Hairy Christmas

Hi

Too many jobs on the go to comfortably stop for Christmas, but despite this the nursery is already feeling like an abandoned ship, with nearly everyone taking advantage of using up some holiday time. With so few sales at this time of year here, it is an ideal time really so I can't complain too loudly.

It was probably a long time ago, but I distinctly remember nearly everyone working right up to lunchtime on Christmas Eve, but those days are long gone. Many a Christmas eve afternoon I have rushed around town trying to find something to slip under the tree for Caroline, only to find most of the shops shutting early and very little stock on the shelves. What a difference having the internet makes, although I still find I've left it all too late. Luckily this year we have already done our main gifts, Caroline got a very cheerful little tray filler and I got a seeding machine! Good job I don't have to wrap those.

Both the above items arrived early this week and are already in position, wired up and plumbed in, very nearly ready for action. Just need a bit more instruction on how it actually all works in practice, but that will have to wait until the New Year. The bills from the storm of a couple of weeks ago are racking up. I thought we had got off lightly but with two tunnel covers, new timber sides and this week, the recovering of the irrigation tank, it all adds up. The discovery that the centre support pole had snapped and the weight of water on the collapsed cover had bent in the top steel edges of the tank, means we are going to have rebuild the top corrugated steel ring, replace the support pole and change the old impervious cover with an anti algae permeable cover to prevent similar events in the future. Future proofing is nice, but it does initially hurt!

The electrician has been in most days this week and made great progress with heaters repaired, twin skin covers now inflated and new machinery ready to run. Still loads for him to do before spring sales get going, but a great start.

Bit tired after a hectic social week with a very tasty nursery Christmas lunch at The Plough in Sparsholt, and for me, the Posh and Sparkly Ball at the Guildhall in Winchester. Despite not being allowed to dance in the main hall we took over most of the rest of the building and 360 revellers had a real good time. So much activity, joy and laughter, it is an inspirational event to attend, it just illustrates how much you can get out of life without breaking the bank or tearing up the planet. I spoke to one lovely dancer who was telling me about her very difficult year, suffering from breast cancer (luckily caught early), arthritis and osteoporosis, yet she was looking decidedly flushed and grinning from ear to ear having had such a good evening. All those natural chemicals released by a good dance were better than most painkillers and antidepressants, at least for a while (her words not mine). Get out there and do it!

Christmas is mostly set up here, definitely going to try and not be on the nursery every day, and have already booked in lots of relatives to visit us and hopefully make a start on decorating the recently re-plastered conservatory. Should get the tree up tomorrow, it is still in one piece even after 15 years, although it will be a new set of lights this time after the old set fell apart. Just that bit of tinsel to wrap around the tray filling machine and Caroline's festive joy will be complete.

Hope you all have a great break and we will see you all in the New Year.

Christmas closure timings

There will be one or two people about on the nursery from the 23rd Dec and 2nd and 3rd Jan 2025 should anyone need any emergency plants, but we will be back to full operation from Jan 6th.

Availability list.

I know coming into the New Year it's not a great time of year for a lot of outdoor plant sales, but just to get you in the mood for later we already have some very promising growth and bud activity. Some of the spring bulbs are poking through so will bee added to the list very soon.

We only have one Cyclamen coum variety this winter (Silver Leaved) but they are now producing loads of buds and the very occasional flower is opening. They will go on right through until April so no rush!

There are a few trays of Wild Primrose (P. vulgaris) in bud already, with lots more to follow over the next couple of months. Another winter star is the Helleborus range, a few varieties already showing the occasional signs of flowering but it's a bit early for most. Good strong plants with plenty of potential.

In theory a late winter flurry of Erysimum bud and flowers usually gets everyone going on thoughts of spring, but this year they are already budding up! They have happily sat through the few frosts we have and are still looking remarkably fresh, green and bushy. The first of many flower-heads are already in tight bud and there is even the odd flash of colour.

Christmas wishes from all at Kirton Farm Nurseries.

Hairy installation

Hi

That was an action packed week, some of it planned and some not. Last weekend's storm proved a little more intrusive than I expected, I hope it didn't knock you all back too far. I know a lot of attractions and events closed over what should have been a bumper Christmas weekend, so commiserations to all those affected and I hope the quieter weather now will help make it up a bit.

We had a bit of damage with a few branches down and trolleys blown over, but worst of all was the loss of two tunnel covers and the collapse of the cover over the irrigation storage tank, which was replaced only a few months ago. The tank covering team are due in next week to try and retrieve the situation above the tank, but it was up to us to sort out the tunnels before anything spoiled on the now open beds. The covers had come adrift where the wooden sides had partially rotted and the fixing strip broke away. Unfortunately the flapping plastic also destroyed the overhead irrigation spray-lines, but they are relatively easily repaired with a few new pipes and a pot of glue. Luckily the stars really lined up this week and we managed to buy in fresh timber and two new covers, re-timber the sides, refit the fixing strip and get the new covers fully attached by the end of the week. Quick deliveries and the right weather all fell into line, very satisfying, if not altogether planned.

What was planned was the installation of the solar panels, which went brilliantly. The chaps from Cornish Rocker were here over three days anchoring and erecting the tilting frames before mounting the bifacial panels. Looks impressive, but no generation until the electrician fits all the invertors, batteries and control kit, which won't happen until the New Year.

We have had a practice on the panel tilting and it is really easy and quick to do. They will send us an email at the appropriate times of year, with instructions as to what angle we should set them at for that period, so we can harvest at peak rates. The only hiccup is that if gale-force winds are predicted we have to lower the angle to summer time levels to reduce turbulence, not great but workable.

Tom our favourite tree-man was back with his team and more fancy lifts, to take out our old conifers by the entrance. They were becoming a bit of a road hazard and forever shedding big branches in strong winds. Now it's nice and clear again we will replant with some more native hedging to keep the wildlife happy. The team were fuelled on pastries and proper coffee which they make in their own shiny coffee machine. None of those fancy pods, it's all grinding, pressing and steaming. It powered them through the work, very impressive.

A garden shed arrived this week, ready to erect over the sand filter and electric board down by the rainwater collection sump. In theory they can all be left outside but I'm a bit anxious about the pipe-work bursting in the cold weather, so better safe than sorry. That's another job for next week.

Seed sower and tray filling machines plus an electrician (non-solar) are due in next week for more excitement, but the acid tank replacement and climate control computer have both been delayed until the New Year due to over-running other works. Who needs Christmas with so much going on?

Feeling a bit sorry for our dance group today, as the Winchester Guildhall have now closed the main hall for a further two months to repair the ceiling, rather messing up the Christmas Ball next Tuesday. It was always the biggest night of the year with over 360 tickets sold and the main hall out of action. Another much smaller room has been offered with a temporary dance-floor, to add to the other three rooms already booked, so it will still go ahead, it just won't be quite as grand. With the early weeks of the New Year also lost to our normal weekly sessions, it's going to be a challenge to keep any New Year's resolution momentum going, and so disappointing when the classes only restarted after the covid break a couple of months ago. Luckily, a bit like gardening, dancing is one of those 'multiple win' pastimes with fitness, mental wellbeing and social interaction scoring highly and all at a reasonable price, so the future should still be bright. Just wondering if we should start up an annual 'Hairy Ball' event and combine the best of both worlds. Maybe not.

Availability list.

I know it's not a time of year for a lot of outdoor plant sales, but just to get you in the mood for later we already have some very promising growth and bud activity.

We only have one Cyclamen coum variety this winter (Silver Leaved) but they are now producing loads of buds and the very occasional flower is opening. They will go on right through until April so no rush!

Another winter star is the Helleborus range, a few varieties already showing the occasional signs of flowering but it's a bit early for most. Good strong plants with plenty of potential.

In theory a late winter flurry of Erysimum bud and flowers usually gets everyone going on thoughts of spring, but this year they are already budding up! They have happily sat through the frosts we have and are still looking remarkably fresh, green and bushy. The first of many flower-heads are already in tight bud and there is even the odd flash of colour.

Best wishes from all at Kirton Farm Nurseries.

Hairy Jive

Hi

Another week flies by and it seems Christmas might be on the way. I'm sure a lot of you will have massive projects revolving around the build up to the big day, but I'm relieved to say it is a quieter time for us. So many of both the retailers and visitor centres, really do make the most of this time of year, with massive displays of festive products, merriment and light shows. I do hope all goes well, it would be good to end such a challenging year on a high! Having said that, it doesn't look like the weather is playing ball this coming weekend, with more wind and rain on the way. Fingers crossed it's not too bad.

Next week looks more settled and we are looking to press on with a few outdoor jobs and projects of our own, despite the fact that they all seem to swallow up the cash, rather than rake it in.

I have a feeling that it is all going to kick off over the next couple of weeks, the solar panel tilting frames are due for installation on Monday, they have already marked out the site with pegs and strings, so after what seems like years of planning it looks like something is actually going to happen. The panels should then get mounted, the tray filler and sowing machines are rumoured to be in transit, and an electrician, to upgrade several bits of kit, is due in next week. The forklift rams are being refurbished, so that is out of action for at least a week, and the compost bucket, which fits onto it, is getting a 'makeover'. It must be an antique by now and it's age is showing where the water sits and extra wear occurs, it has multiple holes and misshapen edges. I know how it feels, but sadly a full nurseryman refurb is not on the 'to do' list.

The replacement climate change computer is due the week after next, the acid tank replacement must come very soon. There is a new little insulated shed arriving next week, for us to construct around the water recycling sand filter, so we can keep the pipe-work frost protected and the electrics will need installing to provide the necessary heat. Then there is the prop tunnel which is in need of upgrading to cope with more in-house rooting to increase our peat-free module range. A mist line needs installing to achieve more controlled humidity levels, making sure as much stock as possible successfully roots. Definitely not going to be enough hours in this month!

One thing I hugely value is a regular distraction from doing all this nursery stuff. It is so easy for the day job to totally dominate every thought, day or night, whether we are in the heat of the main season or like now, rushing about trying to prepare everything to make the following season even better. Sometimes I feel I'm not a particularly effective manager, I take everything way too personally for a start, and that makes it really important for everything we do to be as good as we can get it. Inevitably not everything goes to plan and I then can't help but blame myself. This could be a recipe for losing the plot, but if I can break those thought processes and slow my internal cycle of blame, then everything gets a chance to reset. 

My distraction is my, now twice weekly, modern jive dancing. A complete mental and physical break from the day job, my brain is occupied from the first moment, learning new moves while trying to remember the old ones (and failing). My muscles ache from all the exercise, my social buttons are all pressed, greeting my regular dance partners plus meeting new ones, and all this is tied together with throwing a few moves to the beat of some great tunes, classic and otherwise, from 1940's to current day. It might have taken me 15 years to get properly comfortable on the dance-floor, but now I just love it. We are very lucky to be in an independent jive group run by one man with a drive to get people having fun dancing. Apparently a lot of jive groups are currently struggling after possibly taking their dancing a little too seriously. Many have followed a path of artistic and expressive passion where the music is slower, more sensual and the dance style more intimate. It can look great, if you like that sort of thing, but not something you can easily fall into as a relaxing fun night out. Danny's more upbeat music, and energetic vibe makes you want to come back for more, his moves are more realistic in expectation level and intimacy, ideal for couples dancing together who may not know each other that well. We are in Britain after all!

Availability list.

I know it's not a time of year for a lot of outdoor plant sales, but just to get you in the mood for later we already have some very promising growth and bud activity.

We only have one Cyclamen coum variety this winter (Silver Leaved) but they are now producing loads of buds and the very occasional flower is opening. They will go on right through until April so no rush!

Another winter star is the Helleborus range, a few varieties already showing the occasional signs of flowering but it's a bit early for most. Good strong plants with plenty of potential.

In theory a late winter flurry of Erysimum bud and flowers usually gets everyone going on thoughts of spring, but this year they are already budding up! They have happily sat through the frosts we have and are still looking remarkably fresh, green and bushy. The first of many flower-heads are already in tight bud and there is even the odd flash of colour.

Best wishes from all at Kirton Farm Nurseries.

Hairy learning

Hi

Considering this is supposed to be a quiet time there still aren't enough days in the week. I always picture our winter quiet period to be 3 or 4 months, full of catching up on all the chores we didn't get to during the main season and getting stuck into lots of exciting projects. Without the pressure of huge sales activity we are always going to have loads of time and end up starting the season so well organised and refreshed. In reality everything takes three times longer than expected and most of the skilled trades we need to complete things are in short supply and never available when you really need them.

We have already started on a list of van repairs with three out of action this week, 2 with battery issues, despite regular trips out, and one with the dreaded engine management light showing with the message 'check engine'. The 'engine issue' van is less than a year old and needs to go back to the dealer to be diagnosed and their initial response was that they could fit us in sometime in January! After a short discussion we are booked in on Dec 12th, but absolutely no idea what is wrong with it.

The prop tunnel climate control computer is limping along, awaiting its replacement. Ordered in mid October it isn't available until Dec 16th, so hoping the cold weather doesn't return before then. Good job we don't have critical crops in there!

More positive news on the solar panel front, with the tilting frame installers threatening an appearance on the 9th Dec. They should be able to get most of the installation done including the panel mounting and electrics. The stumbling block is likely to be connecting it all to the grid with all the associated permissions and kit needing to be given the nod by SSE. I am ever hopeful that they will be really quick and efficient at get us plugged in, but previous experience has taught me not to raise hopes too high!

We should be taking delivery of a module tray filler and seed sowing machines in the next week or two. We ordered them back in April and they are going to get here just 3 or 4 weeks before the deadline for the RPA grant we won runs out. All a bit tense! It's all go.

This past week was pretty hectic with a couple of big events. The RHS Peat-free Conference at Wisley was very well attended and a great source of the latest peat-free news. After the initial welcome and general backslapping encouragement at all the positive progress being made, there were reports on the latest trials done over several nurseries using compost from most of the larger manufacturers. There was a lot of technical detail and data in there, which went over my head, but the unsurprising end message (to me anyway) seemed to be that, it can work very well, but all nurseries, crops and composts are different. You need to find the compost that is best for you in your situation, so talk to a supplier and start trialling. Luckily for us we have been doing that for 13 years so feeling fairly confident, although we are always looking to tweak improvements here and there.

Several workshops followed where I definitely picked up a few useful ideas to bring home. The most reassuring session involved debunking some of the myths behind the use of coir in horticulture. The use of excess water for cleaning the fibres, child labour, high carbon footprint in processing and transport from India/Sri Lanka, deforestation to plant coconut trees etc. I am going to wait until the conference notes come out before I pass on the details, so I get it right, but even I was impressed and reassured that we are doing the right thing. I will try and put the highlights on the website too, as a future reference point. 

A key part of the week, and the year really, was renegotiating our overdraft facility with the bank. An annual review to look back at the year, forward to winter projects and the prospects for 2025. A great opportunity to exercise my creative storytelling and rose tinted presentation of figures. The bank have gone through another restructure so instead of a personal visit from a specialist manager, we had a conference call from a lovely chap in Edinburgh. Luckily I have done this for a long time and am quite good at pressing the right buttons, so a couple of days putting together a report on 'all of the above' with a few graphs, gives a good outline of how we have done and what the plans are. Our overdraft management has always been pretty good and since covid, we have managed to avoid pushing it to its extreme. This allows me to get away with not producing a cash-flow projection which is a relief as we rarely used to stuck to it anyway. All went well so we are free to go through another season with a nice fat OD facility.

Got a new part-time job starting in March next year. The pay rate is very attractive and work conditions definitely appealing. Thanks go to the Department of Works and Pensions, I can't wait. 

Availability list.

Unfortunately after a poor seed harvest we only have one Cyclamen coum variety this winter (Silver Leaved) but they are now producing loads of buds and the very occasional flower is opening. They will go on right through until April so no rush! The other winter star is the Helleborus range, a few varieties already showing the occasional signs of flowering but it's a bit early for most. Good strong plants with plenty of potential.

Best wishes from all at Kirton Farm Nurseries.

Hairy suprise

Hi

Quick blast of winter this week reminded us that time is passing. We had a few snow flurries but nothing dramatic, just cold. It was good to see some sunshine which took the edge off, as long as you weren't tending to plants early in the day in an unheated and open ventilated tunnel! It does make me feel very guilty when I slink off into the office to do management stuff of which there is a surprising amount to do at this time of year. Plant ordering, net zero research, planning and calculating, email chasing up for all the winter projects and, this week, a lot of catching up to do after a little break in Cornwall. We are back well refreshed with a couple of notches released on the belt and ready for another battening down of the hatches for the winter. Hours for some have been willingly reduced as the temperature drops and the outdoor workload subsides a bit, although there are several winter projects well underway or just about to start.

After a little flurry of sales a couple of weeks ago, things have unsurprisingly gone pretty quiet this week and we have got stuck into those winter chores. Leaf clearing, wood cutting, pallet sorting, building maintenance, wooden box cleaning, stacking and storing. The new wooden box parts to top up the marketing tray supplies have all arrived, ready for treating, printing and construction. We replace about 10% a year at the moment, allowing for the average 10 year lifespan and a few other odd losses, adding up to just over 1,000 boxes made up of 13 parts each. That's a lot of parts to paint/treat and 5 of those need printing too, before the eventual construction. Even this we make more difficult for ourselves, by screwing the base parts together rather than stapling them (slower but longer lasting) and gluing the corners before stapling to add extra strength. It adds to the cost but increases life span and the number of uses we get from each one, providing of course we get them back in a timely manner rather than them ending up in a semi permanent display in a plant area display!

Good news this week on the solar panel installation which looked to be delayed until the New Year. I managed to get them to install the tilting frames and hopefully the panels, in a couple of weeks time. We may still have a slight delay in grid connection but at least they will be ready to roll and not be a distraction when the plant sales get started in the New Year.

The acid tank replacement deal improved a little bit after registering my shock at the size of the quote, but still had to be paid in advance before the work could start (sounds like a nice way to do business), so we are hoping things will now speedily progress on that front too.

Last week I discovered the new version of the electric Renault Master van (87Kwh) that has just been released, it looks very promising with a 250+ mile range, quicker charging rates and potentially larger payloads. The only hiccup is that the chassis cab version, to build our box on the back, hasn't been released yet so we might not get one in time for the spring, however it is the first one out there that looks capable of doing the job. I suspect it won't practically make it to Cornwall or Yorkshire but the more local sites are a definite possibility at last. With the solar and wind both operational as well as some battery storage we should be able to refuel almost for free when it is back at base with just the external fast chargers to pay for in order to make it home.

A great NBIS meeting on Thursday, lots of practical fresh ideas, tips and therapeutic encouragement, a bit of a shortage of attendees but very rewarding none the less. Ham egg and chips were delicious and well worth the trip, I am easily pleased. The return to the house after a few days away turned out more exciting than usual when we opened up to a fairly cool home and sadly no warm welcome from my mum with the wood burner on full blast. Mum has tweaked her back quite badly after a weekend hang-gliding with my sister, so stayed at home with our central heating left only on tick over, so just kept the chill off. Excitingly for the first time for a year and a half I was able to flick on the central heating, turn up the radiators and get an instant response while moving into the living room to light the wood burner. I opened the burner door and shut it pretty quickly, there was something big grey and furry in the grate. After checking it didn't move I tried again, to find an ex-squirrel lying in there. The cowell had blown off the chimney and it must have climbed in and fallen. Luckily the door had been shut otherwise if it had survived the fall the house could have been trashed, but there wasn't even a smell and no damage to the body or burner, so I count that as a lucky escape. I suppose we were also lucky it made it all the way into the grate, if it had got stuck at the chimney base I could have developed a sudden inexplicable urge for a roast dinner once the burner was fired up!

Availability list.

Unfortunately after a poor seed harvest we only have one Cyclamen coum variety this winter (Silver Leaved) but they are just beginning to produce the very occasional flower and loads of buds. They will go on right through until April so no rush!

The other winter star is the Helleborus range, a few varieties already showing the occasional signs of flowering but it's a bit early for most. Good strong plants with plenty of potential. 

Best wishes from all at Kirton Farm Nurseries.

Hairy break

Hi

At least it seems to have stopped raining for the moment and kept reasonably mild, a bit late to make sales go into overdrive but easier to get those outside jobs done. As a result the office got a new coat of wood preserver today and is looking very smart in front of the recently 'lifted' beech trees. A few leaves are getting cleared away, hedges trimmed and Halloween snacks devoured, it must be autumn now.

The last of the bulbs got potted this week so that is all the potting completed for 2024, another milestone passed. It was the second busiest year ever on the potting front, only surpassed by 2021 when we got a bit carried away with ourselves. It was post covid madness and we were very short of stock early in the year, so potted like crazy and didn't stop early enough. We ended up donating a load of stock to the local hospitals, surgeries and vaccination centres to shed the excess, which put a positive twist to a bit of a balls-up on my part. I'm hoping we haven't overdone it this time, I'm banking on the spring weather being a bit kinder than the last couple of years so we will need the extra stock, fingers crossed for it all to come together.

Fun times with the Budget this week, I suppose none of it was a huge surprise as most of it was leaked well in advance, but it does set out in black and white a few hefty extra labour costs that we are going to have to deal with in the coming season. Just as I was hoping the inflationary pressures were easing our biggest single cost gets elevated beyond our control. I suppose it just reinforces the need for even more efficiency and investment in labour saving kit, to avoid employing quite so many people. Unfortunately it also encourages taking short cuts and avoiding risk, which tends to make the final product potentially a bit disappointing, as most people look to take the easier options. Don't worry, if there is a more difficult option I'm always on call to take it, you can rely on that!

Talking of which, the plastic acid tank removal and replacement quote came in this afternoon. The original tank cost less than £3,000, 8 years ago, the quote came in today at £16,000! The removal cost was more than the replacement tank, which itself has more than doubled in price. With an 8 year lifespan that means the annual tank costs are higher than the acid cost. I think I'm in the wrong game. I am in further negotiations.

I have a feeling I also handed an open cheque book to the electrician on Monday, just to add to the pressure. He now has a list of repair and replacement work to hit over the next couple for months as we prepare for winter and try to get everything shipshape for the spring rush. Once we get to February it's really too late to start any new projects and the overdraft starts to dictate a more sedate approach to spending, so it's now or never.

On a brighter note, weekly jive dancing returned to the fabulous Guildhall in Winchester on Tuesday. Lots of over excited dancers turned up bright and early with over 150 making it in by the time the lessons got underway. Over 3 hours of laughter, heart-pounding gyrating and twirling for just £10 and learning new skills along the way, what a bargain. There was a healthy smattering of beginners as well as those still returning after the covid break, let's hope the momentum keeps going over the next few months, that will be the test to the viability of returning to such a high end venue.

This list will have to cover the next couple of weeks as I am otherwise engaged, but if you have any queries just drop us a line and Greg will sort something out. Orders are quieter now and most of the boxes have been returned so, although we are still out and about, the long seasons pressure has at last relented and we should be able to cope with most requests, within reason!

End of season wooden Box returns

We have already collected over 85% of our empty wooden boxes from most sites and will continue to do so over the next couple of weeks. If you have empty boxes ready to go please do drop us a line and we will pop in when next in the area. 

Availability list.

The herb range is still looking surprisingly perky in the autumn sunshine. We should have a reasonable range looking nice for a few weeks yet.

Unfortunately after a poor seed harvest we only have one Cyclamen coum variety this winter (Silver Leaved) but they are just beginning to produce the very occasional flower and loads of buds. They will go on right through until April so no rush!

The other winter star is the Helleborus range, a few varieties already showing the occasional signs of flowering but it's a bit early for most. Good strong plants with plenty of potential.

Erigeron Stallone are still doing their thing, flower and bud will keep coming until they are battered too much by winter frosts.

We have had them in flower at Christmas before now, although it does depend on the weather and anything could happen there!

Best wishes from all at Kirton Farm Nurseries.

Hairy Jive

Hi

Weather is still a bit up and down, but after a damp start, this evening is looking gloriously autumnal as the sun dips romantically behind the poly tunnels. I know it's not always very accurate but the forecast for next week looks ok, we might get to see quite a bit more of this brightness over the coming few days.

We've had another good week with a few novelty jobs and a big thrash at getting the spring bulbs potted. The bulb potting is nearly done, just the awkward smaller ones to do, lots of counting and juggling and not many pots to show for the effort. However they look fab when they burst into flower in the spring so it's worth the trouble. All the ones that are too big to eat or carry off, are on the tunnel floor, already mulched and watered in and the smaller ones potted then stacked on trolleys out of harm's way for all but the most acrobatic of rodents or squirrels.

Adam the asbestos man came and took off our old asbestos roof from our old block built meter shed on Tuesday, as planned and all went really well, it was all done in no time. He also took away a few spare old sheets that had been stacked behind the barn for donkeys years, so we have had a good tidy up at the same time. He did a great job, it was all nicely wrapped up before being taken to the appropriate disposal site, the paperwork came back straight away, it was all very satisfying.

The plan to slip the new roof straight back on the shed again didn't quite go as well, as it tipped down with rain and reroofing a shed full of electric kit wasn't the sensible option so we covered up the risky stuff and waited. Two of us spent all of Wednesday fitting the roof and even if I do say so myself we did a very tidy job, it looks very smart for a shed. I bought the pre-cut insulated panels, edge flashings and fitting kit in advance and assumed it would just slide on, screw down and we would be done, but I had forgotten that I built the block shed back in 1984 when we started the nursery so it wasn't actually very square. It took quite a bit of juggling to get the roof panels positioned sensibly and know I can see how useful edge flashing is for covering up a character filled wall build. Anyway it's all done now and inside is beautifully dry and draft free, it's a joy to go in there and marvel at the luxury,

We are having the acid storage tank, which acidifies our hard irrigation water, replaced this winter as a precautionary measure. It is 8 years old and the maker had said that this was its minimum lifespan and obviously we wouldn't want to risk a leak. The fabricator who is making the replacement tank popped in to check his design and the site where it was to be installed and was pleasantly surprised at the condition of ours, he was more used to visiting sites with 20+ year old tanks that had started leaking. It was a really valuable site meeting as he did pick up some design features from our old tank that he will incorporate into his. It will be made easier for us to operate by adding a drainage valve to the water bath that neutralises any acid vapours needing to leave the tank, and reduce the risk of a joint leak by moving the acid outlet point from the base of the tank to the top. A practical two way conversation that benefitted both parties, that's the sort of meeting I like. He is going to be recommending a longer lifespan for his tank so hopefully this might see me out and we won't have to go through all this fun of getting it empty, disposed of and replaced before the irrigation water can be acidified again.

Big night coming up on Tuesday with the reopening of Winchester Guildhall for weekly Modern Jive lessons for the first time since Covid stopped everything in March 2020. We had to scrap quite hard to get it back at an affordable price, but it's a stunning venue and used to attract well over 100 dancers most weeks with 300+ at the big Balls. Danny who runs the dances and lessons has been keeping several smaller venues running each week, but getting this one back is a big feather in his cap and it has such potential for good times. There is nothing like a good dance, I love it and have my fingers crossed that it gets the support it deserves.

End of season wooden Box returns

We have already collected over 80% of our empty wooden boxes from many sites and will continue to do so over the next couple of weeks. If you have empty boxes ready to go please do drop us a line and we will pop in when next in the area. 

Availability list.

The herb range is still looking surprisingly perky in the autumn sunshine. We should have a reasonable range looking nice for a few weeks yet.

Unfortunately after a poor seed harvest we only have one Cyclamen coum variety this winter (Silver Leaved) but they are just beginning to produce the very occasional flower and loads of buds. They will go on right through until April so no rush!

The other winter star is the Helleborus range, a few varieties already showing the occasional signs of flowering but it's a bit early for most. Good strong plants with plenty of potential.

Erigeron Stallone are still doing their thing, flower and bud will keep coming until they are battered too much by winter frosts. We have had them in flower at Christmas before now, although it does depend on the weather and anything could happen there,!

Best wishes from all at Kirton Farm Nurseries.

Hairy Electrics

Hi

It's all go between the rain storms, as we lurch from cold to hot and rain to blazing sunshine. Much of the stock is still growing nicely so those late potted batches of plants I was a bit anxious about are looking good, much to my relief.

The bulbs arrived this afternoon, a couple of weeks later than usual, so it will be all hands to the potting machine next week to get them planted and watered in. It's a challenging job with lots of extra hands involved in getting the right number of bulbs, the right way up and at the right depth before topping up the pot with compost and then mulched, before setting down in the tunnels. A few of the more delicious varieties will be kept on the danish trolleys to keep them out of reach of the mice that, given the chance, will decimate a crop in a moment. We will put those down on the beds when they are rooted, beginning to shoot and harder to dig up. I have to hold off on all ideas of fast efficient potting when these get done, there are frightening numbers of bodies involved and a degree of organised chaos. Best if I just let them get on with it and walk away, there are still plenty more brambles for me to attack with my mattock.

As the prospect of the colder weather looms we have been preparing the prop tunnel with all its heating and lighting kit and controls, and naturally it all came apart in my hands, as is the way with these things. The tunnel itself looks great, lovely clean beds and new clear inflated twin skin covers all looking very smart, but over the past few weeks the control computer has been getting increasingly erratic throwing regular wobblies (technical speak) and turning itself off and on again, losing all the information about temperatures and timings, which is a bit critical when you are trying to grow susceptible tender plants in the winter. A man was summoned, opened the computer up and checked the backup battery, which was the suspected culprit, but all was well with that. He checked for loose wires and pulled a few cables out and pushed them back again declaring the whole thing a write off. So I'm stood there thinking that these things don't last two seconds anymore, we didn't fit it that long ago. Apparently it was 1990, so although that still seems quite recent to me, it is well past it's sell by date and of course no parts are available for repairs anymore, so a new one would have to be made. I was braced for a fairly hefty quote and wasn't disappointed, but worst of all was the predicted January fitting date, how would we control the heating until then? Anyway we might get away with it as they are hoping to squeeze us in a bit earlier and after all that cable removal and reinsertion, the old one appears to have cured itself! I was tempted to cancel the new one but realistically we have to update it, if it goes wrong at a critical time we could lose a lot of valuable stock.

The time clock controlling the grow-lights stopped turning, so although it can turn the lights on and off, it can't keep the correct time, two of the LED grow-lights have blown and a heater fan is tripping out the main trip switch if I turn it on, so the electrician is coming by to put all that right and then we will be ready for winter.

Most of the crew are out in the tunnels now, tidying up plants, cutting back some stock and getting the liverwort suppressing mulch applied. It takes a while but the results can be very satisfying. Lots of tidy rows of tidy plants, ready and waiting for spring sales action. It will take us most of the winter to plough through it all, but it saves so much time in despatch in the spring if the plants are already pre-prepared and liverwort free. Some days this week it was definitely shirt sleeve work, but in the depths of winter it can be a bit of a battle, but it's a job that has to be done.

The old meter shed roof is due for removal on Tuesday, by a specialist asbestos man, and hopefully the new fancy one will be installed by us by the end of the day. What could possibly go wrong with that? I'll let you know next week.

End of season wooden Box returns

We have already collected over 75% of our empty wooden boxes from many sites and will continue to do so over the next few weeks. If you have empty boxes ready to go please do drop us a line and we will pop in when next in the area. 

Availability list.

Unfortunately after a poor seed harvest we only have one Cyclamen coum variety this winter (Silver Leaved) and they are just beginning to produce the very occasional flower. They will go on right through until April so no rush! The other winter star is the Helleborus range, a few varieties already showing signs of flowering but a bit early for most. Good strong plants with plenty of potential.

Summer potted Phlox subulata varieties are having a quick flowering flush. Not sure for how long but looking pretty at the moment. Erigeron Stallone are still doing their thing, flower and bud will keep coming until they are battered too much by winter frosts. We have had them in flower at Christmas before now, although it does depend on the weather and anything could happen there! Summer colour is still there with Gaura Rosy Jane and its bicolour flowers plus the lovely delicate white Whirling Butterflies, 

Best wishes from all at Kirton Farm Nurseries.

Hairy procrastinating is productive

Hi

It's definitely autumnal now with temperatures very close to freezing this morning and still very damp underfoot. The start of the week was wet and nasty but it did improve significantly and resulted in the last two tunnels getting their new covers installed today. The cooler temperatures meant the skin was not quite as stretchy as we would have liked but there wasn't a breath of wind all day, so it was a relatively relaxed performance this time and the covers look tight enough.

It was another week for getting stuff done with our excellent tree/hedge surgeons back again early in the week, to have a go at some unruly hedges that had got away from us and to lift the crowns of the beach trees that overshadow the office. They did a brilliant job, the crown lifting was so well done you could hardly tell they had been here at all, and the hedges were done in double quick time. They make quite a din with their shredder munching through the off cuts, the donkeys were pretty jumpy while they cut one of their bordering hedges but settled down again once all the excitement had passed. They quite like a change of visitor and some different activity, it gives them an excuse to lark about bit more.

We collected a substantial new roof for the electric metering shed which currently leaks a bit. With more control kit and battery storage going in there we felt keeping the water out might be sensible. Now I just have to find a specialist to safely remove and dispose of the old roof which is likely to have low grade asbestos in it and we will be a bit closer to being ready for that solar installation.

I have started my biggest annual brain exercise with the main young plant ordering, which is always a bit of a wet finger in the air moment. I have all the figures in front of me to aid in my guesswork, an up to date stock-take with all the potting and sales more or less completed, a list of all the total sales over 2024 for each of the 550 varieties and lists of plants bought last year from each of 8 or so suppliers over multiple deliveries throughout the season. It's a massive juggle of what, how many and when, with a healthy dollop of wondering, how many customers we will have next year? what will the weather be like? and will the gardening hoards be in the mood for letting those purse string loose? I find it quite daunting to get stuck into this chore and it's astonishing how many important things pop up to distract me. I spent a couple of afternoons with a mattock chopping out brambles on the solar site, emptied part of the barn where some logs had got parked so we could fit in some more of our returning wooden trays and helping out the heating engineer to fix our central heating. I have managed to do some planning, honest, but not enough. Holiday time is rushing up and it needs to be done before then so I can then also order the colour labels to go with the plants. Still not enough days in the week and we aren't even busy!

Very exciting events in the house with the central heating back in full operation after probably at least 18 months with only the bathroom and loo radiators working together with the hot water. We had been manually moving a valve controller to get the main radiators on for several years prior to that, so when the valve was eventually 'fixed' last year we were expecting great things, only to be disappointed with failure and unable to get the engineer back. Well he made it this week and on investigation found that not only had the valve been faulty but the main pump had seized. All the heat we had in the hot water system was created by convection currents not the circulation pump. With the whole system drained and new pump and isolation valves purchased the next challenge was getting the old kit off. Naturally nothing would budge, but in the end gas torches and mega spanners plus the two of us heaving and cussing, it all came apart and miraculously went back together. Instant and gratifying success with heat radiating from all over the place. It feels really decadent to have the potential of heat from radiators, I'm quite excited at the thought of some cold enough weather arriving, and turning them on. Feeling slightly worried that these thoughts are getting close to the highlight of my autumn.

End of season wooden Box returns

We have already collected a lot of our empty wooden boxes from many sites and will continue to do so over the next few weeks. If you have empty boxes ready to go please do drop us a line and we will pop in when next in the area.

Availability list.

Unfortunately after a poor seed harvest we only have one Cyclamen coum variety this winter (Silver Leaved) and they are just beginning to produce the very occasional flower. They will go on right through until April so no rush!

Premium variety Tiarella Pink Skyrocket are ready with attractive foliage and now also in bud and flower. Last few left. The other winter star is the Helleborus range, a few varieties already showing signs of flowering but a bit early for most. Good strong plants with plenty of potential.

Summer colour is still there with Gaura Rosy Jane and its bicolour flowers plus the lovely delicate white Whirling Butterflies.

Best wishes from all at Kirton Farm Nurseries.

Hairy Wind

Hi

We have had a really exciting and productive week with the combination of fewer orders to prepare and a lack of potting to get on with, because the bulbs haven't pitched up yet. We were able get on with starting on the monster task of applying the overwintering mulch on the pot tops to slow up the liverwort and mosses, and hit a load of chores that have been building up over the season.

The irrigation tank lining crew were back again to fit the tank cover, which was very much missed. Blanket weed had started to grow in the open tank, which in turn clogged up nearly all the fine filters in each irrigation line. Draining the tank in preparation for their visit concentrated the weed which was then easily cleaned up from inside the tank itself, but unfortunately also introduced a good dollop into the pipes. Two afternoons of pipe flushing and filter cleaning followed but I think we are now over the worst, and we do now have a lovely new tank cover professionally fitted with not too much distraction from other work for our crew.

The threat of imminent solar panel installation is now hovering over us, so we have started to fight back the poplar runners and bramble invasion that was threatening to take over the previously cleared site. It was cleared long ago, assuming planning wouldn't take nearly a year to get organised and passed, and now a whole growing season has gone by and the bramble growth has gone ballistic. We had tried to get an outside company to come in and knock it back for us but having visited and seen the undulating terraced site, we never heard from them again. Probably just as well because we can be really thorough about the clear up, if we do it ourselves and I suspect we would still have had to clear up after the brush cutters anyway. It is going to take a while to win back the site but we made a really good start this week and at least now we can see the terraces again.

Today was not a day I had been looking forward to, with one longstanding challenge overcome and just one day to get it done. Recovering the propagation tunnel has been on the list since February when the outer sheet of this twin skinned tunnel split, but we could only do the job when there weren't too many sensitive plants weaning in there and temperatures extremes were not too harsh. The twin skins enable us to create a double glazed effect by blowing the sheets apart with a small fan and it works a treat as far as heat saving is concerned, but it's a bugger to reclad. At the best of times recovering a tunnel is fraught with anxiety and tension as you need warm still conditions together with enough time to get off the old cover, repair any tunnel parts that may have rotted away and get it recovered again. The wind inevitably gets up as soon as you unroll the huge replacement sheet, it happens every time. Doing a twin-skin way outdoes a normal tunnel, as we have to drag over two covers, one pulled over the other, while both remain unattached. Adding wind into the equation at this point gets a bit too exciting for my sanity, and sure enough that's how it went today. Delays in pulling the new sheets over the frame meant we were already tight for getting things secure in time for lunch break, but a combination of sheets snagging creating holes and slipping sheets, put us even more behind. Having tacked down the two covers we very nearly got away for our break when the wind really blew up raising one entire side of the sheet to probably 15ft in the air. We realised lunch was going on hold, as we rushed round fitting the sides into place and an hour later it was pretty much nailed down, although not as prettily as we would have liked. An afternoon of securing the remaining loose edges and trimming off the excess plastic put us into overtime for a heroic few, but at least it's on. Fingers crossed we won't have to do that again for another 8 or 9 years.

End of season wooden Box returns

We have already collected a lot of our empty wooden boxes from many sites and will continue to do so over the next few weeks. If you have empty boxes ready to go please do drop us a line and we will pop in when next in the area. 

Availability list.

Summer is rushing by and the Autumn flowering Cyclamen hederifolium are well ready with the bud and flower. Only a few of the white variety left,. Unfortunately after a poor seed harvest we only have one Cyclamen coum variety this winter (Silver Leaved and they are just beginning to produce the very occasional flower. They will go on right through until April so no rush! Premium variety Tiarella Pink Skyrocket are ready with attractive foliage and now also in bud and flower.

The other winter star is the Helleborus range, a few varieties already showing signs of flowering but a bit early for most. Good strong plants with plenty of potential. The more classic Aster varieties are coming on strong now, after all the new early Alpha range has sold out. Most are now coming into bud ready for their late summer and autumn display.

Summer colour is still there with Gaura Rosy Jane and its bicolour flowers plus the lovely delicate white Whirling Butterflies. New range for this year is the Helenium Hayday series, Strong and compact and still showing good colour and bud. 

Best wishes from all at Kirton Farm Nurseries.

Hairy planning success

Hi

At long last we have planning permission for putting in our solar panels. It turned into a really long slog to get it through, despite there being no apparent objections and the installation only being 120 panels. Big thanks to Anna, the planning advisor for the Cornish Rocker company who are putting in our tilting frames, she just kept pushing and prodding, way longer than we would have kept it up and it paid off in the end. I'm hoping the rest of the installation will bowl along, although I'm not holding my breath, I suspect SSE, who are our local network distribution company, will have a few spanners to throw into the mix when the installer has to negotiate the solar and battery connection. As we shouldn't actually need any upgrades to our existing substation connection, it should be fairly straight forward, but previous experience has shown that their records aren't always quite as accurate as you would think. Earlier in the development plans they denied that we had permission to export from the wind turbines which had been going since 2011, we only had permission for a domestic solar installation according to the computer. We had to dig out the connection agreement to find the relevant info to prove we did have it all sorted correctly. It turned out that our installation was made before the current computer software was installed.

The main module potting season came to an end today with most of the tunnels now full to bursting point with stock being readied for the spring. We cleared one last tunnel today so that we have some space to pot the last crop which will be the spring bulbs, as soon as they arrive. The potting machine was run to the point where every last bit of potting compost was used up, so that we can refill it with the nutrient reduced peat-free bulb compost mix. 

Compared with the normal potting team of 3 on the machine, the bulb planting is more of a team game with lots of people counting bulbs into the drilled holes. It can get a bit tense at times and is scarily slow to get through it all. A few pots are singular bulbs which is easy, but we go up to 12 in a single pot and that can be a real challenge when the pot is moving past you. We adopt a few different methods to stop people losing the plot, sometimes each person puts one or two in before it moves along and sometimes we have to remove the pot from the moving belt to achieve a satisfactory result. The key things are not to press the compost down too hard under the bulb as it can lead to over wetting or compaction and rotting, or the roots simply push the bulb back out of the compost, and try to get them the right way up! Then we have to decide which ones are the tastiest for the various critters that might want to snack on them. There are one or two varieties that we definitely can't put straight onto the tunnel floor as they get dug up almost instantly. We have a couple of main culprits, the squirrels can make a mess, but worst is the mice. In the early years we had entire crops of Fritillaria meleagris completely stripped out. We eventually found stores of the partly eaten bulbs all over the place, but not quickly enough to salvage the crops. Now we pot and water them, and stack them on shelved trolleys for a couple of months, until they start actually rooting and growing. This gives them a bit more resistance to removal when they get put onto the beds and must reduce the taste levels I think, as we tend not to lose too many by this point. We do have a small arsenal of traps which we set out under little covers to catch those still willing to have a go and that gets the crop to their budding stage most of the time. We trolley up about half of all the bulb pots, just to be on the safe side, which takes up 40 or 50 trolleys. It's a good test to see if we have retained enough usable trolleys and shelves through the season! 

That reminds me, it looks like CC trolleys are going to issue another new trolley tag this winter, to try and make sure everyone within the system has the correctly marked kit and the right quantities, and to make life more difficult for those who don't pay their dues to use and swap trolleys when receiving plants. It could be a good time to sign up if you haven't already. 

End of season Wooden Box returns

We have already collected a lot of our empty wooden boxes from many sites and will continue to do so over the next few weeks. If you have empty boxes ready to go please do drop us a line and we will pop in when next in the area. 

Availability list.

Summer is rushing by and the Autumn flowering Cyclamen hederifolium are well ready with the bud and flower. Only the white variety left,. Unfortunately after a poor seed harvest we only have one Cyclamen coum variety this winter (Silver Leaved and they are just beginning to produce the very occasional flower. They will go on right through until April so no rush! Premium variety Tiarella Pink Skyrocket are ready with attractive foliage and now also in bud and flower. The other winter star is the Helleborus range, a few varieties already showing signs of flowering but a bit early for most. Good strong plants with plenty of potential.

The more classic Aster varieties are coming on strong now, after all the new early Alpha range has sold out. Most are now coming into bud ready for their late summer and autumn display. Summer colour is still there with Gaura Rosy Jane and its bicolour flowers plus the lovely delicate white Whirling Butterflies. New range for this year is the Helenium Hayday series, Strong and compact and still showing good colour and bud. 

Best wishes from all at Kirton Farm Nurseries.

Hairy and holistic

Hi

The warmer sunnier weather produced another little flurry of orders this week and a few planting schemes have obviously got underway, so quite pleased on the sales front. Production is catching up a bit as September rushes by, but we are still suffering from holiday and illness absences which meant we move forward quite as dramatically as I had hoped. However the plants are loving the weather and growth is looking very healthy so hopefully even though we are a bit later than planned on the potting front, we may get away with it in the end.

My week was very broken up, which made it feel pretty short, in that I got even less done than usual. I had the whole of Wednesday away from the nursery with a trip to Hyde Hall in Essex for a peat-free propagation workshop and nursery visit. A total of 7 hrs on the road was a slog, road works and accidents added that fun level of stress as to whether you are going to get there in time, or get home at all afterwards.

I always feel very inadequate at these technical events, there are a lot of very clever people delivering all this information about how best to manage your propagation, potting and crops, as well as irrigation and feeding regimes. They talked about all the data we should be collecting and testing we are bound to be doing on compost conditions, salt levels, water quality etc, expecting us all to be actually doing it. I could tell there were a few in the audience that were, but I know one for sure who wasn't. At times I was thinking it's astonishing that anything we grow actually lives, let alone makes it to a saleable plant, we must have had an awful lot of luck over the years!

Anyway, if I put my dented confidence to one side, I did pick up on a few good pointers on where we might make some improvements with our module management, increasing the speed of establishment in the pot after potting, improving uniformity and reducing losses. It was all to do with a combination of a sensible feed regime and 'priming' modules for potting.  Using a high phosphate liquid fertiliser shortly before potting to boost the root activity and applying bio-stimulants as well, to toughen up the plants is all part of the priming process. Getting the moisture levels in the plug and potting compost equal and even, over the batch, will apparently help too. So a few fun things to sort out for next season.

It was very much a technical session rather than political, so there wasn't much discussion about the RHS and National Trust setting a 2026 deadline for being 100% peat-free, including the module. One speaker did outline the RHS plans and said that they were prepared for a possible supply shortages for a few seasons, until the commercial propagators caught up with producing in peat-free composts. This may be fine for the RHS and National Trust to say, but if some of your biggest customers are going to refuse to take stock for several years while we (the producer) wait for the propagators to catch up, we are going to potentially lose a lot of sales. So do we downsize production while we wait, or do we find new customers elsewhere? We are doing more propagation ourselves to fill some gaps, but we can't do it all over such a short timeframe. One module supplier is already peat-free, but substantially more expensive, so do we increase prices to cover this and how would other customers feel about this extra price pressure? All this hassle is to remove the last 0.8% of peat from our final product and completely ignores all our other innovative sustainability efforts to remove all plastic from our plant deliveries (labels, pots and marketing trays), capture rainwater, install wind turbines and cuddle trees. They may find other suppliers and remove that 0.8% but the use of plastics and carbon production will then go up as a result. The bigger picture has been completely ignored in the crusade to get to that 100% result too quickly. Now I need a beer.

End of season wooden Box returns

We have already started collecting a lot of our wooden boxes back from many sites and will continue to do so over the next few weeks. If you have empty boxes ready to go please do drop us a line and we will pop in when next in the area. Availability list.

Summer is rushing by and the Autumn flowering Cyclamen hederifolium are well ready with the bud and flower. Not many of the pink variety left, we may sell out this coming week, but still a few more white. Unfortunately after a poor seed harvest we only have one Cyclamen coum variety this winter (Silver Leaved), we have a few extra in stock to make up for part of the total shortfall and they are just beginning to produce the very occasional flower. They will go on right through until April so no rush! Premium variety Tiarella Pink Skyrocket are ready with attractive foliage and now also in bud and flower.

The other winter star is the Helleborus range, a few varieties already showing signs of flowering but a bit early for most. Good strong plants with plenty of potential. The more classic Aster varieties are coming on strong now, after all the new early Alpha range has sold out. Most are now coming into bud ready for their late summer and autumn display.

Summer colour is still there with Gaura Rosy Jane and its bicolour flowers plus the lovely delicate white Whirling Butterflies, New range for this year is the Helenium Hayday series, Strong and compact and still showing good colour and bud.

Best wishes from all at Kirton Farm Nurseries.

Hairy leaks

Hi

Really cold this morning, must have been very close to a frost, it was registering 2C at 7 this morning. Luckily it looks like we are coming into a run of high pressure and more settled conditions with sunshine and light winds which should stave off the autumnal feel for a bit. Potting has gone really well this week, we are close to catching up with the schedule, just another few tunnels to go before the October bulb potting spree and then we can relax. Space in the tunnels is getting harder to create as we cut a few things back and shuffle it all about. It looks like we are going to be overwintering a bit more than I had originally planned, but that should be fine, I will just reduce my spring module ordering a bit to make up for it and hope the winter isn't too wet or cold so all that stock flies out early in the Spring.

After emptying the irrigation tank over the weekend the tank relining team pitched up on Monday as planned, but after several setbacks and a late night finish we were left with a functioning but uncovered tank. Our small leak had developed into an 18 inch split, so it was a good job we rushed the team in for the repair, but a surprising number of parts had rusted away including the outlet pipe and flange, and the cover centre post base support. Unfortunately none of these things are visible until the tank is emptied and it all comes apart. More parts have been ordered but at least we now have a non leaking and functioning water store. Because of the late finish there was no water in the tank to test the pumps, so an added surprise the following day was that they still error messaged that there was no water, despite all my pump bleeding and priming efforts. Had to call the pump man for advice and he suggested checking that the float switches were doing their thing after being reintroduced into the newly lined tank. One had sunk when it should have been floating (weight had got stuck in the wrong place) but this still didn't clear the issue. Thankfully I was able to get Ian the pump man to do an emergency visit and he found they had pulled out one of the float switch wires in the terminal box while reinstalling the switches. Not my fault for a change, and such a relief as we had been without water for 3 days.

The last compost delivery is coming in on Tuesday, half is our peat-free bulb compost and half our general overwintering potting mix, We emptied the bin today so it's perfect timing and I'm hoping I've worked out the quantities just right so none of it goes to waste. The last main predator release happened this week, just in time for the cold snap last night. They should be ok, as they are delivered slightly chilled, but they appreciate some warmth over the next few days to get properly active. The next couple of week of warm sunshine should be perfect timing to knock back any pest build up that could happen before winter sets in. We still get the odd aphid outbreak now and then but not a lot. Red-spider mite, vine weevil, whitefly and all those compost flies all seem to be absent so we assume the bugs are doing the trick. We did have one scare a few weeks ago when a customer noticed potential scale insects on several plants on an order, and the images sent did get me worried, although it isn't a pest we have ever seen before. I sent the pictures to our expert man who quickly reassured me that these were commonly misidentified at this time of year and that they were in fact small spider egg cases. Once we knew, we were spotting them all over the place especially on the underside of propagation and carrying trays as well as on some leaves. Apparently it indicates a healthy population of spiders are about with more likely to be running all over the place very soon. Caroline wasn't too keen on that bit.

Next week I'm off to Hyde Hall to hear about all the latest progress on peat-free propagation, so hoping to pick up a few tips so we can make the most of the new tray filler and seeding machines that should be arriving soon. We also get a tour of a local bedding nursery to see their prop unit so looking to cherry pick some good ideas and practices there too. Who says you can't teach an old dog new tricks?

End of season wooden Box returns

We have already started collecting a lot of our wooden boxes back from many sites and will continue to do so over the next few weeks. If you have empty boxes ready to go please do drop us a line and we will pop in when next in the area. 

Availability list.

Summer is rushing by and the Autumn flowering Cyclamen hederifolium are well ready with the bud and flower. Premium variety Tiarella Pink Skyrocket are ready with attractive foliage and now also in bud and flower. Lovely foliage plants on show with Ajuga and Euphorbia displaying nicely.

The more classic Aster varieties are coming on strong now, after all the new early Alpha range has sold out. Most are now coming into bud ready for their late summer and autumn display.

Summer colour is still there with Gaura Rosy Jane and its bicolour flowers plus the lovely delicate white Whirling Butterflies, New range for this year is the Helenium Hayday series, Strong and compact and still showing good colour and bud.

Armeria Dreameria series of long season flowering Armerias are still showing plenty of colour with still more to come. 

Best wishes from all at Kirton Farm Nurseries.

Hairy Autumn planning

Hi

No Indian summer here as I stare out the window. I know a few of you will have seen some quite high temperatures over the last couple of days, but here it currently feels like we are about to dissolve. Light levels have crashed and I walked home in virtual darkness last night.

Sales have curtailed slightly this week and I expect more of the same over the next few weeks, as everyone battens down for the long haul to the spring. I know quite a few will be looking to get Christmas underway in the next couple of weeks, which for some can be the busiest time of the year, but this is definitely coming up to our quiet time. Just need a bit more warm weather to allow us to get the last few weeks of potting completed and then it's heads down on cutting back the older stock and dressing the pots with mulch to hold back the winter liverwort growth. Don't forget our spring starts in January, weather permitting, with a few evergreens and the spring bulbs all leaping into action so we won't be away for long.

The damp and cooler weather has timed itself quite nicely for the end of this week as we have arranged for a team to come and install a replacement liner in our main irrigation tank. We sprang a small leak a few weeks ago and hoped to limp through until the end of September, but this week it suddenly worsened and we had to ask the team to come in fairly urgently. It should only take a day to whip the old one out, replace it and fit a new cover at the same time, but we will need to have the tank empty at the appropriate moment.

The swallows are gathering now for their long haul migration to warmer parts. We had a small flock parked up on the overhead cable this morning looking very sorry for themselves. It was cold and very wet, certainly not a good day for feeding and building up their reserves for the trip ahead. Over the past week when the weather was a bit kinder, we had a couple of really big flocks swooping over the nursery which is exciting to see but also a bit sad that we will have to wait many months before their return and their delightful summer chattering.

We are starting to line up a series of winter projects, setting ourselves up for an even more efficient 2025 season. I'm am ever hopeful that the solar panels will be in before too long, although I suspect a few more hiccups before they actually get sorted. I can't quite believe how long it is taking to complete the planning process and then we have to clear the connection with SSE, tidy the site again, install the tilting frames, fix and wire up the panels and invertors, battery storage and control equipment, all of which is bound to go smoothly. At least it is long term positive progress on the carbon front.

We have a new module tray filler and seed sowing machine on the way, in order to increase our in-house peat-free propagation, which might save a few pennies, but more urgently will increase the number of varieties we can say are 100% peat free. Currently the average peat content in our pots (caused by some of our propagator suppliers not being totally peat- free) is 99.25% but apparently this isn't enough for everyone, so we are spending about £40,000 to improve the position. It's a good job we are so young and still stand a chance to get a return on that investment!

We have the tree surgeons booked in again to regain control of some more of our rampant hedging. It worked a treat last winter with lots more light getting into some of our previously over shadowed tunnels. We also have some work to do installing the new pressurised sand filter by the rainwater sump, tidying up the rainwater collection drains and installing more channels so that we maximise the amount of rainfall reaching our sumps. There are some buildings where the gutters empty to waste rather than being diverted into the collection drains, so a bit of thought and engineering needed there. All fun and positive improvements, just hoping the autumn/winter lull in sales is long enough to get it all done. It isn't usually.

End of season wooden Box returns

We have already started collecting a lot of our wooden boxes back from many sites and will continue to do so over the next few weeks. If you have empty boxes ready to go please do drop us a line and we will pop in when next in the area. 

Availability list.

Summer is rushing by and the Autumn flowering Cyclamen hederifolium are well ready with the bud and flower. Premium variety Tiarella Pink Skyrocket are ready with attractive foliage and now also in bud and flower.

Fresh batches of the summer and autumn flowering mini garden Chrysanthemums are coming into bud and colour. Lovely foliage plants on show with Ajuga and Euphorbia displaying nicely. The more classic Aster varieties are coming on strong now, after all the new early Alpha range has sold out. Most are now coming into bud ready for their late summer and autumn display.

Summer colour is still there with Gaura Rosy Jane and its bicolour flowers plus the lovely delicate white Whirling Butterflies.New range for this year is the Helenium Hayday series, Strong and compact and still showing good colour and bud.

Armeria Dreameria series of long season flowering Armerias are still showing plenty of colour with still more to come. The Balloon Flower Platycodon Twinkle Blue and Twinkle White are now well into bud with the odd flash of colour.

Best wishes from all at Kirton Farm Nurseries.

Hairy 4 day week?

Hi

Looks like a bit of an Indian summer coming with a pleasant start to September on the cards. Fingers crossed that all the old folk with no kids are out and about over the next few weeks, credit cards open for a pounding, as we hit the cheaper holiday breaks with the schools all back to work. We are not too bad for staffing next week but probably half the gang are off during week after as they make the most off the end of summer bargains. Hoping we can juggle everything to cope, should be ok as I think that although van driver availability is low it, is well spread out. The potting rush I was hoping to ride on might well stutter, but Caroline tells me it will all work out fine!

Although it feels like it's been a long week we did have the bank holiday break at the start which hopefully refreshed everyone. In theory we should have made up for the hours shortfall by being more rested and productive over the other four days. That is one of the theories behind the move to promoting the four day working week. I'm not entirely sure how true that is myself, as soon as everyone gets used to 4 days being the full time norm, then any extra vim and vigour found during the initial period is likely to wane without some serious focus and commitment. As someone who, in theory, is supposed to be running a small nursery, the thought of working a five day week is already a huge novelty and is something reserved for the winter period only. With a following wind we might get down to 6 days for some of the summer, but for 5 or 6 months it's 7. I feel I'm not really selling the idyll of working the land, in my apron, wellies and with trug in hand, but it's what it takes us to get it all working right and keep costs in check.

A good week for getting stuff mended with a new control panel put in the emergency generator to overcome last week's breakdown and a new capacitor/switch on one of the wind turbines which burnt out last Sunday. We have a brilliant small maintenance company to look after our turbines (Natural Energy) and a simple Whatsapp photo of the charred part and broken wire, with a short message, was all that was needed for an instant response and action on the next working day. Every hour saved to get the turbine up and running again helps cover the bill, and there's nothing quite like watching the blades turning in the breeze and generating cash to make you feel it's not all a slog.

An early start on Thursday to get all my chores sorted and the plants all ready for the potting team before departing for Beaulieu, for a welcome pub lunch and our first NBIS meeting for a very long time. We were a bit thin on the ground with a couple of absentees and even more retirements, but there was a big push from the HTA contingent that they really want to get the group re-launched and thriving again. There were some tough questions for us to deal with and it looks like we are going to have to take a slightly more professional approach to how we approach these meetings, including a fairly hefty potential bill that will follow once the group is running properly again. There was a sticky moment part way through the meeting when it became apparent that non HTA members are unlikely to be invited to be in the group, which potentially knocks out two or three of the existing members including ourselves. The HTA was sure that they could convince the doubters that they are missing out on lots of things that the HTA are now doing for their grower members, although I remain to be convinced. There was talk of show discounts and access to more press coverage for unique products like ours, but compared to membership of the NFU it is an expensive option. The other problem for us is that more exposure means having to promote ourselves and we prefer our lower profile approach where you just have to be 'in the know' and on the 'H list'! 

Availability list.

Lovely compact and well branched batch of Verbena Lollipop now available.

Summer is rushing by and the Autumn flowering Cyclamen hederifolium are well ready with the bud and flower. Premium variety Tiarella Pink Skyrocket are ready with attractive foliage and now also in bud and flower.

Fresh batches of the summer and autumn flowering mini garden Chrysanthemums are coming into bud and colour. Lovely foliage plants on show with Ajuga and Euphorbia displaying nicely.

The more classic Aster varieties are coming on strong now, after all the new early Alpha range has sold out. Most are now coming into bud ready for their late summer and autumn display. Anemone japonica back on the list as summer slips by.

Some Bergenia varieties have a late flower flush as is the case with Fire and Ice with its white flowers and red stems. Summer colour is still there with the Gaura Rosy Jane with its bicolour flowers and the lovely delicate white of Whirling Butterfies, .

New range for this year is the Helenium Hayday series, Strong and compact and still showing good colour and bud. Armeria Dreameria series of long season flowering Armerias are still showing plenty of colour with loads more to come. No white this year but a series of three pretty different pinks making a delightful show.

The Balloon Flower Platycodon Twinkle Blue and Twinkle White are now well into bud with the odd flash of colour.

Best wishes from all at Kirton Farm

Hairy Wind

Hi

An autumnal blast this week with cooler temperatures, stormy winds and a bit of dampness too, and it's bank holiday time again. Sends me into a slight panic again with the amount of potting to do, but the nursery seems quite full so maybe it's not as bad as my mind is telling me. A blast of sun and very warm temperatures next week will hopefully get the sap running and potting machine flying so we can get properly back on track.

Frustrating day today with our second full days power cut within 3 weeks. We have a big old generator, so with a lot of juggling we can get most of the single phase stuff running, luckily that includes the phone, computer systems and the tea urn as well as the microprop lab. Unfortunately the potting machine is 3 phase so won't run off the generator and today was supposed to be the second of two full potting days, boo-hoo. The generator we have runs off a very old diesel tractor engine, it does the job but it is pretty noisy in comparison to the new ones. It is a constant thundering which you sort of get used to, but when it turns off you realise how incessant it is and how tense it makes everyone! We have a small gang in over the bank holiday to try and make up the potting shortfall so not the end of the world.

Slightly frustrating that it is so windy today and the wind turbines are off. They have a safety device in the system that stops them running when the mains power goes off, so that they don't export any power back down the cables while the power company is working on the line. Fair enough really.

Cleared out the electric meter shed last weekend to make space for the new solar panel control kit and battery storage. It had turned into a bit of a long term store, so there was plenty to clear out including multiple tarantula's and mouse nests.

Managed to re-home a few useful bits and pieces but most ended up in the recycling as it had been moved in there when we knocked down the old office which was over 5 years ago, and never used since. Lovely big clear wall space now to mount the new kit against, but a rather large crack in the corrugated roof was revealed which will now need replacing. Rainfall and electrics are not a great mix so a good opportunity to get that sorted properly.

Next week sees the return of our HTA run NBIS group meetings, after the group almost came to grief with retiring members and a lull in organising effective leadership. It looks like we might be on the road to recovery now after the HTA managed to find a coordinator/consultant to take the helm and get us up and running again. I know I have benefitted hugely from the quarterly meetings in the past, it turned out to be great personal therapy as well as an excellent business tool to do what it says on the tin and improve our nursery business. It took a while for everyone to open up and admit that they too were growers who made mistakes along the way, worked too many hours and took precious little return for their efforts, but once that hurdle was cleared we learnt so much from each other and our experiences along the way. It always surprises me when businesses, that from the outside may look very different, often have many of the same challenges and solutions.

Electric update: 'Famous last words' as the generator packed up, wing tip deployed on one turbine when it was stopped in breezy conditions, and the potting machine and air compressor tripped out. Power luckily returned early, so an afternoons potting was eventually achieved and Caroline got to see the view from the top of the turbine again. Nice evening for it! 

Availability list.

Lovely compact and well branched batch of Verbena Lollipop now available. Summer is rushing by and the Autumn flowering Cyclamen hederifolium are just about ready with the some bud and flower already on show. Lots more growth and flower to come.

Premium variety Tiarella Pink Skyrocket are ready with attractive foliage and now also in bud and flower. Fresh batches of the summer and autumn flowering mini garden Chrysanthemums are coming into bud. Lovely foliage plants on show with Ajuga and Euphorbia displaying nicely. The more classic Aster varieties are coming on strong now, after all the new early Alpha range has sold out. Most are now coming into bud ready for their late summer and autumn display.

Anemone japonica back on the list as summer slips by. Some Bergenia varieties have a late flower flush as is the case with Fire and Ice with its white flowers and red stems. Summer colour is still there with the Gaura Rosy Jane with it's bicolour flowers and the lovely delicate white of Whirling Butterflies. New range for this year is the Helenium Hayday series, Strong and compact and still showing good colour and bud.

Armeria Dreameria series of long season flowering Armerias are still showing plenty of colour with loads more to come. No white this year but a series of three pretty different pinks making a delightful show. Leucanthemum La Creme and La Grande are in strong bud now with flowers open on many. The Balloon Flower Platycodon Twinkle Blue and Twinkle White are now well into bud with the odd flash of colour.

 Best wishes from all at Kirton Farm Nurseries.

Hairy Lights

Hi

A very pleasant batch of weather coming up, warm, sunny with the odd shower, just right for a spot of garden shopping. It certainly seems to be helping sales roll along with another busy week behind us and next week already looks ok with the pre- bank holiday build up and a few advanced orders already. I know it's not like the spring should have been, but it's still a day off (for some) and credit cards usually take a pounding, especially if the weather is fine.

Slightly scary that the football season seems well underway already but I have to put that to the back of my mind as we try and push on with the potting. Another week passes with not enough done. A lack of prepared space, too many other distractions and some days with next to no one in work due to allsorts very valid reasons. It was Wednesday when I counted 10 here out of the 22 that it could have been, it was just coincidence that it all happened on one day, but we made it through so no worries really. I'm not bitter!

Anyway that's not the main excitement, that came with the arrival of an expert pump plumber on Tuesday who repaired a very expensive seal on one of our irrigation pressure pumps motors. These should give us enough woomf in the irrigation system to run multiple spray-lines at the same time, without losing performance in the nozzles. In theory we run two pumps in tandem, with the second one kicking in when water demand is high and pressure falls back. They are super efficient and ramp up their work rate as needed, rather than just turning on or off, so using far less energy. The trouble we have had for several years is that we had undiagnosed malfunctioning non-return valves on both pumps, which meant the pumps could work against each other and mess up the whole system. The result was that we could only pressurise the system with one pump running and the other turned off. This worked ok as long as we didn't have too many spray-lines on at the same time, making things difficult to manage in the hotter weather. Running the one pump did dry out the seal in the second one, which then failed when we eventually sorted out the valve issues. In a nutshell the main man replaced the seal and got the new motors on the pumps talking to each other again, so we are back to full pressure. What a joy, I can't believe we struggled for so long with only half a pump system. Now there is just the newly leaking storage tank liner to replace and sand filter to fit. 

Stunning natural wonders this week with unusually good views in the south of both the Aurora and Perseid meteor shower. We don't usually see much of the Northern Lights way down here but they peaked a couple of times through Sunday and Monday nights and after getting back from dancing late on Monday we saw a pretty, but short, rosy and green show (see attached image taken from the farm garden). The shooting stars were great too, but impossible to photo on the phone. 

Availability list.

Lovely compact and well branched batch of Verbena Lollipop now available. Summer is rushing by and the Autumn flowering Cyclamen hederifolium are just about ready with the some bud and flower already on show. Lots more growth and flower to come.

Tiarella wherrii are back on the list and in flower again, and the premium variety Pink Skyrocket are also ready with attractive foliage and now also in bud. Lovely foliage plants on show with Ajuga and Euphorbia displaying nicely.

The more classic Aster varieties are coming on strong now, after most of the new early Alpha range has all but sold out. Most are now coming into bud ready for their late summer and autumn display. Anemone japonica back on the list as summer slips by.

Some Bergenia varieties have a late flower flush as is the case with Fire and Ice with its white flowers and red stems. Fresh batches of the summer and autumn flowering mini garden Chrysanthemums are coming into bud.

Exotic Oxalis Iron Cross in flower now. Summer flowering Crocosmia are now throwing up bud and flower, Summer colour is there with the Gaura Rosy Jane and it's bicolour flowers. New range for this year is the Helenium Hayday series, Strong and compact and showing good colour and bud.

Salvia's of all sorts are now growing strongly. The hardy Osteospermum Tresco Purple are in bud and flower. Excellent bushy stock but not many left. Armeria Dreameria series of long season flowering Armerias are still showing plenty of colour with loads more to come. No white this year but a series of three pretty different pinks making a delightful show.

Leucanthemum La Creme and La Grande are in strong bud now with flowers open on many. The Balloon Flower Platycodon Twinkle Blue and Twinkle White are now well into bud with the odd flash of colour. So many other lines doing their thing at the moment including; Penstemon, Astilbe and Achillea don't hold back make the most of them while they are here.

Best wishes from all at Kirton Farm Nurseries.