I can’t believe the amount of stuff that goes on in one week. Not only have we delivered lots of plants and finished the bulk of the potting, but we discovered lots of new info about insulation possibilities for the house and clever hot water heating systems. I struggled to walk for two days after starting the new hockey season in less than peak physical shape and oh yes, we got the planning permission for the wind turbines approved by the city planning committee.

The sudden dip in temperature at night is a bit of a shock, especially as it has timed itself really well with the aga going on the blink, the living room chimney being opened up for repair creating a mini ‘mistral’ through the room and the house boiler out of action. Even the cats are getting a bit fed up trying to find a warm spot for a nap.

The plants don’t seem to mind the cool as we seem to be getting a real growth spurt before the cold really sets in. We are just going through a bit of a change in watering regimes at the moment which is likely to keep developing over the next couple of seasons. We are introducing more of a wet /dry cycle into the production to try and toughen up the plants, reduce the amount of green glop on the compost surface and reduce water use. With our current sub-irrigated sand-beds, which had been considered the best system around at one time for plant quality and water conservation, we get constantly moist compost when compost/sand-bed contact is good, this has served us well in the past but we can now do better. After years of repeated niggles with the sand-beds we were finally persuaded to try a different approach by the water usage figures produced by the NBIS.  These figures illustrated the extra water consumed by the nurseries using capillary sand-beds compared with those using a well managed wet/dry system (usually overhead), the opposite of the expected results. This has been recorded over three years so we know it’s not a one-off. Our current focus on tieing in sustainability with improved crop management has led us to incorporate an overhead system together with the sub irrigated option, trying out new wet/dry sub-irrigation systems and aiming to install some degree of rain water collection. Hopefully this will pay back quickly in reduced water bills, reduced plant wastage and time saved in pot tidying at despatch. You never stop learning in this trade.

Eco news

Ok, the really exciting news was really the planning consent given to our 3 wind turbines. What a relief, I have been playing it down in my head for so long that I can’t really get to grips with the fact that it’s got through and we can get on with it. No individuals turned up to object at the meeting, but as expected a representative for the two parish councils did read out a list of objection points. I did my bit and although I was a bit nervous I think it went ok, I am sure that the personal approach can work, with something like this, rather than sending in a non-local expert to represent you. Anyway, the planners dealt with all the raised points very well and the questions and debate from the committee eventually came to a sensible conclusion. The planning committee did recognise that public opinion has turned in favour of getting something done about renewable energy production, noted that there had only been three individual objections to the project and that the turbines themselves were not enormous. We passed unanimously in the end which was perfect. Thanks go to all those who have supported us on this one, even if it was a only few words of encouragement, it all added to the momentum. One shocking fact that the parish council did raise was that, according to them, this will be the biggest installation in Hampshire! If that is true, I am shocked and embarrassed as a Hampshire resident, that this small project is all we have managed. Still we have to start somewhere.

Last weekend’s Whitely Village energy exhibition was not quite the extravaganza I envisaged but we did meet one very informative chap from a builder merchants (Covers) who have an ‘Eco Centre’ specialising in wide range sustainable products for buildings, from insulation to boilers, heat pumps, energy generation etc. There is an amazing range of clever and sometimes very simple kit aimed at sorting out more sustainable domestic living but it won’t work if we don’t install it!

This year’s nursery electric consumption is now down by 23.02% (at end of August).

Have a good week, from all at Kirton Farm Nurseries

At last the phones are sorted. It took another visit from the engineer to install an earlier version of the software that runs it all (newest version had too many bugs in it) and then a few hours resetting it all up again. We still found the odd hiccup after he had gone but he was able to fix all those remotely via the internet in a matter of moments. It’s all very impressive once it works but it has been a pain-full process getting there. I felt quite sorry for the engineer who was so confident in the kit, only to have to sit through days hunched over his laptop and on his mobile, talking to base and the manufacturers, huffing, sighing, and unable to get it to do pretty basic stuff. The relief on his face when the old software worked so well was a delight to see.
I had an entertaining evening recording the various messages on the new system, I had to wait until everyone had gone home and I could talk without distraction or embarrassment. It took me hours to get anything remotely coherent recorded. When you aren’t used to recording stuff it all seems so odd, my voice doesn’t really sound like that for a start, I can hear my brothers voice but not mine, and how come that a simple phrase can come out with so many words in the wrong order! Then I started to get a bit hysterical and started getting the giggles after a few words, after which the language got a bit more colourful and panic filled as I realised that as soon as it was recorded it was on the system. I then had to quickly rerecord it before someone called which added more pressure and more mistakes. I got there in the end, so apologies to anyone who tried to call when either the system was down or you got an earful of garbled rubbish from some nutter with a microphone in apparent need of a sedative.

Sorry, but those of you receiving this stuff by fax rather than email will have had a rather erotic service over the last couple of weeks due to secondary problems with the new phone system. Hopefully this is sorted now, although it would be more eco-friendly, reliable and cheaper to send it by email if you have the facility available. Just let me know an address and we will add you to the list. Isn’t auto speeling correction just great?!

Eco news

Wind Turbine planning committee on Thursday. There are 4 time slots for people to address the panel, 3 mins (total) for the public to oppose, 3 mins for the parish councils to support or oppose, 5 mins for any city councillors and 3 mins at the end for the applicant and/or supporters. The planning officers report for the committee came out last week and it looks pretty good, they seem to have covered all the objections raised and effectively dismissed them and come out with a fairly strong recommendation to grant permission. We have a couple of the local city councillors who are supporting the proposal, one Lib Dem and one Tory, so with a split representation on the panel itself we might be covered. There has still been very little negative local coverage other than the Crawley Parish Council’s foot stamping, and even that seems to have failed to produce much reaction as far as we know. I am ever hopeful that the tide is turning and a project like this will start to see a more positive response from local communities but the proof will be in seeing how the city councillors respond.

We are off in a minute to the Winter Energy Weekend at Whitley Village near Southampton (http://winacc.org.uk/events/2010-09-10/visit-whiteley-energy-weekend-today)%20see to see if we can pick up any info on local sustainability projects and maybe bend Winchester City Councils ear to make recycling easier for local businesses. It’s aimed mostly at the domestic market but there should be plenty of companies and organisations exhibiting and pointing us all in the right direction. This year’s nursery electric consumption is now down by 23.02% (at end of August).

Nature notes

Summer nearly gone, swallows have all left and the house martins have definitely thinned out over the week. On Monday there were over 50 swooping over the nursery and yesterday just a handful returning to a couple of the nest sites. Still looking on the bright side there will be less guano on the conservatory roof!

Don't forget to do your bit.

Have a good week, from all at Kirton Farm Nurseries

Another interesting week as the telephone engineers try to get the new phone system to work as planned. Nearly there, just the answer-phone service to get going now. During the past 10 days we have been intermittently on and off with nursery phone lines, internet lines, fax lines in, fax lines out, recorded messages etc so apologies if you have had any difficulties getting through.

It even knocked out all our printers from the computer network on Friday after a new router they fitted on Thursday had renamed the IP addresses. The problem didn’t materialise until the computers where turned on again on Friday morning. The joys of high tech. Still, on the bright side we now have network and internet access from the house again after a break of about 5 years and the new mobile hand-sets seem to have a better range than the old ones.
A bit flat today after an afternoon off yesterday the see Southampton FC play against Rochdale. Oops, lost again with another disappointing performance after a tricky couple of weeks when they lost, their main money man who sadly passed away, and their manager and most of the coaching staff who all got the sack. Still at least Portsmouth are doing badly too!

Production of the hairy pots is back under way in Sri Lanka after the fire that destroyed our last shipment and damaged the presses, but it is not up to full speed yet. Naturally there are some insurance delays which haven’t helped but the things are coming together. We will keep production there moving along throughout the winter to build up stocks here and keep their cash flow going. It will mean earlier outlays for us but does give us the insurance of uninterrupted pot supply for next season.

It isn’t the sort of issue we have come across before with a supplier, but it is in its own way it does give us a real connection with the people producing this product and a realisation of some of the social responsibilities we have as consumers.

Eco news

Exciting news on the wind turbine planning which is going before the planning committee on Thursday 16th Sept which is quicker than we anticipated, so well done to the local planning dept. There are 4 time slots for people to address the panel, 3 mins (total) for the public to oppose, 3 mins for the parish councils to support or oppose, 5 mins for any city councillors and 3 mins at the end for the applicant and/or supporters. Our planning guide will prepare my input once the planning dept report recommending approval is issued 7 days before the meeting, nerve wracking stuff. I have a couple of the local city councillors who are supporting the proposal, one Lib Dem and one Tory, so with a split representation on the panel itself we might be covered. There has still been very little negative local coverage other than the Crawley Parish Council’s foot stamping, and even that seems to have failed to produce much reaction as far as we know. I am ever hopeful that the tide is turning and a project like this will start to see a more positive response from local communities but the proof will be in seeing how the city councillors respond.

Hoping to get to the Winter Energy Weekend at Whitley Village near Southampton next weekend and see if we can pick up any info on local sustainability projects. It’s aimed mostly at the domestic market but there should be plenty of companies and organisations exhibiting and pointing us all in the right direction.

This year’s nursery electric consumption is now down by 23.02% (at end of August).

Don't forget to do your bit.

Have a good week, from all at Kirton Farm Nurseries

Another week whizzes by and still the relentless sun, wind and lack of precipitation continues, for us down in here anyway. The wind is blowing through the leaves of the poplar windbreak again and I mourn the waste of energy (and cost savings) that another days electric generation is lost, but things are looking up.

It already seems an age ago that we dipped out of the World Cup and the fact that the Germans, who knocked us out, go marching on, makes it easier to justify such a poor effort. We've crammed a lot in since then orders, potting, watering and tunnel clearing so it all seems like a distant memory.

I attended two PLATO Sustain meetings, one local and one regional, both on subjects that were to me a bit scary. One was on current best practice/tactics on sales rep employment and use, and the other on marketing in a recession and social media marketing. Having been a bit sceptical about what would be relevant to us, I was blown away by the how much valuable info I gathered. Although at my age I do suffer from the problem that as extra bits of info go in one ear other bits fall out of the other, so I come away thinking wow what a lot of great stuff and when Caroline asks me what it was all about I can only remember that lunch was great!
It reminds me how good it is to occasionally step away from the day to day stuff and get a fresh view of life, the universe and everything. The social media bit was daunting with so many communication channels available for everyone, especially the techno savvy young. It was generally a room full of old fogies or businessmen, of which a few had dabbled in the area but were all astonished at the scale and potential of the various medias. We had a whistle stop tour of Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Linked-in, search engine stuff and a load of more that fell out of the other ear! The amount of time spent on all this by the users and the amount of available info left floating about by individuals and businesses, which we can use, is astonishing. In the very near future it could become a very efficient way for us all to keep our ‘followers’ up to date with all our news and offers if you get the approach right. Mind you it may take a while for our more mature end of the market to catch up but do bear in mind, we do have a younger customer base appearing. The days of the upfront hard sell appear to be over. Oh yes another gem I picked up was, don’t forget that the main aim of marketing should not be to sell more but to increase your product value and sell at a higher profit. Then you can invest in doing it all even better next year (it’s always jam tomorrow!)

Eco news

A very pleasant surprise this week with a letter from the chief planner who says that the turbine application will go to planning committee to discuss, as expected, but that he would be recommending approval, hoped for but not expected, subject to a bat survey being carried out along the hedge where they are to be positioned.
The survey will delay things another couple of months we think, but the recognition of the relatively small scale of the project and the need for change was very reassuring. We have heard that those in Crawley village opposed to the idea are currently trying to drum up support for a petition against it, but hopefully it won’t get too noisy. There were certainly not many who were moved enough to comment on the application in a negative way during the planning application commenting period. So well done and thanks to all those who managed a supportive comment, you did your bit and it helped.

Nature notes

House Martins have hatched in several nests, there are young finches all over the place and the Sparrowhawk looks to be busy. I know some of our ladies here don’t like the number of kills seen at this time of year, but you need to see the bigger picture and hope it is showing a healthy local environment where the food chain is complete and working. The long tailed tit population seems to have exploded after getting a bit thin on numbers after the cold winter, I can hear them tweeting (even they have mobiles now) all over the place.

Still a few tadpoles appear occasionally in the main pond but most have left home I think, we have certainly seen a few tiny frogs in the adjacent tunnels. It must be a tricky time being so small, I did hear someone say that a big one may eat the tiddlers in hard times which may or may not be true, but it does illustrate that it can be a ‘frog eat frog’ world out there. Take care!

Nearly the end of June already, how did that happen?

Busy as usual, but a slight lull in madness has allowed a bit of development planning to take shape as we try and think of more ways to do it all better for the coming season. The wind turbine project seems to have developed it’s own momentum and progressing along it’s slow pathway to hopefully it’s eventual erection.
We are now looking at pushing along other projects big and small. Perhaps some replacement hose to replace the old multi-repaired ones that are past their best and super frustrating when they continually catch on things as you drag them about, usually just as you have got near the far end of the tunnel and have to turn off and walk all the way back to release! A couple of new small sprayers to bring the equipment up to date and make the whole job easier. Then we have a collection of irrigation projects to start ranging from a new storage tank and pump, to installing some new application kit. We are going to try and introduce more wet/dry cycles into the plant production process in an effort to toughen the plants up, reduce the growth of liverwort and moss on the compost surface and reduce water and labour use. We are also looking at starting to experiment with the installation of some of the infrastructure to harvest the rainfall to reduce mains water use, trialling tunnel guttering and drainage channels etc. Although we can’t put in a large reservoir at the moment to store all the overwinter rains, we can put in a smaller storage tank and adopt a ‘use it up as we go’ system where we use up any rainfall we get during the 8 irrigating months of the year, to dilute mains use. In theory we could reduce mains use by at least 50% at a relatively low cost.

Unfortunately this is the usual story of jam tomorrow! Lots of spending and work to put it all in place, with the promise of an easier life in future. One day. Trouble is, it’s so easy to get carried away with all this nursery shopping ‘cos it seems such a good idea at the time.

Now my 'old gits moan off the week' goes to our nearest village parish council and their objection letter to our turbine project. Now I know it’s not everyone’s idea of good countryside development which is fair enough, but they have really gone to town, bringing to light a list of objections most of which are irrelevant on the planning issue and others I took personal offense at. They complained about a lot of stuff one of which was that their questions had not been satisfactorily answered and there was not ‘proper’ consultation. I couldn’t have made ourselves more open to queries and info, they had months to ask questions and visit the site (one visitor) or arrange to go and see a similar installation. They also suggest that the comments letters are mostly from non locals and all have a suspiciously similar content (not many objections from local individuals), they really are cheeky monkeys. If you want a look it’s on page 6 of the comments page;

http://planningapplications.winchester.gov.uk/PlanningWeb/Results.aspx?ID=10%2f00895%2fFUL&tab=0

As usual we will be donating a collection of plants to the Sparsholt fete at the weekend, only the council objected, not everyone in the village, and I’m not bitter!

Dragonflies and damsel flies now appearing over the ponds. A stunning blue Broad-bodied Chaser got trapped in one of the tunnels during the week but I managed to rescue it with a plastic shovel! I tried to ‘push’ it out and it simply landed on the orange blade and I carried it out 150ft to the open. The easiest ‘rescue’ I’ve ever done!

Don't forget to do your bit. Have a good week, from all at Kirton Farm Nurseries

It’s a perfect summer day for me, bright but not too hot, no distractions from getting stuff done and I’m not the England goalkeeper!  Poor chap, he will be waking up this morning knowing that one tiny lapse in concentration will haunt him for the rest of his life, still luckily it is only a game. I hope the start of the World Cup doesn’t kill the interest, activity and wallet opening associated with the outdoor pastimes, the weather seems to be in our favour still, with a nice bit of rain and cooler temperatures last week. We still have a lovely range of stuff to sell, with all the summer lines now starting and the herb range wider than ever. We have cut back quantities now as things slow up a bit but things do look pretty yummy. (Don’t chew on the lemongrass too long it can bite back a few hours later!)

The planning application comments period ends on Wednesday (16th) and we now have quite a collection of positive inputs which is great. It does take a few days for the comments to appear on the website sometimes so we won’t see the full response until later in the week.

Met the new bank manager this week which is always a bit of a tense occasion as everyone tries to suss each other out.  He seemed very on the ball and customer service orientated, so hopefully we will get lots of support and encouragement and not too much hassle.  Luckily the figures he was working from showed a significant improvement in performance from 2008 (shockingly bad year for us) to 2009. Despite the slow start we have made more improvements this spring, so we hope to keep in his good books.  He was delighted that we were getting out of producing for the multiples as he had seen the soul destroying effects that these customers can have on companies of our limited size.  I must say nursery life is quite exciting again now we have taken control back for ourselves rather than running it for their benefit. We seem to be pressing all the right buttons for the bank at the moment, let’s hope we can keep it up and perhaps even make a profit!

Eco Update

Another month has slipped by, and the meters are read again and we have now reduced our electric consumption this year by 19.79%.  Hurrah, this means that if we ever get the planning stuff sorted we could produce our entire needs with the turbines and possibly have a bit spare to put back in the grid.

Planning application for our three small wind turbines. If you would like to take a look follow this link;

http://planningapplications.winchester.gov.uk/PlanningWeb/Results.aspx?ID=10%2f00895%2fFUL&tab=0

Consultation ends on the 16th June. So please if you have a view express it on the comments button on the planning website. Thanks.

Nature notes

I have seen an adult moorhen feeding around the nursery for weeks now and yesterday disturbed her with a well grown large youngster, so she must have had a nest knocking about somewhere on the nursery.  We usually get a nest somewhere on site, although we don’t often get a successful outcome, so that was nice to see.

Red Kites over three times this week.
Lots of young goldfinches fluttering about following the parents around, scrounging food (sound familiar?)
Housemartins doing lots of house building, they are gathering mud from around a puddle we keep going for them in the yard.  The natural soil is a bit light and crumbly for them and they seem to prefer the yard surface which has a higher clay content.
Swallow chicks have hatched, looks like 4 heads peaking out.  A second pair arrived last week, but don’t seem to be able to settle on a nest site.

Don't forget to do your bit. Have a good week, from all at Kirton Farm Nurseries

A good bank holiday meant lots of top ups this week and just the four days to squeeze it all into, but we got it all done before the weekend started and got some potting done too. The scary thing is that this week we started taking deliveries of plant material destined for next year’s sales and I know the sooner we pot it, the chunkier it will be for the spring, so the pressure is on to tidy up and get going. It’s all go! There is this vague hope that we will get a pause between one season ending and the next beginning when we can sort out all those little projects that would make life easier. But as we approach holiday time and staff numbers dwindle, then the sales bowl along for longer each year (which is quite handy!) that gap evaporates and all of a sudden before you know it, it’s winter again! Mind you that might have something to do with age too. We are just about to re-book our annual holiday trek to sunny St Ives, which got cancelled due to the flat we rent being rebuilt. So that’s something to look forward to, roll on November, it’s just around the corner. Mind you I am quite lucky really as I get to go on holiday every day for a few minutes when I sit down for my afternoon/evening tea break after everyone has slipped away. The interweb is great for a taking a quick trip to your favourite place, just let your mind go (mine left ages ago) and you're there.

Quite a bit of effort this week on trying to get some positive comments put up on the planning website (see below) as one of the local councillors phoned earlier in the week worried about the negative landscapers report. It is possible that we make get a straight refusal without it going to the planning committee and then have to take it to appeal unless there is enough interest shown to justify a debate by the committee. She has requested that it should be discussed but we need enough support on the application to back the project up. Our planning man has done a detailed reply to the landscape report which should appear on the planning site very soon and does a great job of picking each point raised and arguing very convincingly that the rules/guidance can be viewed very differently. It’s great to have someone who understands this detail, otherwise we could just get squashed by the ‘experts’ interpretation of the policies.

Eco Update

Wind turbine planning app has been processed and is now being considered. All the details and dates etc are on the Winchester City Council website and there is space there to send in supportive (or not) comments on the application. If you would like to take a look follow this link;

http://planningapplications.winchester.gov.uk/PlanningWeb/Results.aspx?ID=10%2f00895%2fFUL&tab=0

More detail is on there now, including a report from the planning landscape man who visited this week and who like the permission refused due the impact of the turbines on the view. Consultation ends on the 16th June. So please if you have a view express it on the comments button on the planning website. Thanks.

Nature notes

Another RSPB bird watch this weekend. The usual one is early in the year but this gives a count of the summer visitors as well. It’s not very easy to count the bush & tree dwellers with all the foliage out now and the house martins move about so much it’s quite tricky. Rather handily we do have a puddle in the yard we keep topped up, so that the house martins are supplied with nest building material and we counted 11 there yesterday. A Red kite glided over earlier, now seems to be around more regularly. Had a long tailed tit in the office, let it out of the window and it flew into despatch where it called to its mates outside for a couple of hours before finding its way out. It’s funny how some birds struggle to find the exits, insisting on always flying up into the roof rather than out of the 4 wide open doors. The sparrows, robins, great tits and pied wagtails are in and out all the time, feeding on the trapped insects in the tunnel roof spaces, but get a pigeon or partridge in there and you’re lucky if you escape without another puncture hole somewhere.

Don't forget to do your bit. Have a good week, from all at Kirton Farm Nurseries

Yet another great week and a marked change in the weather too. We seem to have moved from late winter to high summer in a week. Still at least it’s due to cool down again fairly quickly next week which should be a bit easier. Gone are the vests and double fleece wearing and bring on the flouncy shirts. Anticipation is already building for the first ‘outing’ of my legendary flowery piece that I wore in the heat of last summer. Having bolstered my case by expressing my confidence in my own sexuality, I am now duty bound to get it out again when the heat builds up this year, although this time with the added expectations of all those who missed out on it last year (luckily it was a very short summer).

Meanwhile the sun coming out and the temperature rising produces the usual irrigation crisis, it always seems to happen when you need the supply most. This time one of the main pumps burst its main seal, tripping out the electric supply and rendering itself inoperable. A man has been to assess it and we need a new pump and pressure vessel due to old age and general fatigue (know how it feels). Not too expensive and luckily we do have a back-up system although pressures are a bit low by the end of the day.

Printer hassle again in the office, with a paper jam error message. Remove paper (stopped in fuser unit), prints one or ten sheets then error repeats. Change all consumables one by one with other printer and think it’s cured but then goes wrong again. Take apart and clean out with air gun, works for 6 hrs then stops again. Now getting a bit cross. Phone consumable supplier, very helpful but never heard of this one before (we always have the errors that have never been heard of before). He gave me the OKI tech support number and the chap there also hadn’t heard of it before but went through a load of possibilities and gave me a number for a printer mender (out of warranty by 3 months). The likely call out charges before time and parts could have made this expensive so I checked the price of a new one. They are currently less than £600 plus £100 cash back, 3 year warranty and a free sat nav. The consumables inside are worth £600+ even when they only fill the toner 1/3 full! This gave me the confidence to take it apart for a closer look. To cut a long story short I sorted it by freeing up a tiny flappy bit which was intermittently getting stuck with one squirt of WD40. Sorted, although I still can’t believe the price of a new one, it is so tempting to chuck away and start again, but what a waste of resources.

Eco Update

Wind turbine planning app has been processed and is now being considered. All the details and dates etc are on the Winchester City Council website and there is space there to send in supportive (or not) comments on the application. If you would like to take a look follow this link;

http://planningapplications.winchester.gov.uk/PlanningWeb/Results.aspx?ID=10%2f00895%2fFUL&tab=0

It’s quite interesting to see the lack of detail in the councils published details, there is much more in our stuff on our website. They have put a scale photo montage of the scale of the turbines in comparison to a big one and a pylon which does indicate nicely how small they are. They are also only notifying by letter, ourselves and our two immediate neighbours which was a surprise. Consultation ends on the 16th June and decision due on 7th June! (I think they mean July) Let’s see what happens now. Suddenly it seems real.

Nature notes

Baby birds all over the place, lots of wagtails crashing about in the tunnels.

Don't forget to do your bit. Have a good week, from all at Kirton Farm Nurseries

Another mad week getting shed loads of stock out to everyone, well done on the sales front everyone. It’s nice to see so many gaps on the nursery in some ways, as we are supposed in the business of selling lots of stuff, but on the other hand it is frustrating that we can’t refill those gaps instantly to keep stock levels up. It is often like this when things go potty, life would be so much easier if we had a nice steady flow of sales all year round, I’m sure it must be just as frustrating at your end in the sales areas!
My big adventure this week was to be interviewed for a podcast promoting the Plato Sustain business improvement group I am in. The first challenge was to get off the nursery (Friday not as whizzy as other days), in clean clothes (last job before leaving was moving a few cut back Brunnera plants which turn out to have very sticky sap, now all over hands and trousers), next was to find the venue in sunny Basingstoke (never been into the middle before, so got lost and ended up back out on the M3 roundabout), then find a car park (on top of the whole town centre it seems, with most ticket machines out of order), locate the venue from the car park (completely disorientated by now) and finally negotiate with security/reception to let me through the front doors. So I arrive all cool and relaxed for my bit of the filming, go straight in and record. It was all very pleasant and easy going and after a bit of powder I was ready to go. Having been given the questions in advanced I had some idea what was going on and it all went reasonably well I think, they got rid of me quite quickly anyway! How much of it hits the cutting room floor is anyone’s guess but the results on UTube (or something like that) are out in a couple of weeks. Got home to change and found I had my flies open so maybe more will hit the floor than expected. In fact the combination of dried Brunnera sap and the wayward apparel might end up with more hits than planned, thank goodness I was wearing my own underwear!

It’s not surprising I’m not let out much.

Eco Update

Wind turbine planning application is in, hurrah. Bit disappointed that there has been no official planning response yet and we are not on the planning website at the moment. Hopefully it won’t take too long to get it all processed and the public get their chance to have a final say. We’ve have still had no further responses or visits following my light poaching at the Crawley Parish Council meeting, I suspect I may have bored them into submission! Either that or they are keeping their powder dry for when the application becomes officially public. Overall the responses so far have been very positive which is heartening in itself.

Nature notes

Tadpoles are now getting more active and seem to have stopped trying to hurl themselves down the pond overflow. Adult newts are now in the pond too, so they should get breeding soon, and several damsel fly/ dragonfly larvae have been spotted tucking into the odd tadpole.

It always happens, half an hour after writing last week’s report the first swallow did arrive. It was all on its own until yesterday when a second appeared. The house martins usually are a couple or three weeks later here, so that’s the next spotting target.

Have a good week!

At last some real spring sunshine and warmth, hopefully this will kick start things in a big way this week. The forecast for the next few days looks good and it certainly makes the working day a lot more comfortable. The less clothes worn, the easier the movements and higher the efficiency. Up to a point. Nowadays that point for me, remains full coverage of virtually all the body surface to prevent staff and customers losing focus on the task in hand!


I managed to watch the Grand National this year, perfectly timed with my tea break. It looked like a great day, sun shining lots of excited people and everyone got round safely in the big race. We had a sweepstake which adds a bit of interest to the events as they unfold. I thought I had won the wooden spoon this year when my horse took off in the lead and then promptly fell at the first fence, but I have now noticed that one refused to leave the start, and I can’t remember if that counts as the first out (wooden spoon) or as a non-starter (money back). I suspect that the monetary return from either won’t cover the cost of a celebratory packet of Rich Tea biscuits.

Watched one of the Harry Potter films earlier in the week and heard a lovely line which I’m sure must have been used a million times before and just passed me by. It was about the choices we make, ‘You can take the right way or the easy way’. It caught me out slightly as I was expecting ‘wrong’ to go with ‘right’. But it does seem to be true in so many areas that to choose the right way is a lot tougher, demanding more effort and commitment, but ultimately rewarding you with more satisfaction in the end. Even if it doesn’t always work out at least you have had a go. Sometimes when you do it, you stand out and get shot at, but unless we make some less comfortable choices, things won’t get better on their own. It’s always refreshing that however ancient I get, there are still lots of life’s little nuggets still for me to stumble across.

Eco Update

Wind turbine planning application is in, hurrah. Now let’s see what the reaction is. We’ve had no further responses or visits following my light poaching at the Crawley Parish Council meeting, I suspect I may have bored them into submission! Either that or they are keeping their powder dry for when the application becomes officially public. Overall the responses so far have been very positive which is heartening in itself.

Nature notes

Lots of bird song and activity. The ravens are now a regular spot and one was watched over the nursery this week soaring on a thermal with a buzzard. Luckily they didn’t distract us all too long away from all those urgent nursery tasks. This morning we had a pair of yellowhammers feeding under one of the feeders and skylarks singing in the sun. Last night the lapwings were still flying and calling a it approached dark, at the same time as I spotted my first bat of the spring on its feeding run alongside one of our hedges. Most summer evenings I can stand by the gate and wait as one patrols up and down a couple of hedge runs, flying straight over my head. Spring is really springing, although we haven’t seen our first swallow or heard a cuckoo yet.

What a jolly busy week, hurrah. Spring at last, well for a few glorious days anyway. I had a list of all sorts of jobs we were going to get done this week, but spent the whole week zipping about delivering plants, even on Friday which is usually our odd job day. At least the extra activity will help the cash-flow in a few weeks time. It’s always a tricky period as sales kick off and we start spending again (mostly bodies to get through the extra workload) After a long autumn and winter with little dosh coming in, we reach our bank limit in Feb/March and spend a few weeks juggling everything. It all adds to the fun!

The most impressive & inspirational thing I saw this week was the conclusion of Eddie Izzard’s amazing marathon running in aid of Sport Relief. A relatively unfit non-runner, he ran 43 marathons in 51 days, followed by a rickshaw (with camera crew), a minibus with support crew and an ice cream van giving away ice creams and collecting donations. It was a relatively low key but awe-inspiring effort, often running alone in appalling weather on roads with no pavements and in heavy traffic. The physical achievement itself was unbelievable but the way he did it was delightful. I am a great admirer of Eddie anyway, he has such a great relaxed style and honest approach to life, even if his dress sense isn’t quite my cup of tea, he carried his style into his marathon running, often ignoring expert advice and doing it his way. The diet of Calipos and 99 ice creams, diverting through a McDonalds drive-thru for a burger and fries and stopping at the pub for a quick pint, did him no favours nutritionally, but did demonstrate a freedom of thought and incredible determination to complete his task. He would regularly get distracted by things that caught his eye, a stately home, an array of dead moles hanging on a fence and the troubled districts in Northern Ireland to mention a few. He also passed through several places holding a lot of childhood memories which obviously brought back mixed emotions and added another dimension to the run. Well done Eddie, I wish I had more money sloshing about to donate, but it would never be enough to right all the wrongs or fully recognise his effort and achievement. It is one of those things that makes you realise just what you can achieve if you really want to.

Eco Update

Wind turbine planning still not gone in, but it is very close. These things always seem to take longer than expected. I attended the local village Parish Council meeting on Monday evening expecting a bit of a grilling. But to be fair it more like being lightly poached! I arrived as arranged part-way through the meeting making a rather laboured entrance by having to rattle, push and pull on three doors before I could actually get into the room (I couldn’t help picturing myself making a dramatic exit at the end by entering the cleaning cupboard!). After making a very brief pitch I was questioned for nearly one hour on all aspects of the turbine plans and efficiencies, alternative energy generation options and political and economic pros and cons. Generally it was a very jolly meeting with everyone able to speak openly and frankly but in a nut shell, there are several villagers unhappy about the visual impact of the turbines so are likely to be objecting. One of the villagers came up to the nursery on Friday and we spent a further hour and a half looking at the nursery and turbine site as well as discussing further some of the points raised at the meeting. It all comes down to how they look, and people’s perception of the visual issue. Those that don’t like them certainly struggle with the concept that others might like them. There were a couple of interesting views, one was that if they looked like the old big chunky wooden traditional windmills that would be ok, and another was a question asking me if I had been to Cornwall and seen the large farms there. I said I had, and every time I see them my pulse quickens and heart soars because I see so much good stuff happening and I also love the look. One interesting question that did come up was about how quickly the turbine repays itself in energy terms. I have now found out that it should be about 14 months of operation to cover the energy used to manufacture and install it.

Don't forget to do your bit. Have a good week.

Sun is out and only a slight breeze, it’s almost warm, must be spring at last. Over-trousers are out and I have my shorts on today! Mind you that may be something to do with the fact that I have an early hockey game today and had to pitch up today ready changed. Luckily, for all concerned, the amount of extra clobber we wear nowadays means that any upsetting excess flesh is hidden away under long socks, shin pads, knee pads and long shorts. The only daft bit of kit we have, considering this is a winter sport, is short sleeved shirts, there are too many young folk playing these days who are keen to expose themselves, which is fine in the right place but not in old boys games.

New little car going well (mid 50’s mpg) although Caroline did come back last weekend saying she had had a nasty experience in it. Now considering it’s a Toyota, I did wonder if something had dropped off but no, she had gone through a puddle. Unfortunately it was no ordinary puddle, it was coming from a broken and over flowing sewage drain! Although the bulk of it was on the other side of the road she had the misfortune to time her passing at the same moment as someone coming from the opposite direction. The car got covered and the smell was apparently overwhelming. In need of immediate cleaning, I did the decent thing and made sure she was wearing adequate protection with stout gloves and wellies.

Big van went in for MOT this week and passed, hooray, but it did mean we had to hire one for a couple of days. I’m sure it’s just us, but why when we get a hire van do they always breakdown? Our thanks go to those customers who put up with us hanging about waiting to be mended, helped out with forklift unloading, or had their deliveries delayed 24 hrs. It turned out to be down to new batteries being incorrectly fitted and a tail lift with some sort of independent thought process of its own!

We have a new 3.5 ton small van coming in a couple of weeks which will be nice and give us a bit more flexibility for zipping about with local drops.

Eco Update

We have been asked to attend the local Parish Council meeting in Crawley on Monday to answer questions and put our case. I have heard that they are planning to object to the proposals on visual grounds, which is a shame. We were a bit disappointed that they haven’t even visited the site but there you go, we will see how it goes. Whatever happens at the meeting the planning application will be going in next week if all goes to plan.

You can see the outline proposal in our ‘Dear Neighbour’ letter and the full details of the planning backup documentation at http://www.kirtonfarm.co.uk/ and http://www.hairypotplants.co.uk/

10:10 filming got cancelled due to their heavy work-load.  Hope they hadn’t read the blog site about removing trousers!

Had another PLATO Sustain group meeting last week which was good. The group has created a ‘toolkit’ for recording lots of info (electric, water, gas, oil, transport, waste (recycled, landfill, hazardous and by type), production of green energy, procurement (main material purchases by type, cost, volume etc) and company background details (turnover, area, employees etc). All the info is combined to produce progress reports on environmental performance (KPI’s), waste percentages and a basic carbon footprint summary. It’s not perfect but it’s a start and does give us some way of measuring progress and gives us indicators to show how we compare with others.

Nature notes

No frogspawn yet in any of our ponds, but have seen a frog in the pond (looking a bit dopey, it was icy)
Birds still chomping through kilos of feed and doing a lot of singing.

Have a good week.