Hairy and getting shipshape

Hi

Luckily we managed to avoid the worst of the wind this week, I hope you managed ok too. 114mph in Northern Ireland sounds pretty scary. A bit more to come on Sunday, but on the bright side at least it isn't too cold.

Sales are still pretty quiet although we already have a few orders in for next week which is encouraging. The plants are definitely looking perkier as each week passes, which makes us think spring isn't too far away.

The nursery is till buzzing with so many things going on, as we try to get everything shipshape before we get too busy on the sales front. The old acid tank has been emptied, dismantled and taken away and the new one delivered and fitted, so that part of the irrigation system is just about sorted. It was a bit touch and go getting it into the protective cage as it seems to be bigger than the old one, but we got there in the end. Replacement parts arrived to repair the top of the main irrigation tank which bent in on itself, after the previous storm damaged the cover, so if the weather calms down a bit next week that should get repaired by the team booked in. Pete the electrician is continuing with all his upgrades of wiring, heaters and controls. Another week will hopefully see him finished, although I thought that a week ago and we are still finding plenty to do. We put up a new little shed over our rainwater collection filter, so that will need fitting out with basic light and frost protection. Thankfully the power supply is already in position so that should be simple. We spent more on insulation and lining than we did on the shed, I hope it's all worth it.

All five heaters and switch work in the prop tunnel have been rewired to make them safe and operate correctly, and we have followed that up this week with a refurbishment of the heaters body work. A bucket full of rust accumulated over 30 years was scraped off, the directional louvers freed up, with the remaining metalwork receiving a generous coating of silver Hammerite, to hold back further deterioration. We will have to replace the heater bases which have just about dissolved and now allow hot air to blow out from underneath, so drying out the plants close by, and we will also put new tops on them to shed the water from the irrigation. We dismantled a trolley watering device we haven't used since the old B&Q days back in 2010, stripping off the galvanised sheets to make up the replacement heater panels. The internal watering pipe-work we have refashioned into a new misting unit for the prop tunnel so that we can increase the amount of peat-free propagation we produce in the future. The new climate control computer installed earlier already has a program set up for misting, so we should be up and away very soon. The whole tunnel already looks refreshed are raring to go. Just a few more hours needed. The seed sowing machine has had a bit more input so we are a bit closer to being more productive, I have just got to fit an extra brush after the topping is dispensed, so it all comes out neat and level. I've started shopping for seed already, which is proving very expensive and way too tempting. I can see a few new lines appearing over the coming months, providing we actually get the machine working well enough. I am currently overwhelmed by the choices of nozzle sizes, single seed nozzles or multiples, metal or silicon. Each set costs towards £100 so I can't get too carried away, but I can't really get going unless I make some decisions.

At least I have all the fun of redecorating the conservatory in my spare time. The end is in sight but I'm struggling with the window frames, every time I meticulously tidy up the edges of the paintwork I come back the next day and someone has painted all these wiggly lines around the edge. I'm not entirely sure I'm improving it or making things worse. A bit like working on the nursery really.

Prices for 2025

The new price list is out for 2025. There is a small rise of approx 2% which is more or less where inflation is supposedly currently at, although sadly our cost rises are not running at quite that nice low level. Our biggest cost is labour and that increased last year by close to 10% per hour, with a further increase of close to 8% coming into force in April. External transport (carrier) costs are up 6% which illustrates increasing costs in that area, and young plant costs which also use a lot of labour are rising pretty dramatically too. We are hoping that a combination of better weather bringing in higher sales volumes and reducing waste, together with more efficiency in propagation and production after more investment in mechanisation, will help maintain some margin to reinvest again next year.

Availability list.

The spring bulbs are making their early start with several varieties already up and showing. Not a lot of bud just yet.

We only have one Cyclamen coum variety this winter (Silver Leaved) this winter, but they are now producing loads of buds and colour, so looking great. There are a few trays of Wild Primrose (P. vulgaris) in bud already, with lots more to follow over the next couple of months.

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.

Happy New Year from all at Kirton Farm Nurseries.