Dry and hairy

Hi

Please can we have a bit of rain? A night time shower or two would be great, it's getting really dusty here, especially with this mean wind we've had over the past few days. I'm not complaining really, it's a relief to see a good run of weather and a good start to spring gardening sales. Things have been building up over the last few weeks and this week saw a very busy schedule of deliveries. Not a great time to start the week two vans down, but things did come together nicely with the return of one on Monday evening so we did manage to get all the way round by the end of the week.

The one van remains in intensive care, we are hoping for a donation DPF filter to make up for the faulty one put in 6 months ago, but we are in the dark at the moment about the likely outcome. We might be down to the hire centre next week if things don't come together, but hey ho worse things happen.

I have had to succumb to Saturday potting overtime which I had been hoping to avoid. The build up of potting compost, young plants and available production space is just too tempting not to fill. The young plants will romp away given a chance and if we don't get it done now we could miss the boat. I will try and keep it down to just a few this year, honest.

One sad reason we shouldn't need too many Saturday potting sessions is that we are having to close our Micropropagation lab in a couple of months and we have offered jobs to all four staff out on the nursery, so we will have all those extra hours to use getting everything shipshape, up to date and potted before Saturday. We ran it for over 30 years and were really good at it, but with 70% of the inputs being labour, the competition from Asia and South America was just too strong for us. Their labour rates are a tiny fraction of ours and our rates have been going up, quite understandably, very quickly, so we just couldn't compete.

It does allow us to concentrate on the hairy pots, more so there is a silver lining in there somewhere. 

Availability list.

We have hit our 'hungry patch' with the herbs. The overwintered range is dwindling a bit as we run out of a few lines. Demand has been high and there were a few losses, some we are waiting to freshen up after the wet cold winter, and some of the newer stock is waiting to get big enough to sell. We still have fair volumes of those still on the list and given a couple more weeks fresh stock will be reappearing to expand the list again, so please bear with us through what is a frustrating period. It's a price we pay for not overprotecting our stock overwinter, those that survive are nice and tough but, depending on the winter, both growth and demand can be variable.

A surprise bonus this week and slightly out of the usual flowering schedule. The stunning little bright yellow petticoat narcissus (Narcissus bulbocodium Conspicuus) has suddenly produced a mass of buds with the odd flower opening. We must have had a specially prepared batch as they usually flower much earlier than this, but I'm not complaining they are a stunner. Get them while they last I don't have very many in stock.

A few more varieties have started to bud now in all this sunshine! A couple of Geraniums, Leucanthemum and the first of the Camassia, more will be following on very soon. Polemonium Heaven Scent are showing bud and a bit of colour.

Plenty of bud and colour on the Erysimums. Bowles Mauve, Florange and Fragrant Sunshine, are the latest to open up. All the Bergenia varieties have come into bud and flower. Strong bushy plants with colour now showing. Multiple chunky flower heads on the Diamond Drops. Yellow nodding flower heads of Euphorbia robbiae are doing their thing.

Centaurea Amethyst in Snow are showing their first buds already. Lots more to come as they get bigger, but now is the best time, before they get out of hand! Pulmonaria varieties are now in bud and flower, the pale blue Opal looks lovely and Majeste is coming into its best. Not many left, don't miss out.

Brunnera mac. Variegata are looking smart, still quite tight in growth with blue flower buds now in sight. The straight green form, B. macculata, is nicely though and buds have appeared with the first few leaves. It must be spring as the Dicentra spectabilis have made an appearance. Buds are there too.

Our Alliums are grown without heat, so exposed to frost and nicely toughened. Purple Sensation, cristophii, Ostara are all showing well with Ostara looking very smart. This week there is a newcomer on the list, a newer later variety to us (karataviense) which looks like a winner.

The first tight buds are appearing on some of the Salvia nemerosa types and many of the Scabious. Ipheion uniflorum is following on from the white form which has now all gone, The pale blue buds are just beginning to show, we have to look quite hard, but they will very quickly lengthen and open and more will follow. There are still plenty of Wild Primrose (P. vulgaris) looking and smelling great, in bud and flower with still more to follow. 

Take care, from all at Kirton Farm Nurseries.

Hairy prospects

Hi.

Looks like a very busy week coming up. Weather prospects for the next 10 days are very promising so that momentum that seems to have been building up is set to continue. We've had a couple of showery breaks of a few hours which has freshened the surroundings nicely, let's hope it keeps up. Now the panic is on as to whether we can keep up with the potting. A busy despatch with some more late orders meant we were distracted from the machine on Thursday although we had a good run today. Plenty of stock of most lines at the moment so not too worried but I like to be well ahead on production to back up the later sales.

Naturally as the season gets properly underway the vans return to their challenging behaviours. Two off the road at the moment, one because of a faulty Diesel Particulate Filter that was replaced last summer at a cost of nearly £5,000 which has split in two after just 9,000 miles, the last one was 160,000 miles old. Investigations are taking place but it has been off the road since Monday with no sign of a return. The other went back to the main dealer for a warranty repair to replace one of the clutch pedal return springs which snapped. After a two week delay in taking it in and two days in the workshop, plus several calls to enquire on progress, no joy. The mechanic reported back that he couldn't replicate the fault! On explaining yet again that it just needed a replacement spring fitting they are looking into it again. They will try again on Monday! Fingers crossed it gets back to us, it looks like we will need it next week.

Despite how busy it has been, I managed to slip away to Kernock Plants near Plymouth on Thursday for a nursery tour and meeting of the newly revamped Nursery Business Improvement Scheme group. I think there were 14 participants with lots of new enthusiastic faces, all very eager to learn from each other. Delicious cream tea on arrival and a trip round the site to look at all their new kit. There were several new robots in position, a couple picking up and sticking cuttings into trays and another grading plants that were already established. It was very impressive and way beyond our level of investment, these things were very very expensive, but they were obviously doing a great job and at a very productive speed. This is the sort of investment that is going to be needed I suppose if we are to keep the costs of plant production down, more automation and fewer people. It will be back to primitive reality for the newbies in the group as they visit us in August for the next meeting. I have pre-warned them to expect something a bit different!

If you have an electric car, you can get it road taxed now while it is free. It goes up on 1st April. You can do it even if it's not due now and you will get 12 months from today for free. That was one simple tip I picked up.

Availability list.

Aubretia are colouring up beautifully now with both colours looking very smart. Polemonium Heaven Scent are showing bud. Attractive bronzed foliage looking good under the arching flower stems.. Pretty little Viola labridorica are breaking into tight purple growth with lots of bud on the way.

Plenty of bud and colour on the Erysimums. Florange and Fragrant Sunshine are the latest to open up to show colour but the others are showing plenty and attracting attention. They will flower for ages, just remove the older stems and more come.. Most Bergenia varieties have come into bud. Strong bushy plants and chunky buds, with colour now showing. Multiple chunky flower heads in bud on the Diamond Drops.

Yellow nodding flower heads of Euphorbia robbiae are doing their thing. Centaurea Amethyst in Snow are showing their first buds already. Lots more to come as they get bigger, but now is the best time, before they get out of hand! Pulmonaria varieties are now in bud and flower, the pale blue Opal looks lovely and Majeste is coming into its best. Brunnera mac. Variegata are looking smart, still quite tight in growth with blue flower buds now in sight. The straight green form, B. macculata, is nicely though and buds have appeared with the first few leaves.

It must be spring as the Dicentra spectabilis have made an appearance. Buds will be appearing as soon as the stems start to lengthen which could be tomorrow, they are that quick into action. The compact Geum Lemon Drops is producing its first flower stems, pale yellow colour will be quick to follow. Our Allium are grown without heat so exposed to frost and nicely toughened. Purple Sensation, cristophii and Ostara are all showing well with Ostara looking very smart.

The first tight buds are appearing on some of the Salvia nemerosa types and many of the Scabious. Muscari latifolia is showing good colour now, only a few left. Ipheion Albeto Castillo now has multiple buds on show and will quickly push on from there. There are still plenty of Wild Primrose (P. vulgaris) looking and smelling great, in bud and flower with lots more to follow. They are from our own saved seed I collect from the new wood at the top of our field, so properly wild! Primula denticulata are swelling and now protruding well. All three colours are now showing tight short buds. 

Take care, from all at Kirton Farm Nurseries.

Hairy conduit

Hi

Not sure if the weather is coming or going, a few cold days and frosts and then back to sunny and mild. Now raining but hopefully it will only be showers and not spoil the weekend. We could do with a gentle watering, the ground here has got surprisingly dry already.

Despatch here has been a bit like the weather, on and off and then on again. Demand was curtailed by the cold last weekend I think, but the warmer days produced a flurry later in the week so we fitted in a few later deliveries which helped make up the numbers. Do bear in mind that while we will always do our best to accommodate later orders, we are going to struggle to do this in the busiest weeks of the year.

We are already coming to the end of the first batch of potting compost, so we must be getting something done out there despite not yet deferring to the weekend potting teams to keep up. Partly this is of course down to expert management and improving efficiencies, but probably more that we are employing slightly more people over the winter which means we are nicely on top of the overwintering plant maintenance which in turn speeds up despatch and allows a bit more potting time. We are tweaking our potting mix for the next load to include a portion of a slow release organic fertiliser to partly replace the Osmocote we usually use. There will still be Osmocote in the mix but a later releasing type which covers the period when the organic stuff runs short on puff. The new fertiliser is made from a blend of approx 100 different food wastes which are dried, powdered and mixed to specific recipes for different longevities and crops. The waste comes direct from the food factories rather than general waste, so is consistent and reliable in its content and apparently has lots of other benefits running along with the straight nutrient values. It's that holistic approach to growing that is all the rage, more variety in the plants food source has more positive reaction from the plants a bit like lots of variety in our diet does us good too. It will be interesting to see if we spot much difference.

No electrician this week, just the last invoice and some paperwork, what a relief. Now we can turn our attention to getting the solar array fully operational. A pile of electrical kit arrived this week with a load more coming on Monday so positive action should closely follow. The cable conduit is all being laid out next week ready for the solar electrician to work his magic in the following week. We have been busy preparing by erecting posts to take the overhead comms cable from the mains meter shed to the solar array shed (yet to appear), so the meters can control the output within our supply limits, It was all a bit of a worry, as the posts had to be pretty tall to make sure all vehicles can get safely under them, but with the right kit and a little ingenuity they are up and looking great. We even pre-installed the hooks and eyes to fit the cable to the post tops, they could almost be professional!

Availability list.

Aubretia are colouring up now with Kitte Blue looking particularly smart.

Polemonium Heaven Scent and Bressingham Purple are both now showing bud. Both have attractive bronzed foliage although Bressingham Purple is probably a little darker.

Anemone blanda Blue Shades have emerged despite the cold and buds are colouring up already.

Most Bergenia varieties have come into bud. Strong bushy plants and chunky buds, with colour just showing. Yellow nodding flower heads of Euphorbia robbiae are doing their thing.

Pulmonaria varieties are now in bud, the pale blue Opal looks lovely at the moment and Majeste is coming into its best. Brunnera mac. Variegata are looking smart, still quite tight in growth but blue flower buds will appear very soon. The straight green form, B. macculata, is now poking though and buds have appeared with the first few leaves.

Centaurea Amethyst Dream are showing their first buds already. Lots more to come as they get bigger, but now is the best

time, before they get out of hand!

It must be spring as the Dicentra spectabilis have made an appearance. Buds will be appearing as soon as the stems start to lengthen which could be tomorrow, they are that quick into action.

The compact Geum Lemon Drops is producing its first flower stems, pale yellow colour will be quick to follow

Allium Purple Rain is the earliest of our larger Alliums to make an appearance and is looking really smart. They are grown without heat so exposed to frost and nicely toughened. Purple Sensation and Ostara are now up too, but not quite as much. Pretty little Viola labridorica are breaking into tight purple growth with lots of bud on the way.

Muscari latifolia is showing colour now.

Ipheion Albeto Castillo now has multiple buds on show and will quickly push on from there.

There are now plenty of Wild Primrose (P. vulgaris) looking and smelling great, in bud and flower with lots more to follow. They are from our own saved seed I collect from the new wood at the top of our field, so properly wild! Primula denticulata are swelling and now protruding well. All three colours are now showing tight short buds. 

Take care, from all at Kirton Farm Nurseries.