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. 

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. 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. 

Hairy hope

Hi. 

Into another summer month and suddenly Autumn seems to be rushing towards us, although there still looks like plenty of summer heat is still to come down here, over the next week or two. Thankfully our replacement sprinkler nozzles arrived today, ahead of schedule, so I have started installing them in the worst affected tunnels first. Hope to finish tomorrow before the higher temperatures return, but I suspect I might have to order a few more to get the lines sensibly set up with either all working older nozzles or all new ones. This way it should be easier to replace the older ones if the issue returns, assuming it will be the older ones that fail. Who knows what’s going on, certainly not me. Our new acid tank had all it’s seals and gaskets replaced today, so we are all set up for hopefully 7 years of worry-free acidification. It turned out to be an easier update than the engineers expecting so they weren’t here too long and they managed to keep any vapours contain within the tank and pipework. 

In a difficult season we have to take what joy we can in the little victories. This week we overcame a problem we have had hanging around for several years. We have a couple of Danish trolley trailers that carry our trolleys around the nursery picking up orders and distributing the potting output, and both have very heavy drop-down ramps for loading and unloading. Originally, they had some hefty springs to help reduce the effort involved but they perished long ago. We have had a series of rather inadequate replacements over the years as we struggled to find the right type, weight and size to do the job well. They have all helped but were never ideal. After another spring breakage the chaps found a couple of springs on a very old bigger trailer which proved to be perfect for the job, if a little aged in appearance. Know the feeling. After years of searching on the web I manged to pick the right word combination, ‘Trailer ramp springs’, in Google and found some identical new ones from just down the road. Very reasonably priced, they arrived today and look perfect. At last, I got something right! 

It’s that time of year when we have to juggle despatch, plant maintenance, tunnel clearance and potting. We always think that after a busy Spring the summer will be more relaxed, but in fact I think it’s worse, especially when the weather is so challenging to be working in tunnels. Productivity takes a dip, lots of people disappear on well earned holidays and alike, and suddenly we struggle to find the time to get all the work done in the ideal time frame. This year hasn’t helped with lower sales than expected, meaning more stock on the ground to look after, resulting in less space to get the next batches potted into. Lower sales ends up creating higher ongoing costs rather than less which is frustrating. 

I have been investigating new propagation trays this week in an effort to improve our seed sowing success rates. We made great strides last season improving our loose-fill mix for our own modules trays and this seasons output has been much more reliable, but by no means perfect. There are still some plants that just don’t like the loose fill peat-free mixes available. Meanwhile we have had great success over many years with a peat-free glue plug we import from Holland that we used initially for our micro-propagation weaning. I also used them for several years hand sowing herbs and for doing a few cuttings into. This summer we have done a much wider cuttings range, very successfully, under the new mist unit, but the module size is a bit too big for efficient and economic use of space. We have now settled on a slightly smaller module size which means the trays hold 160 units rather than 104 and I think this will be perfect to cover most of our propagation needs next year. 

All I need to do now is organise the seed sowing machine makers to knock me up a new dibber bar, seed delivery bar and nozzle bar to fit the new tray size and we will be away. I’m have a nagging feeling that those fairly simple but precisely engineered parts for the machine will be scarily expensive, but the longer term return of more efficient output will eventually pay it back, in theory. 

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. 

Bue and white varieties of Platycodon are looking great, with colour and plenty of bud. The super popular Nemesia Wisley Vanilla is back on the list and there are more follow-on batches coming too.  Fabulous Echinacea in bud and showing a bit of colour. Very strong stemmed, especially the Lakota range. 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!  Another later summer range are the mini garden Chrysanthemums which are already showing early tight bud. A couple of the summer flowering Crocosmia are now in bud/flower, Quite a few Leucanthemum in bud now, the first of many flowers to come. We have plenty of Scabiosa in bud in a range of colours, another long flowering summer star. 

Herb sales seem to be booming this year; it must be all that healthy home cooking we are being encouraged to do. Lots of stock is coming through nicely now. There are some super Sage, both Green and Purple and Rosemary too. 

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

Hi

Just a quick one as it is already nearly dinner time. Another hectic and hot week. Slightly easier other than yesterday and possibly a shower or two over the weekend. Our drivers were excited to see some rain on their travels today, even Basingstoke had a heavy downfall, but we just had a few spots, not even enough to raise that lovely ‘just rained’ earthy scent (called petrichor, just in case you want to bring it up in casual conversation!). Still pleasantly busy on sales despite the drought and heat which is keeping us n our toes. We are still very light-handed at the moment, which means we aren’t getting through as many jobs as I would like. There is so much juggling of space, trimming and moving plants to do after the orders are completed that the potting machine didn’t even get started until after lunch on Thursday.

 Then there are all the unexpected challenges that pop up to throw a spanner in the works. This week it was a two-pronged attack. The acid storage tank that was installed just over a year ago had a visit from the manufacturer to replace the measuring float which had come apart. On closer inspection the engineer found the vapour gaskets were showing signs of deterioration which was a worry. On investigation he found that they had fitted the wrong gaskets for our strength of acid, their fault not mine. All safe at the moment, but an urgent replacement job is on the cards. Very frustrating as the purchaser of the unit, as we paid 4 times the price we paid for the same kit 8 years before, and what do you get for all that extra cost? Certainly not a better product. We have been investigating a problem with the irrigation spray-lines over the past few weeks where the mini sprinklers are not all rotating reliably, they keep getting stuck. Luckily the sand-beds under the plants even out the water spread to a degree, but considering we replaced the entire lot last summer to obtain a more even water distribution it’s another challenging puzzle. I have been cleaning nozzles in vinegar, blowing them out with compressed air, swapping nozzles about between positions and tunnels, just trying to nail down a solution. The bizarre thing is the tunnels vary in how much they are affected. About a third of them are untouched and work very well, one third have issues with about half the nozzles in the line and in the last third virtually every nozzle is misbehaving. Both myself and the nozzle supplier now think it may be a biofilm issue. We have been trying to boost the plants health and their capacity to fight off pests and diseases so we can further reduce the need to introduce so many predators or as a last resort spray, by applying a mix of various bio-supplements through the irrigation system. It looks like these additives have left us with a thin smear of biofilm forming inside the pipework and on the sprinkler parts.  For the moment I am buying 1,200 new sprinkler heads, just to get everything working properly, and then we will need to find a solution to preventing and removing the unwanted biofilm. We may have a solution on hand, but only time will tell. It would be a shame to stop the supplements as they seem to be helping, but one way or another we need to sort it out, especially when the crops are under the pressure of seemingly endless heat and no rain and don’t appreciate erratic distribution. 

The electric van seems to be getting slightly better on its range capacity, although sometimes it’s just too clever for its own good. One of our drivers missed getting through a timed gate opening this week because it refused to move off when he got into the cab. Turning it off and on again naturally cured it but the gate was shut by this time! Very proud of one of our drivers (Andy) who is off for the next couple of weeks as he is umpiring in the hockey veteran’s world cup, being held in Holland and Belgium. He did the same a few years ago and I believe he actually umpired the final in one of the age categories. I’m not very good with rules generally, so definitely not a job for me,  

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. Summer must be here with bud on many of the Agapanthus varieties. The super popular Nemesia Wisley Vanilla is back on the list and there are more follow-on batches coming too.  Fabulous Echinacea in bud and showing a bit of colour. Very strong stemmed, especially the Lakota range. 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!  Another later summer range are the mini garden Chrysanthemums which are already showing early tight bud. A couple of the summer flowering Crocosmia are now in bud, Quite a few Leucanthemum in bud now, the first of many flowers to come. We have plenty of Scabiosa in bud in a range of colours, another long flowering summer star. Herb sales seem to be booming this year; it must be all that healthy home cooking we are being encouraged to do. Lots of stock is coming through nicely now. There are some super Sage, both Green and Purple and Rosemary too. 

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

Hairy charge

Hi.

Thankfully there are signs of a slight cooling over the coming weekend, but it will be warmer again during the following week. Possible showers in a week’s time, yes please! Not sure if I am going to be able to cope with this if it does become the norm, it is just too challenging for an old fart more used to hot weather meaning 25C. Luckily, I have been in air-conditioned comfort all day as Caroline and I took the electric ID3 up to Lincoln to collect our new electric Renault 4 tonne delivery van. Just 2 months late, it still wasn’t finished when we arrived! 

Good job we collected it ourselves as there were a few little additions we had requested on top of their standard product. Present were the spare wheel (not standard issue these days, but very useful and time saving if you have a puncture) and an extra piece of rachet bar to hold the spare wheel in place, Missing were the side rails on the ramp, which stop the trolley wheels going off the ramp edge when loading and unloading, and the registration plates needed for the updated registration number we ordered but they were unable to sot out before collection. All promised on numerous occasions, remembered when pointed out and, to be fair, swiftly put right while we waited. 

They had a lovely coffee machine, so we were well pumped-up by the time all was ready! We had a full charge in the van, which in theory would have just about got us home, but it was going to be a bit tight so decided to add a bit while we recharged the VW, which also needed a top up. Pulled into the service station and being a good boy, I followed the signs to the van and lorry parking which unfortunately left me in a position where I couldn’t actually get to the chargers, the exit led straight back onto the M1. Caroline meanwhile found a super quick charger which took just 10 minutes to charge enough to get home. Grabbed a sandwich and cold drink and moved onto the next service station (Watford Gap), No good, tiny parking spaces by the chargers, too short for the van. Onto the next and getting slightly anxious as to how difficult this was all going to be, only to find a row of nice new fast chargers with good sized spaces. Hurrah. Out came the new electric ‘fuel card’ to try out for the first time and waved it in front of the card reader. The card screen was so scratched we couldn’t read it in the bright sun, but noises were emitting from the charger and on checking the van display it was charging fine and very quickly. No idea what we rate we paid as there was no display to physically see unless we downloaded a special app. Not to worry, in 15 minutes I was ready to go again. Left the service station without realising I had picked the wrong exit back onto the M1 instead of the A45. It’s all just too exciting. Sat-nav got me sorted at the next junction, but Caroline still hadn’t realised what was going on until she reached the next one along. As a consequence, I beat her home despite being restricted to 56 mph. Now it’s charging up, nearly for free, on our nursery charger and ready for the tracker and camera fitting tomorrow. We might get it on the road next week, although there are some ‘words’ being applied to the side at some point and we must take it off the road for a day or two when the reg number officially changes. In the end it should be on the road a lot, we have to start saving on fuel costs asap after a very challenging year. 

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Availability list. Summer must be here with bud on many of the Agapanthus varieties. The super popular Nemesia Wisley Vanilla is back on the list and there are more follow-on batches coming too.  Fabulous Echinacea in bud and showing a bit of colour. Very strong stemmed, especially the Lakota range. Small and compact the Lewisia Elise have plenty of bud already and will flower all summer long. The pretty Foam Flower Tiarella wherrii are now in flower and bud We already have several Asters in bud, which are usually something we associate with late summer!  Another later summer range are the mini garden Chrysanthemums which are already showing early tight bud. The early summer flowering Allium Millenium is now beginning to show a flash of colour. It’s a cracker, much tidier foliage and habit than the spring flowering Alliums, and it flowers for longer too. We have a couple of batches of fresh Digitalis coming into bud. Not many so don’t hang about. A couple of the summer flowering Crocosmia are now in bud, Quite a few Leucanthemum in bud now, the first of many flowers to come. We have plenty of Scabiosa in bud in a range of colours, another long flowering summer star. Garden Pinks (Dianthus) are back in bud again after recovering from our ever-hungry rampaging hares. More summer stars are coming out now with bud appearing on the Gaura and Salvia’s too. 

Herb sales seem to be booming this year; it must be all that healthy home cooking we are being encouraged to do. Lots of stock is coming through nicely now. Tarragon is back and the Mints have recovered nicely too. There are some super Sage, both Green and Purple. 

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