Hairy scrap

Hi,

That was a really cold snap, we have just about managed to keep going but there have been a few rosy cheeked plant tidiers by the end of each session. The big log burner in despatch has been a great focal point for huddling around at coffee and lunch but it then becomes a wrench to leave it!

We found a few more vigorous jobs for some of the energetic crew like carting and spreading the wood chip piles created by the tree surgeons when the windbreaks were walloped. It makes a great weed suppressant mulch and is being liberally applied. Should reduce the need to spray off the weeds in the summer which if we don't control them around the tunnels will quickly contaminate the crops.

Greg has also got stuck into our scrap metal heap around the back of the barn which has tidied the area up no end. We have a new waste company we are using and they have supplied a skip specifically for scrap metals, which we have now nearly filled. We pay for the skip delivery but should get more than that back when they pay us the scrap value once it has been sorted and assessed. Fingers crossed. It can be a bit bulky to pack so we have cut up most of it so get as much in as we can. The pile has been building for years, so I suspect the next one will only need to be a small one The new company are going to take a lot more materials from us for recycling which very much seems to be their passion. It certainly ticked our boxes.

I ordered all the bio-control predators this week, spread across the whole growing season from March to October and introduced on a three weekly cycle, 12 different bugs will get released to chase their various target pests. At times it seems a bit of a dark art as we spend thousands of pounds on these little critters and then just let them go, never to be seen again. The proof of the pudding is whether we see many pests and to be fair we do usually get pretty good overall control. Red spider mites, other mites and whitefly are exceptionally well controlled but there are always a few sporadic concentrated outbreaks or particular pests that aren't tasty enough to attract a predator. Then we need to spot treat them with a back up remedy. We can apply a targeted application of lacewing larvae which are voracious feeders, eating just about anything with legs including slow moving staff, apply a bio-based plant tonic, stimulant or protective spray and as a last resort knock them back with a pesticide. We don't have to resort to chemicals very often now, which is just as well as they are becoming so heavily controlled that permissions to use them are few and far between.

Today we had our first NBIS (Nursery Business Improvement Scheme) meeting for a whole year after we seem to fall off the HTA radar for setting it all up. We had an excellent tour of Patrick Fairweather's liner nursery followed by loads of information exchange, better known as nursery gossip, and promises that the HTA aim is to build the NBIS groups up again to a national level organisation and get some young blood involved. I still find every meeting inspirational from either the personal support freely given or the tit bits of knowledge that you can take away and instantly make your nursery better.

CC Trolley Shelf repair quota deadline for this year.

For a little while now I have posted information on my weekly Mailchimp email distribution to, in theory, make it easy to transfer any of your unused CC trolley repair quota to us, so we can try and clear the large number of broken trolley shelves we have accumulated over the year. Please do check it out if you think you or your organisation might be able to help.

I now have a deadline for this year's exchange to be completed by the 24th of January, although even if you miss this date we can start collecting quota for next time. Thanks.

Prices for 2024

The last couple of years have seen some explosive cost increases. Labour remains by far our biggest cost and wage rates rose significantly in 2023 and will rise another 10% in 2024, but we are hopeful that other costs are beginning to settle down and are not rising quite as quickly. However there will be a price rise for 2024, but we are keeping it to 4%, at 10p per pot. 

Availability list.

Cyclamen coum are already on the list and showing 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 flowers on most of the Helleborus niger varieties, although H. praecox tends to be slightly later than the others. 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 the white one.

A few of the spring bulbs are starting to poke through now with both forms of the petticoat daffodil (Narsicus bulbocodium) already showing well. Ipheium foliage is also showing well although flowers will be a little way off yet.

Erysimum's are already looking perky with bud showing on many. A can't believe I'm thinking Spring is on its way. Pulmonaria are putting on a little spurt of fresh growth and buds are coming into view.

Sown from self collected seed from our wood on top of the hill the wild Primula vulgaris are showing their first flowers. 

Best wishes from all at Kirton Farm Nurseries.