Hairy Pins

Hairy Pins

A bit wild and windy today but not too cold. The week ahead looks like more of the same down here, with another depression sweeping in. If we are going to have some non-gardening weather I suppose this is the better time to have it, we certainly needed a top up on the water front by the end of the late summer but I suspect levels have recovered by now. The wind is great for generating through the turbines, although at the moment it's not very consistent with lulls between the storms, rather than a nice steady blow. December and January are supposed to be our peak output months and I can never quite believe we will generate as much as predicted but most years it comes true with double the output of midsummer. Last year's overall output was the lowest of all 8 years so far, not by much , but luckily it was balanced out by our second lowest consumption.
We would have had our lowest usage ever if we hadn't had the extra temporary office in use while we built the replacement. Since moving into the new office and also replacing the last of our HP sodium lights with LED things have improved further so it will be interesting to see if we can dip below the 60,000 units a year. Not bad when I think of all the extra electric equipment we are now using since 2008, when we started monitoring usage. Back then we were using just under 120,000 so that's getting close to a 50% reduction, thanks mostly to careful management and investment in new technology.
Don't forget that the new year sees our new prices coming into operation. This modest rise, to try and compensate for increasing prices, has already just about been used up by the extra expenses involved with implementing the plant passport rules, even before we have to cover the 6.5% wages rise coming in April. We will have to increase efficiency and production rates again to balance the books, but I'm sure we will manage. We are looking forward to the coming season with lots of the usual attractive stock as well as a few new additions to boost those impulse sales.
Lashed out this week on some FSC plywood pieces to knock up replacement boxes to hold our label stock in despatch. At the moment it is all kept in small plastic baskets which are not quite the right size and have reach the age at which every time you touch them a bit falls off (sounds familiar!). The company that cuts and supplies our plywood POS boards is doing the job at a very competitive price, which just leaves us to pin together nearly 4,000 pieces (each bit is quite small). Shouldn't take too long. We've got a nice air powered little pin gun which should make light work of the job, fingers crossed (and kept out of the firing line). Slightly more expensive than the plastic alternative, but made to measure, more efficient and versatile in use, longer lasting and better looking too.
Plant passport changes have arrived ready or not!
We have tried to keep our implementation as seamless as we can, with the following changes taking place;.
- All individual plant labels from now on will have extra PP info on them (A- the genus and species of the plant, B-our producer plant passport number, C- a batch number, D- country of origin, and an image of the EU flag).
- All delivery notes and invoices have been redesigned to include the same info.
The changes to the delivery note and invoice are so that you can easily comply with the latest regulations and conveniently keep the PP records for the required three years.

Availability lists
Quite a short list at the moment as we are supposed to be in the depths of winter and we don't expect a huge rush on the sales front just yet. Signs of spring are already there with the spring bulbs shooting well and the odd tight bud threatening an appearance. The earliest snowdrops (Galanthus) are thrusting, with the odd flash of white poking out, not quite enough to say they are in full bud but given the mild temperatures at the moment they won't take long. We have a few new small Narcissus
to look forward to this spring and they are looking strong. Crocus Remembrance are well up and I think showing signs of budding up, although that maybe wishful thinking on my part.
There is the odd flower opening on our home sown wild primroses (P. vulgaris) above tight little plants. The plants will expand as the temperatures and light levels improve.
We still have a few Cyclamen coum in bud and flower to see us through the next few weeks and other buds are showing while the weather is favourable (Armeria, Scabiosa, Dianthus, Primula).
There are also quite a few evergreen plants looking happy enough over the winter period, so we can make a nice display up of stock with the promise of the good times ahead. Spring flowering Euphorbia, Bergenia and Doronicum are looking good and Leucanthemum, Papaver, Stachys and Digitalis are all looking smart. Polemonium Heaven Scent always puts on a great early show and they are currently sprouting attractive chunky bronze foliaged rosettes, before the buds appear in a few weeks.

Best wishes for a great New Year from all at Kirton Farm Nurseries.