Hairy adventures

Hi. 

I’m sorry this is a day late this week, both Caroline and I had an afternoon trip to the London Barbican Centre on Thursday, for the HTA Grower of the Year awards dinner. We went up by train and didn’t get back into bed until 2.00 in the morning, so if I’m making even less sense than usual that will be the reason.

I was going to jump straight in and get this out this morning, but the sun was out with no wind, so we had to down tools and get one of the tunnels reclad. On top of this I had a visit from one of our waste providers who showed so much interest in our waste streams, production and marketing I had to do a quick tour. It is always nice to see people surprised at the effort we go to in order to get things right, on the design of our products and the organisation of the workplace. 

Then there was a lengthy call with NFU Energy who I had asked for advice from a couple of weeks ago about how we could reduce our ever-increasing standing charges on the electric supply. It’s all go. 

Our London trip was a big adventure (I don’t get out much) with trains, the Underground, street walking through the city during evening rush hour, a first time Uber experience and the excitement of catching the last train home. It all worked out ok and the dinner was fine, even if we left marginally deflated. 

We did receive a lovely card certificate saying we were ‘Highly Commended’ in the Sustainability Initiative category, but we missed out on the big prize to Allensmore who did really well sweeping the board over the evening, winning several categories as-well as overall Grower of the Year. 

I’m not sure if we missed something in the small print, but the judging was apparently based on a rather limiting application form, rather than a more in-depth investigation or a visit to the nursery, It’s a shame because a visit here usually confirms our mad obsession with all things sustainable whether big or small, and introduces lots of innovative solutions we have had to come up with to solve problems along the way.

Hey-ho, live and learn.  We did however have a few other wins over the evening which made all the effort worthwhile. Firstly, we bumped into the ever-young Neil Grant who I was at college with back in the very early 80’s, and who had just been elected Vice President of the HTA, I got to sit next to the delightful Ed Byrne (Irish comedian) for 10 minutes while he waited to compere the evening, and managed to consume two main courses after a couple of people failed to show up. It had been a long time since lunch.

September sales have been buoyant this year, which is quite a relief after a very challenging season. Vans have been trekking all over the country making deliveries and picking up a few boxes too. We will get a bit more into the box collecting next month as sales slide a little and we get a bit more van time and available space. The electric van has been busy again this week, picking up the slack from the newest diesel Fiat which is now closing in on 3 months off the road while it waits for a new engine to be delivered. Apparently, they have a queue of vans at the same dealer all waiting for an engine delivery, so it may be a while longer yet. At least it delays the bill arriving. 

Exciting news from NFU Energy. Apparently OFGEM are looking at adjusting future standing charges to a level which doesn’t over penalise small renewable generators like us. We currently export about 80,000 units a year and only import 4,000, but with the pitiful payments for the exported power, the upcoming massive standing charge increases will more than wipe out our income, which is a massive disincentive to generate power on a modest scale like ours. At present you can have your standing charges set to zero if you export 100% of your power, but not if you use even only a tiny bit of it yourself. The proportion of export at which reduced standing charges apply may well change in the coming months, so we have been advised not to tie ourselves into a fixed cost contract for standing charges, just in case it changes in our favour. Sounds like sensible advice to me, I’m very glad I phoned them to ask. 

Availability list. It’s time for the autumn flowering Cyclamen hederifolium to fly the flag. They are raring to go with verdant growth and already flashing plenty of colour, with lots more bud to come. We had a huge run on these over the last couple of weeks, so there is already a big hole in stock levels. Rose colour is getting low but there are a few more of the eye-popping whites.  Our long flowering Cyclamen coum are also ready, although it is a bit early for them to go into full flowering mode, they are more bountiful in winter and spring, but there are already buds on show for some. We secured earlier batches of seedlings this year, so we have grown these more diminutive beauties to a bigger size, which should help promote more sales.  There are loads of Asters in bud doing there late summer show.  We have a great range of winter flowering Helleborus on sale. Not much flowering activity yet, but they are best planted ahead of the winter to settle in and get ready for their winter/early spring flourish.  Flowering all summer and autumn long, Whirling Butterflies (White) are looking great. There are other Gaura are also in bud. Fresh batches of Echinacea are throwing up healthy growth and flower buds, just in time for a late splash. There are some fantastic short bushy Coreopsis in bud again, ready to make a lovely late summer splash. We still have plenty of summer flowering stock looking very well. A range of different types of Salvia’s, many in bud,  Still plenty of fabulous looking herbs in a wide range to inspire some autumnal cooking adventures. It’s a bit late now for the annual Basils, Coriander and alike, but there are still plenty of perennial varieties raring to go. 

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

Hairy contracts

Hi. 

Sales are still bowling along, for the time of year so still busy getting deliveries completed during the week. We are starting to pick up a few batches of empty boxes from those who have already finished their main sales. We already have a few requests for more collections which we will get round to doing if we can squeeze them on the van along with other orders. We will get round to everyone eventually, but it may be a few weeks before all are completed, please bear with us as we try and organise it as efficiently as we can. 

Lots of juggling at the moment, trying to clear more production space to fit in the last of this year’s potting. We have a couple of machine compost fills left in stock for tomorrow and then it’s back to space clearance for everyone. The final compost delivery should have been here this week but apparently, we are not the only ones to have transport breakdowns! Luckily it wasn’t our load, but it was the vehicle that was due to come to us. They have rescheduled their deliveries, and we are now booked in for Sunday afternoon so we will be ready for a quick start on Monday.  

As we get marginally quieter, one of the jobs to get sorted is to fix the next nursery electricity contract which renews at the end of the year. Not great timing as the short-term electric prices have shot up over the last few months. But luckily with our wind turbines, tilting solar panels and battery storage we only import a fraction of the power we actually use, so it doesn’t have a major impact. However, the ongoing huge rises in standing charges are now hitting us hard. We have been given a number of quotes from our energy broker, they are recommending going for a 24 or 36 month contract to take advantage of an anticipated falling unit price over the whole period. They have also pointed out that there are a few suppliers offering a fixed standing charge price and well as a fixed unit price. This is an interesting offer because most ‘fixed price’ contracts only fix the unit price and they can still increase a large part of the standing charges during the contract as they increase, these are described as ‘pass through’ charges.  

In theory most of the standing charge increases are for upgrading the distribution system which is understandable, but it seems unfair that having invested a lot in small scale renewables we are then charged so much just to have a supply available. It has now got to the point where the standing charges are going to be more than the income and savings we make from our installations. We have been caught out by not putting in mega-sized kit which would earn more from similar standing charge rates. Our standing charge for this year is £5 per day, which was 50% more than the previous year, this will increase again to just over £11 a day if we take the best fixed 36 month offer. Having researched costs through the NFU standing order calculator this looks like a cheap deal! That means our annual bill will be £4,000 standing charge and less than £1,200 for the electric imported. Adding the standing charge into the unit price means we will effectively be paying over £1.20 per unit imported, while we earn 6.5p for each unit exported. After 3 years it could be a borderline decision for us, to actually go off-grid. We have a backup generator to supply us over any periods when we are not covered by the solar, wind and batteries and the loss of income from any exported power would be negligible. I think my brain is going to go pop. 

Availability list. 

It’s time for the autumn flowering Cyclamen hederifolium to fly the flag. They are raring to go with verdant growth and already flashing plenty of colour, with lots more bud to come. We had a huge run on these over the last couple of weeks, so there is already a big hole in stock levels. Rose colour is getting low but there are plenty of eye-popping whites. Don’t hold back! 

Our long flowering Cyclamen coum are also ready, although it is a bit early for them to go into full flowering mode, they are more bountiful in winter and spring, but there are already buds on show for some. We secured earlier batches of seedlings this year, so we have grown these more diminutive beauties to a bigger size, which should help promote more sales.  There are loads of Asters in bud doing there late summer show.  We have a great range of winter flowering Helleborus on sale. Not much flowering activity yet, but they are best planted ahead of the winter to settle in and get ready for their winter/early spring flourish.  We have a charming compact batch of Verbena Lollipop now in bud and colour. Flowering all summer and autumn long, Whirling Butterflies (White) are looking great. There are other Gaura are also in bud. Another later summer range are the mini garden Chrysanthemums which are already showing bud and a spot of colour. Fresh batches of Echinacea are throwing up healthy growth and flower buds, just in time for a late splash. There are some fantastic short bushy Coreopsis in bud again, ready to make a lovely late summer splash. We still have plenty of summer flowering stock looking very well. A range of different types of Salvia’s, many in bud,  We have plenty of Scabiosa in bud, in a range of colours, another long flowering summer star. Still plenty of fabulous looking herbs in a wide range to inspire some autumnal cooking adventures.  It’s a bit late now for the annual Basils, Coriander and alike, but there are still plenty of perennial varieties raring to go. 

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

Hairy livery

Hi. 

There is something strange going on, we are very busy selling plants. I know that is supposed to be our job, but it has been so quiet this year we had forgotten what it was like to be riding a wave of some serious economic activity. It couldn’t be timed better after a very long season of less than steady trading. Rather than fading away into a rising overdraft we are now going out on a flurry of enthusiasm, into a growing overdraft! There is a difference, honest. It wasn’t quite as busy as last week, but still up on last year, and we still had time to clear some more production space and get the potting machine going. Here’s hoping this keeps up for another few weeks, the weather looks to be playing ball for once this year, so fingers crossed.

September is that month in the year when lots of our hard-working staff take a break. Holidays are that bit cheaper as the kids return to school and the temperatures here in the UK are generally still very pleasant. Consequently, we never get quite as much done as I would like, but we all need a break at some point. I’m certainly looking forward to my two weeks in St Ives this November. Surfs Up. Ok, perhaps Grubs Up would be more accurate. 

Lots of van activity this week. H8 our newest Fiat that died 2 months ago, has been moving around the yard at the garage as we keep an eye on its tracker, but we have now been told they are still awaiting delivery of the replacement engine, so don’t get our hopes up for a quick return! We are hoping the electric Renault will be a lot more reliable, it has certainly pleased us so far, despite having to do quite a lot of research to locate the charging stations that can accommodate a van of our size. The newer larger installations are usually fine, but some older ones are hopeless. Both the new Renault van and our 7.5 tonner both received a dramatic facelift this week with the application of a new livery. 

The design has taken weeks of tweaking to get it how we wanted and overall, we are pleased with the results. Advertising wise, isn’t going to change the world, but it adds another level of professionalism and identity into the presentation of our stock as it arrives. Not only that but you can now see it coming and get the kettle on! We may well apply this look to a couple of the others, if we think they will stay roadworthy long enough. 

All three wind turbines are going again after a full service and a couple of oil seal replacements. The team from Natural Energy are brilliant, so knowledgeable about the model of turbine we have and very proactive with hands-on practical advice whenever something goes wrong, which to be fair isn’t very often. They come and service all three in a day, once a year, with very detailed reports on the condition and likely replacement timing of all the wearing parts. We are on a fairly placid site compared with some, we are windy but not too wild, so quite often they will delay replacing parts if the wear looks minimal. I appreciate professionals who do things when they need doing and not just because the computer says YES.  

The young folk here have put together a short feedback form which I am going to attach to the next couple of weeks emails, feel free to let them know your thoughts, they are very keen to hear from you all.  

Social media updates To find our Instagram content try our username @thehairypotplantcompany  or use the link below; https://www.instagram.com/thehairypotplantcompany?igsh=MXhhMGxhcjgzNGYydA%3D%3D&utm_source=qr 

Availability list. 

It’s time for the autumn flowering Cyclamen hederifolium to fly the flag. They are raring to go with verdant growth and already flashing plenty of colour, with lots more bud to come. We had a huge run on these over the last couple of weeks, so there is already a big hole in stock levels. Rose colour is getting low but there are plenty of eye-popping whites. Don’t hold back! Our long flowering Cyclamen coum are also ready, although it is a bit early for them to go into full flowering mode, they are more bountiful in winter and spring, but there are already buds on show for some. We secured earlier batches of seedlings this year, so we have grown these more diminutive beauties to a bigger size, which should help promote more sales.  There are loads of Asters in bud doing there late summer show.  We have a charming compact batch of Verbena Lollipop now in bud and colour. Flowering all summer and autumn long, Whirling Butterflies (White) are looking great. There are other Gaura are also in bud. Another later summer range are the mini garden Chrysanthemums which are already showing bud and a spot of colour. Fresh batches of Echinacea are throwing up healthy growth and flower buds, just in time for a late splash. We have a very compact batch of Achillea Milly Rock Terracotta in bud. There are some fantastic short bushy Coreopsis in bud again, ready to make a lovely late summer splash. We still have plenty of summer flowering stock looking very well. A range of different types of Salvia’s, many in bud,  We have plenty of Scabiosa in bud, in a range of colours, another long flowering summer star. Still plenty of fabulous looking herbs in a wide range to inspire some autumnal cooking adventures. It’s a bit late now for the annual Basils, Coriander and alike, but there are still plenty of perennial varieties raring to go. Take care out there. 

From all at Kirton Farm Nurseries. 

Hairy finalists

Hi. 

That was a crazy week with all production plans going out of the window. So much for finishing the potting early this year, we were so busy putting orders together we haven’t looked at any other work. Only having four days in the week gets us off to a busy start anyway, but sales volumes were huge for the time of year, demanding the attendance of all available drivers and usable vans, and smashing all previous September weekly records. Sadly, it won’t rescue a very difficult season, but it does make you feel there is hope out there. Fingers crossed all the gardeners out there pitch up with their credit cards and do a bit of spending with you all! 

With no potting done so far this week and an extra batch of compost ordered to come with our peat-free spring bulb mix, I suspect I may have spoken too soon in predicting an early finish. The Erysimum and Aubrietia young plants should be the last arrivals for potting at the end of the month, and with luck we should still get the rest completed before they arrive. The couple of weeks I had put aside for tunnel recovering will now have to run alongside the updated potting demands. I had a scout around this week and found six covers damaged beyond repair and ordered up the replacement sheets. That hurt, I certainly don’t remember them being that much when I bought last years, mind you we only replaced three last year. Generally, they last us between 7 and 10 years so they are still cheap when broken down to the annual cost, and a gang of four can usually remove and replace two in a day given the right sunny, warm and still weather. There is a general rule here that applies whenever we cover our tunnels, it’s always beautifully still until the moment you unroll the sheet and then out of nowhere the wind erupts, adding an extra element of excitement to the whole job. One breath at the wrong moment, the sheet catches on something and snags. What fun. 

Exciting news arrived this week, that we are a finalist in the HTA Grower of the Year Awards, unsurprisingly in the Sustainability section. We are invited to attend the presentation dinner & ceremony at the Barbican Centre on September 24th (after the HTA conference), so having booked a train seat and a ticket, we may see some of you there! Lots on next week, with turbine repairs and servicing, possibly the return of the broken-down Fiat which has been missing for two months, and some stickers to put on a couple of the vans. Watch out next week for a new look to a couple of the vans! 

Over the bank holiday weekend, I went up the hill with my hedge trimming kit to clear around the turbine bases to allow easier access for the climbing turbine engineers and took my binoculars with me after a tip-off from Caroline that here maybe something exciting to see, A first for me, a flock of Yellow Wagtails, gathering for their return to sub-Saharan Africa, feeding on the bugs left on the rape stubble. Ace. 

The young folk here have put together a short feedback form which I am going to attach to the next couple of weeks emails, feel free to let them know your thoughts, they are very keen to hear from you all.  

Social media updates To find our Instagram content try our username @thehairypotplantcompany  or use the link below; https://www.instagram.com/thehairypotplantcompany?igsh=MXhhMGxhcjgzNGYydA%3D%3D&utm_source=qr 

Availability list. 

It’s time for the autumn flowering Cyclamen hederifolium to fly the flag. They are raring to go with verdant growth and already flashing plenty of colour, with lots more bud to come. We had a huge run on these last week, so there is already a big hole in stock levels. Don’t hold back! Our long flowering Cyclamen coum are also ready, although it is a bit early for them to go into full flowering mode, they are more bountiful in winter and spring, but there is already the odd bud on show. We secured earlier batches of seedlings this year, so we have grown these more diminutive beauties to a bigger size, which should help promote more sales.  There are several Asters in bud doing there late summer show.  We have a charming compact batch of Verbena Lollipop now in bud. Flowering all summer and autumn long, Whirling Butterflies (White) are looking great. Another later summer range are the mini garden Chrysanthemums which are already showing early tight bud. Fresh batches of Echinacea are throwing up healthy growth and flower buds, just in time for a late splash. We have a very compact batch of Achillea Milly Rock Terracotta. There are some fantastic short bushy Coreopsis in bud again, ready to make a lovely late summer splash. We still have plenty of summer flowering stock looking very well. A range of different types of Salvia’s, many in bud, Osteospermum Tresco Purple, just a few colourful Bidens and Penstemon Garnet. We have plenty of Scabiosa in bud in a range of colours, another long flowering summer star. 

Still plenty of fabulous looking herbs in a wide range to inspire some autumnal cooking adventures. It’s a bit late now for the annual Basils, Coriander and alike, but there are still plenty of perennial varieties raring to go. 

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

Hairy hacking

Hi. 

So far, we have missed out on the thunderstorms and rain, with just a couple of short showers overnight to dampen down the dust. The forecast is for more over the coming days, so fingers crossed it doesn’t skirt around us as it did last night. Sales are still frustratingly slow after all the heat and hosepipe bans stifled summer activity. Thankfully those customers that have taken a bit of a punt and restocked with some fresh verdant Hairy Pot stock seem to be reaping the rewards, as we are seeing a lot of reordering after the initial inputs, which is encouraging. 

Production on the nursery is bowling along as we rush to get the stock potted as quickly as we can, trying to make the most of the last of the longer days and high light levels. With some crops it makes a huge difference to the eventual plant size and overwintering success, so it does add a bit more unneeded stress as the evenings draw in and morning condensation levels rise. We usually end up finishing the potting of the main crops at the end of September, but I’m hoping this year we will be a couple of weeks ahead. Great for plant growth and more time for us to catch up on the desperately needed tunnel covering.

I have been extending the nursery Wi-Fi range today as we try to get our tech use a bit more mobile around the site. Being able to update the main computer while on the move will be very useful and save a lot of double handling of information. We also need better comms networks so that the EV chargers and the solar panels can access the internet to work more efficiently and be controlled remotely. I do get a bit nervous about all this access to the internet, with all the AI developments and hacking going on. It does look a little scary out there sometimes when you hear what AI is getting up to, apparently with little overall control. I suppose we have to trust that the experts know what they are doing. What could possibly go wrong?  

Our brilliant year took another wrong turn this week when one of the wind turbines blew an oil seal. In the 15 years we have had them this was a first, but a fairly messy first. Caroline spotted it on her morning rounds, the turbine was still working and sounding fine, but the top of the mast was glistening with lots of dark coloured splashes of oil. Luckily, they don’t hold much volume as it is only lubricating the small gear box, so there isn’t any sign of it on the ground, it is all on the upper mast and ladder. It will be a messy clean up but apparently it does happen and the engineers know what they are doing. New seals and a service on all three turbines in a couple of weeks’ time, meanwhile we are one turbine down. 

The young folk here have put together a short feedback form which I am going to attach to the next couple of weeks emails, feel free to let them know your thoughts, they are very keen to hear from you all.  

Social media updates To find our Instagram content try our username @thehairypotplantcompany  or use the link below; https://www.instagram.com/thehairypotplantcompany?igsh=MXhhMGxhcjgzNGYydA%3D%3D&utm_source=qr 

Availability list. 

It’s time for the autumn flowering Cyclamen hederifolium to fly the flag. They are raring to go with verdant growth and already flashing plenty of colour, with lots more bud to come. We have a rose form and a white, both look good although the rose is currently slightly chunkier. We sold out of these very early last year, so I’ve potted a few extra this time. Don’t hold back! Our very long flowering Cyclamen coum are also now ready to go, although it is a bit early for them to go into full flower mode, they are more bountiful in winter and spring, but there will be the odd one show its face earlier with a fair wind. We managed to secure earlier batches of seedlings this year, so we have grown these fairly diminutive beauties to a bigger size than previously, which should help promote more sales.  We have a lovely compact batch of Verbena Lollipop now in bud. Flowering all summer long, the Gaura Rosy Jane (bicolour) and Whirling Butterflies (White) are looking great. Brightly coloured Helenium Hayday is available in multiple colours. It is very compact in its first year but really comes into its own in year two with absolutely masses of long-lasting flowers on taller sturdy stems. A class act in the garden border. Another later summer range are the mini garden Chrysanthemums which are already showing early tight bud. Fresh batches of Echinacea are throwing up healthy growth and flower buds, just in time for a late splash. Platycodon are looking great, with colour and plenty of bud. We have some very compact batches of Achillea Milly Rock Terracotta and Red.  The last couple of batches of Veronica Anniversary Blue and Anniversary Rose were given a Chelsea Chop and have come back with a flourish showing loads of fresh bud. There are some fantastic short bushy Coreopsis in bud again, ready to make a lovely late summer splash. Small and compact the Lewisia Elise have plenty of bud already and will flower all summer long. There are several Asters in bud doing there late summer show.  We still have plenty of summer flowering stock looking very well. A range of different types of Salvia’s, many in bud, Osteospermum Tresco Purple, colourful Bidens and Penstemon Garnet. We have plenty of Scabiosa in bud in a range of colours, another long flowering summer star. 

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

Hairy transport

Hi. 

Just a quick splurge this week as there seems to be so much stock out there currently in bud or flower that I am supposed to be promoting! The plants have already reacted very positively to the cooler weather, as have the rest of us. We have yet to see any significant rainfall here, just one overnight spell of light rain that did manage to create the odd short-lived puddle. Fingers crossed the forecast is right and we are going to get to see some more over the next couple of weeks, even if it does turn out to be a slightly damp Bank Holiday weekend. 

If we are going to recover any late summer/autumn sales we need the ground to be more receptive to being worked and accepting some new exciting plants. This week has been a tricky one to navigate with a positive hat on. On the plus side, on the vehicle front, we have finalised the new van livery design which we were planning on applying to our three vans with plenty of mileage still left in them. It has taken several weeks, and the designer has thankfully been very patient with us, now it’s a matter of cleaning, printing and sticking, all of which is being done by a specialist so hopefully it will all be straight and not too lumpy. 

The downside was the news on Tuesday that the newest Fiat, at two and a half years old, needs a new engine, turbo, oil pump and cambelt after some sort of catastrophic sequence of events involving a failed £50 oil pump. Initially the breakdown which happened 2 months ago was put down to a burnt-out starter motor as it just stopped at a roundabout and refused to restart. We now end up with a £15,000+ bill and we still haven’t got it back. The three-year warrantee period still had 6 months to run but we had gone 11,000 miles over the 100,000 warrantee limit, so absolutely no help from Fiat, not even a gesture of goodwill. I can think of a gesture or two I would like to make to Fiat, but I think not buying another one is about as far as I can go. This model was the one they didn’t put a dipstick in, other than the one behind the steering wheel, it relies on a sensor which sometimes works but more infuriatingly doesn’t react for hours when you top it up. 

The young folk here have put together a short feedback form which I am going to attach to the next couple of weeks emails, feel free to let them know your thoughts, they are very keen to hear from you all. 

Social media updates To find our Instagram content try our username @thehairypotplantcompany  or use the link below; https://www.instagram.com/thehairypotplantcompany?igsh=MXhhMGxhcjgzNGYydA%3D%3D&utm_source=qr 

Availability list. 

It’s time for the autumn flowering Cyclamen hederifolium to fly the flag. They are raring to go with verdant growth and already flashing colour, with plenty more bud to come. We have a rose form and a white, both look good although the rose is currently slightly chunkier. We sold out of these very early last year, so I’ve potted a few extra this time. Don’t hold back! We have a lovely compact batch of Verbena Lollipop now in bud. A couple of new lines for us this summer are Liriope Big Blue and Monroe White, both now showing a few buds. Just in case you haven’t had enough sunshine this summer, our summery yellow Kniphofia citrina is budding up nicely. Flowering all summer long, the Gaura Rosy Jane (bicolour) and Whirling Butterflies (White) are looking great. Brightly coloured Helenium Hayday is available in multiple colours. It is very compact in its first year but really comes into its own in year two with absolutely masses of long-lasting flowers on taller sturdy stems. A class act in the garden border. Blue and white varieties of Platycodon are looking great, with colour and plenty of bud. We have some Persicaria in bud as well as the ever-popular Nepeta. Kitten Around is very compact with smaller flowers, while Walkers Low, despite its name, is taller and more vigorous.  The last couple of batches of Veronica Anniversary Blue and Anniversary Rose were given a Chelsea Chop and have come back with a flourish showing loads of fresh bud. There are some short bushy Coreopsis in bud again, ready to make a late summer splash. We have a new Geranium on the nursery this summer. Jolly Bee’s had always been too expensive for us to grow in the past, but module prices for this one have dipped low enough this season for us to lash out on a few. Slightly scrambly in habit, it’s mid-blue large flowers just go on and on. A cracker. Small and compact the Lewisia Elise have plenty of bud already and will flower all summer long. There are several Asters in bud doing there late summer show.  Late summer flowering Rudbeckia Goldsturm are producing buds now. A very hardy Rudbeckia which we have cut back and regrown to create shorter flower stems than usual, but once planted it romps away, a garden classic. We still have plenty of summer flowering stock looking very well. A range of different types of Salvia’s, many in bud, Osteospermum Tresco Purple and Penstemon Garnet. Another later summer range are the mini garden Chrysanthemums which are already showing early tight bud. We have plenty of Scabiosa in bud in a range of colours, another long flowering summer star. 

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

Hairy Charge

Hi. 

Looks like this might be the last blistering day for a couple of weeks if the longer-term forecast is right. What a relief that would be, the tunnels have been unbearable for the last couple of days. At the moment we actually have light rain in the forecast for 3 days next week and temperatures at more usual summer heights of 22 – 25C, although whether it happens is another thing. Just a drop in temperature would be good, but for the ground to get some meaningful moisture added could be transformative to the gardens and hopefully open up the gardener’s wallets again. We live in hope. 

The electric van has been delivering all of this week, which is great. Most charging has been from our own solar output, so very green, and good value if I conveniently forget the cost of installing it all. The drivers are getting used to the nuances of EV life, but there have still been a few dramas making life more exciting than necessary. Danny is always up for a challenge and went out for the first time this week and he certainly picked up range anxiety that day. We had discussed only charging the van at the forecourt fast-chargers with enough to get home, so we can mostly charge here, and I suggested returning with about 20% in store to alleviate any anxiety about getting back. He had one successful charge in London which he worked out would be enough to get home, but only just! His problems came when the charge got down to 10% and the mileage estimate on the van display disappeared. Although it looked like he would make it with a couple of miles to spare at the point when it disappeared, confidence dropped and anxiety took its place. The first garage he passed didn’t have chargers, so he diverted to find another. The next one did, but not many, and he couldn’t find them on the large site so he headed for the huge Instavolt site just 2 miles down the road from us, for a quick zap and go. According to Carolines app he had just 1% left at this point, a bit too close for comfort! With all the clever tech we were able to follow his trials live online and tried to phone him to help, but his phone had run low on power too! Thankfully his second day went more smoothly. 

Last weeks master-plan to move over to peat-free glue-plugs rather than loose-fill modules for our propagation work has already hit the buffers. The trays wouldn’t pass through the seed sowing machine without a complete refurb. The next possibility investigated was to use the same trays we already use and they would fill them with their glue-plugs. One of the biggest costs, after the very high cost of the reusable trays themselves, is the transport of the trays to and from the UK and Holland. Firstly, there are two trips for each load, if we are to reuse the trays, and secondly the legs on the trays means you are only transporting half the number of modules per pallet and a lot of empty space. This added up to a quadrupling on transport cost, which was already very high, and blew the whole thing out of the water. It’s back to the drawing board. 

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Availability list.

It’s time for the autumn flowering Cyclamen hederifolium to fly the flag. They are raring to go with verdant growth and already flashing colour, with plenty more bud to come. We have a rose form and a white, both look good although the rose is currently slightly chunkier. We sold out of these very early last year, so I’ve potted a few extra this time. Don’t hold back! We have a lovely compact batch of Verbena Lollipop now in bud. Just in case you haven’t had enough sunshine this summer, our summery yellow Kniphofia citrina is budding up nicely. Flowering all summer long, the Gaura Rosy Jane (bicolour) and Whirling Butterflies (White) are looking great. Brightly coloured Helenium Hayday is available in multiple colours. It is very compact in its first year but really comes into its own in year two with absolutely masses of long-lasting flowers on taller sturdy stems. A class act in the garden border. Blue and white varieties of Platycodon are looking great, with colour and plenty of bud. We have some Persicaria in bud as well as the ever-popular Nepeta Kitten Around is very compact with smaller flowers, while Walkers Low, despite its name, is taller and more vigorous.  We have a new Geranium on the nursery this summer. Jolly Bee’s had always been too expensive for us to grow in the past, but module prices for this one have dipped low enough this season for us to lash out on a few. Slightly scrambly in habit, it’s mid-blue large flowers just go on and on. A cracker. Small and compact the Lewisia Elise have plenty of bud already and will flower all summer long. We already have several Asters in bud, which are usually something we associate with late summer!  Late summer flowering  Goldsturm are producing buds now. A very hardy Rudbeckia which we have cut back and regrown to create shorter flower stems than usual, but once planted it romps away, a garden classic. We still have plenty of summer flowering stock looking very well. A range of different types of Salvia’s, many in bud, Osteospermum Tresco Purple and Penstemon Garnet. Another later summer range are the mini garden Chrysanthemums which are already showing early tight bud. We have plenty of Scabiosa in bud in a range of colours, another long flowering summer star. 

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