Hairy trolley

Hi

Another week closer to the big day and despite it only being the 8th Caroline tells me we only have one more full week before people start disappearing on their festive breaks. With a few taking the week after New Year off too, it looks like productivity might take a dip over nearly three weeks, which brings forward the Spring all of a sudden, and I can see us running out of time to get those winter chores done. To be fair I'm not panicking too much, this is a great time for a break for everyone, recharging the batteries and using a fair dollop of their annual holiday up before we start getting really busy again.

We had another couple of days tree cutting this week with a massive cutting machine on site which held the tallest poplars with a grab while it cut the trunk below. It held the tree top up after cutting and carefully lowered it to the ground it a neat stack ready for chipping the following day. All over in a flash. Next day a monster chipper came in to devour the remains, chewing up the trees whole, leaving piles for us to spread around the nursery as part of the weed control efforts.

Just a couple more days to go I hope, A bit of levelling and neatening of this week's cuts and a long laurel hedge to get back under control. That should clear the last of the light depriving foliage while leaving us enough cover for wind protection and predator sanctuary.

I am hoping I have made a big step forward on the monitoring of our Net Zero carbon project. We have already done a lot of work reducing carbon use since we started monitoring energy use back in 2009, but have recently come up against a bit of a brick wall when trying to plot a way to get to Net Zero. The main issue is the calculating of our 'Scope 3' carbon use. Scope 3 mostly covers all the goods and services we buy into the business, they take a lot of calculating, if you can find the data to work it out, and it usually accounts for the vast majority of carbon use within a business. The other problem is that you don't do this calculation once, you need to do it continually so you can track your progress. The thought of compiling all this data on a regular basis is daunting, even if you found a way of doing for the first time, and a big downside is that it won't necessarily improve business profitability, it would probably make it worse. There are companies and software out there who are trying to help (at a cost) but very little up to now offering a practical cheap and relevant solution.

Most calculations are done using generic carbon values for different categories of input, based on the total costs. Values are a bit vague at the moment but you have to start somewhere, and you can improve accuracy as you progress over time. The simple answer is to tie the carbon calculation directly into your accounts software and this is what Sage are doing with a new product called Sage Earth. It isn't yet fully launched for all their accounts packages but it is available on some. On entering your accounts data it will constantly update your carbon calculations and at only about £10 a month looks like a bargain solution. We are in the process of signing up as part of an 'early user' scheme so I suspect we will have a few teething issues to contend with, but at least they look like they are coming up with a very practical solution.

Back on a more physical level, my other project this week has been to come up with a super lightweight plant trolley that will carry 3 trays with minimal effort. I have looked around for years for something, but every trolley I bought has weighed a ton. So I hit the internet and put together a bike trailer, a couple of bits of aluminium, a lot of PVC water pipe with fittings, and a bit of galvanised mesh and came up with a winner, I think. Just hoping it performs better than my cardboard ski's I made as a kid, which worked so well on the carpet! 

Prices for 2024

The last couple of years have seen some explosive cost increases and we were forced over that time to increase our prices by more than ever before, although 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 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 rise 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.

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.