly this year and will be rising by even more in 2024, but we are hoping other costs are beginning to settle down and are not rising quite as quickly.

There will be a price rise at the end of the year, but we are keeping it to 4%, at 10p per pot.

Availability list.

Cyclamen coum pink and white forms are already on the list and showing the flower and bud. These will usually flower from October through until well into Spring, with a tasteful sprinkling of flowers rather than being drowned in them. 

There are already a few flowers on the Helleborus niger varieties so Santa can't be far away! New varieties of H. orientalis for us are Halcyon Early Dark Red and Halcyon White Spotted which have both surprised us by showing a few buds already, especially now the white one. Both are intended to be quicker flowering varieties, whereas some of the others can be a bit shy until their second season.

A few of the spring bulbs are starting to poke through now and Erysimum's are already looking perky with bud showing on some. A can't believe I'm thinking Spring is on its way.

Take care out there,  from all at Kirton Farm Nurseries.