Good morning all
Sorry, no time this morning other than to update the availability list. Having a couple of days entertaining friends here and my presence is demanded elsewhere. Actually the entertaining is coming from the visitors really as we are being taken on an updated, expert led landscape walk of the Stonehenge area to see all the stuff we missed last time we went. I have had a glimpse of the folder of info which is part of the ‘presentation’ so should be lots of food for thought. A few others are joining us too so should be fun. Today we are hill fort walking and going to Amesbury to try and see some of the Mesolithic stuff they have dug up at Blick Mead Springs which we hope is on show. The finds there make Amesbury the longest settled place in the country with butchered cattle bone dating to 8820 BC, nearly 11,000 years. I think this counts as the summer holiday so must make the most of it!
Availability
We have a slight lull in flowering stock at the moment after strong summer sales. Fresh stock is growing well and the range should pick up again very soon for an autumn surge!
Asters just beginning to show bud and the first occasional flower, summer is going by so quickly.
Ajuga Black Scallop with really very dark tight foliage, a stunner.
We have a great range of good looking chunky Agapanthus we are producing for the first time this summer.
Have a good one, from all at Kirton Farm Nurseries
Tuesday, 19 August 2014
Monday, 11 August 2014
Hairy visits
Good morning all.
Suddenly summer has stopped and everyone seems to be talking about autumnal weather. The swifts have all left Stockbridge as they do in early August, although the swallows and house martins should be performing for a few weeks more. We could still have weeks of fine weather but mild panic starts to set in here as we try to get everything potted on schedule around all the orders, holidays and tunnel clearing. Looking good so far but I would always like to be a couple of weeks further ahead, but I know deep down after years of vain hope that isn’t going to happen. At least with almost all the incoming little modules growing on in bigger plugs things are still growing strongly.
After 30 years playing at this game you would think there was little else to learn and improve on, but this season seems to be filling up with plenty of leaps and tweeks in production development. There was the introduction of lots of new varieties to produce more impulse sales and the change from the disappointing bio-insecticide MET52 (vine weevil control) to the new application system and program of nematode introductions (now six applications over a season). The innovative new perennial labels are on the way with their long bamboo skewer insertion, increased info and a more coordinated appearance. A new tray insert is being explored and a new acid injection system coming shortly which will revitalise foliage quality and help us reduce fertiliser levels. There are more new plants coming out of the micro-prop lab which look interesting particularly a late summer flowering range of Saxifrages that could add interest to those late impulse sales. There are also some new seed raised hardy cyclamens and Helleborus which are showing great promise. I suspect this year won’t see them produce much of a show as we fine tune timings etc, but watch this space for a few lines appearing on our lists.
The NBIS visit here went really well, the nursery looked great for the time of year and I had plenty of new improvements to show off. Hardly anyone fell asleep and lively discussion produced the usual stimulating results and a lot of laughter. Results for the season overall were disappointing on the plant sales side for virtually all the growers, especially when we looked back at the terrible weather of the previous couple of seasons. Luckily we had all been very conservative on the production side so results were not disastrous but the situation did provoke some further soul searching as to the future of plant production. Sharing all this stuff now comes fairly naturally to the group and although it doesn’t make the financial realities any easier it does act as a very effective therapy session.
Turbine breakdown last week, with an electrical short in the control box. Luckily not much output was lost due to the light winds and it was easily fixed once the right bit and electrician arrived. The college next door have put in a planning application for a single turbine of 75m to be erected. Our 25m turbines are mentioned in comparison as part of the support package so hopefully that will help in some way. I have (not) put in my complaint about the noise, flicker, renewable inefficiencies and how it will reduce the value of the game shooting and house values on our estate. Meanwhile my planning application for a flood lit heated swimming pool waits in the wings. I wish I had the cash to put in a planning application for a nuclear reactor and see how that goes down with the locals. I hope the turbine application sails through, I believe our tiny wind installation is still the biggest in Hampshire and that is a shocking record for such a high consumption area.
Availability
We have a slight lull in flowering stock at the moment after strong summer sales. Fresh stock is growing well and the range should pick up again very soon for an autumn surge!
Asters just beginning to show bud and the first occasional flower, summer is going by so quickly. Ajuga Black Scallop with really very dark tight foliage, a stunner. We have a great range of good looking chunky Agapanthus we are producing for the first time this summer.
Have a good one, from all at Kirton Farm Nurseries
Suddenly summer has stopped and everyone seems to be talking about autumnal weather. The swifts have all left Stockbridge as they do in early August, although the swallows and house martins should be performing for a few weeks more. We could still have weeks of fine weather but mild panic starts to set in here as we try to get everything potted on schedule around all the orders, holidays and tunnel clearing. Looking good so far but I would always like to be a couple of weeks further ahead, but I know deep down after years of vain hope that isn’t going to happen. At least with almost all the incoming little modules growing on in bigger plugs things are still growing strongly.
After 30 years playing at this game you would think there was little else to learn and improve on, but this season seems to be filling up with plenty of leaps and tweeks in production development. There was the introduction of lots of new varieties to produce more impulse sales and the change from the disappointing bio-insecticide MET52 (vine weevil control) to the new application system and program of nematode introductions (now six applications over a season). The innovative new perennial labels are on the way with their long bamboo skewer insertion, increased info and a more coordinated appearance. A new tray insert is being explored and a new acid injection system coming shortly which will revitalise foliage quality and help us reduce fertiliser levels. There are more new plants coming out of the micro-prop lab which look interesting particularly a late summer flowering range of Saxifrages that could add interest to those late impulse sales. There are also some new seed raised hardy cyclamens and Helleborus which are showing great promise. I suspect this year won’t see them produce much of a show as we fine tune timings etc, but watch this space for a few lines appearing on our lists.
The NBIS visit here went really well, the nursery looked great for the time of year and I had plenty of new improvements to show off. Hardly anyone fell asleep and lively discussion produced the usual stimulating results and a lot of laughter. Results for the season overall were disappointing on the plant sales side for virtually all the growers, especially when we looked back at the terrible weather of the previous couple of seasons. Luckily we had all been very conservative on the production side so results were not disastrous but the situation did provoke some further soul searching as to the future of plant production. Sharing all this stuff now comes fairly naturally to the group and although it doesn’t make the financial realities any easier it does act as a very effective therapy session.
Turbine breakdown last week, with an electrical short in the control box. Luckily not much output was lost due to the light winds and it was easily fixed once the right bit and electrician arrived. The college next door have put in a planning application for a single turbine of 75m to be erected. Our 25m turbines are mentioned in comparison as part of the support package so hopefully that will help in some way. I have (not) put in my complaint about the noise, flicker, renewable inefficiencies and how it will reduce the value of the game shooting and house values on our estate. Meanwhile my planning application for a flood lit heated swimming pool waits in the wings. I wish I had the cash to put in a planning application for a nuclear reactor and see how that goes down with the locals. I hope the turbine application sails through, I believe our tiny wind installation is still the biggest in Hampshire and that is a shocking record for such a high consumption area.
Availability
We have a slight lull in flowering stock at the moment after strong summer sales. Fresh stock is growing well and the range should pick up again very soon for an autumn surge!
Asters just beginning to show bud and the first occasional flower, summer is going by so quickly. Ajuga Black Scallop with really very dark tight foliage, a stunner. We have a great range of good looking chunky Agapanthus we are producing for the first time this summer.
Have a good one, from all at Kirton Farm Nurseries
Monday, 4 August 2014
Hairy visits
Good morning all.
Just had a smidge of rain, just enough to make the odd small puddle, but the sun is come out again and it’s mostly dried out already. At least the temperature has been a bit more bearable this past week. Tunnel clearing and potting are bowling along now in preparation for next season. It’s all go.
Still fitting in the extras too with another big release of predators to spread about the nursery. 6 different hunters in chunky numbers to boost the local population and keep the worst pests under control. There are still a few pests that we can’t control effectively this way, American Lupin Aphid and leaf sucker probably being the two worst at the moment. The nemetodes we trialled to control the slugs did make a reasonable dent in the population, especially the nasty little black ones, but not effective enough across the different species to justify the thousands of pounds it would have cost to treat the whole nursery.
We have returned to the new slug pellet Feramol Max which is so much safer than the nasty old metaldehyde based pellets, it is accepted as organic by many organisations. Its effects are impressive but quite short lived and repeat applications are necessary to keep on top of the control but we have seen great results from it this season, which has been a really good one for these pests. With our little applicator we can treat the whole nursery in about an hour and the rate used is so low that it doesn’t litter the crop or cost too much.
I popped out on Wednesday with local nurseryman Roger in his great little Golf GTI (1990 I think) to visit the Ball -Colgraves open day near Banbury. A very refreshing trip, blowing a few cobwebs away, seeing some great plants and a collection of rather smart cars in the car park. There was some discussion of where we had gone wrong but it didn’t last long. Took lots of pictures of the varieties we grow or are about to, to add to my library, and saw some very promising trial plants. All in all an inspirational day.
We are looking to invest again this summer in further improvements to our production facilities to keep costs in check and improve plant quality even further. We irrigate with very hard water here and so far we have put up with the problems this can create (extra fertiliser use, looked up nutrients, marked foliage, damaged spray-line kit etc), but we are about to put in a little acid injector to improve the situation. The promise of super green leaves, clean nozzles and better use of the fertiliser we put in the compost seems like a distant dream, but hopefully one day those dreams will come true. We are just putting up the
little acid store at the moment and hopefully over the next few weeks the whole thing will go in and be up and running. I am told not to expect instant perfection as we will have to find the right balance for our site and usage patterns so will have to gradually turn up the wick until we see the results we are after. Nothing ever stands still.
We got exciting confirmation this week that we will be able to match our nursery OKI printed colour labels with the ones we are having made by Floramedia. This will be great for creating a more uniform display. Both labels will be of very similar size and shape and thread onto our new bamboo skewers which are currently now in production. We won’t be quite as good as the professionals on the colour front but it will be another step-up on the current display.
Big week coming up with further nursery development, production and hosting our NBIS group on site on Thursday. It’s been a couple of years since their last visit and we’ve changed quite a few things since then after our Lean Management training sessions in late 2012. There are a few new members too who haven’t been before so there will have to be a little tidy up, if we can find the time, to make a good impression. It’s a shame it won’t be a few weeks later, as we are a bit in between crops at the moment but I’m sure I can smooth it all over with a bit of flannel, just as usual. As long as the pub lunch is good we will be fine.
Availability
Asters just beginning to show bud and the first occasional flower, summer is going by so quickly.
Blue Salvias are showing a fresh flush of bud and flower, looking quite smart.
Leucanthemum Broadway Lights are showing their first signs of flowering, large pretty pale yellow blooms and lots of bud on nice strong stocky plants.
Ajuga Black Scallop with really very dark tight foliage, a stunner. The variegated Burgundy Glow is looking great too. We have a great range of good looking chunky Agapanthus we are producing for the first time this summer.
Have a good one, from all at Kirton Farm Nurseries
Monday, 28 July 2014
Hairy Holidays
Good morning all.
A scorcher of a week. Thankfully it looks like a cooler few days ahead, it’s certainly slightly fresher today and more cloud cover. Luckily the irrigation system (touch wood) has kept up with the extra demand despite the drying breeze as well as the heat. Sales are still rolling along but the range is slipping a bit as we run out of some lines. The summer potting is now we ll underway so fresh stock for some of those late summer and autumn sales will be with us before you know it.
My work load plans for the week never seem to quite all come right at this time of year, as holiday breaks start to suddenly materialise. The realisation hits home that all the cut backs of the past couple of seasons means we don’t always have the back up of a few years ago and the thought of a day or two off ourselves will have to wait until the autumn. Good job the idyllic life of a nurseryman is so much like a holiday, all that fresh air, sunshine and trug carrying. On the bright side we do have a couple of extra youngsters coming in to help for a few weeks this summer which will be great.
Most of the stock for the 2015 spring sales is now on the nursery with another couple more plug deliveries this week, despite the fact that a lot of stock won’t actually get potted for several weeks. We like to create really chunky stock to give that extra level of value to the gardener and we find that we can get this by planting the little plugs we buy in now, into a much bigger plug before finally potting them. This keeps the plants actively growing and building up a strong framework before an extra level of trimming/grading and potting. Although this adds an extra layer into the production cycle it helps us produce monste r plants with less waste in the more expensive final stages, so hopefully we all win out.
Are you doing enough on the recycling front? Just a quick reminder to check out your local facilities to keep up to date with what you can sensibly recycle. We have had a pretty good system here where one waste company, at a relatively low cost, would take away most of our card, plastic, cans etc in one mixed recycling bin. This was great as previously we had to separate a lot of it out for separate disposal, which usually meant a bit of extra labour, confusion and separate waste containers. The contract has just been taken over by Biffa and I was a bit anxious that we would have to return to separation but in fact it was the opposite. They were happy to take all plastics mixed in with everything else in the one bin. That is a great service and allows few excuses not to make the most of it and recycle all over the place. Things move on, promote your sustainable image, provide great and inspirational customer service, get recycling. The Eden Project make a fantastic, very positive feature of their waste management but this idea isn’t patented, use it to your advantage. Also don’t forget that ‘To make recycling work you have to buy (and sell) recycled’.
Great effort by the Commonwealth Games and UNICEF with their ‘Put the children first’ appeal on the opening night. It is shocking how many thousands of children are still dying each day around the world and what deprived lives many millions more lead. It is not a comfortable thing to think about it too much but we can surely all do a bit more to help. Even if it is only to question how the supermarkets are able to put out a ‘full school uniform’ for £4. I saw in a Primark window yesterday an offer, for 8-13 year olds, to buy 3 T-shirts, a pair of jeans and a pair of trainers for a total of £10!
Looking forward to visiting the Ball-Colgraves show garden this coming week to see if there are any plants we are missing out on and to take a few snaps to add to the portfolio. Hoping it isn’t too bright, as my old fart mastery of digital camera settings is limited and bright sun I always find a bit of a handful when taking flower pictures.
If you are off on your summer break soon, have a splash for me.
Availability
Last few Crocosmia’s left, both golden yellows and with buds just beginning to open (Sunglow and George Davidson).
It seems early but many of the Asters are showing buds and the occasional open flower, a great range of colours. Bud and strong fresh growth on the Anemones, looking good.
The short Verbena bonariensis Lollipop are very strong, shooty, and showing bud and colour. Bushy but taller V. bonariensis are also in bud.
Leucanthemum Broadway Lights are showing their first signs of flowering, large pretty pale yellow blooms and lots of bud on nice strong stocky plants.
Ajuga Black Scallop with really very dark tight foliage, a stunner. The variegated Burgundy Glow is looking great too.
We have a great range of good looking chunky Agapanthus we are producing for the first time this summer. Short bushy Thalictrum are showing a second flower flush of the summer but only a few left.
Have a good one, from all at Kirton Farm Nurseries
A scorcher of a week. Thankfully it looks like a cooler few days ahead, it’s certainly slightly fresher today and more cloud cover. Luckily the irrigation system (touch wood) has kept up with the extra demand despite the drying breeze as well as the heat. Sales are still rolling along but the range is slipping a bit as we run out of some lines. The summer potting is now we ll underway so fresh stock for some of those late summer and autumn sales will be with us before you know it.
My work load plans for the week never seem to quite all come right at this time of year, as holiday breaks start to suddenly materialise. The realisation hits home that all the cut backs of the past couple of seasons means we don’t always have the back up of a few years ago and the thought of a day or two off ourselves will have to wait until the autumn. Good job the idyllic life of a nurseryman is so much like a holiday, all that fresh air, sunshine and trug carrying. On the bright side we do have a couple of extra youngsters coming in to help for a few weeks this summer which will be great.
Most of the stock for the 2015 spring sales is now on the nursery with another couple more plug deliveries this week, despite the fact that a lot of stock won’t actually get potted for several weeks. We like to create really chunky stock to give that extra level of value to the gardener and we find that we can get this by planting the little plugs we buy in now, into a much bigger plug before finally potting them. This keeps the plants actively growing and building up a strong framework before an extra level of trimming/grading and potting. Although this adds an extra layer into the production cycle it helps us produce monste r plants with less waste in the more expensive final stages, so hopefully we all win out.
Are you doing enough on the recycling front? Just a quick reminder to check out your local facilities to keep up to date with what you can sensibly recycle. We have had a pretty good system here where one waste company, at a relatively low cost, would take away most of our card, plastic, cans etc in one mixed recycling bin. This was great as previously we had to separate a lot of it out for separate disposal, which usually meant a bit of extra labour, confusion and separate waste containers. The contract has just been taken over by Biffa and I was a bit anxious that we would have to return to separation but in fact it was the opposite. They were happy to take all plastics mixed in with everything else in the one bin. That is a great service and allows few excuses not to make the most of it and recycle all over the place. Things move on, promote your sustainable image, provide great and inspirational customer service, get recycling. The Eden Project make a fantastic, very positive feature of their waste management but this idea isn’t patented, use it to your advantage. Also don’t forget that ‘To make recycling work you have to buy (and sell) recycled’.
Great effort by the Commonwealth Games and UNICEF with their ‘Put the children first’ appeal on the opening night. It is shocking how many thousands of children are still dying each day around the world and what deprived lives many millions more lead. It is not a comfortable thing to think about it too much but we can surely all do a bit more to help. Even if it is only to question how the supermarkets are able to put out a ‘full school uniform’ for £4. I saw in a Primark window yesterday an offer, for 8-13 year olds, to buy 3 T-shirts, a pair of jeans and a pair of trainers for a total of £10!
Looking forward to visiting the Ball-Colgraves show garden this coming week to see if there are any plants we are missing out on and to take a few snaps to add to the portfolio. Hoping it isn’t too bright, as my old fart mastery of digital camera settings is limited and bright sun I always find a bit of a handful when taking flower pictures.
If you are off on your summer break soon, have a splash for me.
Availability
Last few Crocosmia’s left, both golden yellows and with buds just beginning to open (Sunglow and George Davidson).
It seems early but many of the Asters are showing buds and the occasional open flower, a great range of colours. Bud and strong fresh growth on the Anemones, looking good.
The short Verbena bonariensis Lollipop are very strong, shooty, and showing bud and colour. Bushy but taller V. bonariensis are also in bud.
Leucanthemum Broadway Lights are showing their first signs of flowering, large pretty pale yellow blooms and lots of bud on nice strong stocky plants.
Ajuga Black Scallop with really very dark tight foliage, a stunner. The variegated Burgundy Glow is looking great too.
We have a great range of good looking chunky Agapanthus we are producing for the first time this summer. Short bushy Thalictrum are showing a second flower flush of the summer but only a few left.
Have a good one, from all at Kirton Farm Nurseries
Tuesday, 22 July 2014
Hairy on the Beach
Good morning all.
Still hot and muggy down here, we seem to have missed most of the thunderstorm so the ground is still disappointingly dry. Plant sales have slowed fractionally which has allowed us to get stuck into the potting again which is a relief. Last week’s potting squeak cure has held up and makes for a far less tense working environment, although there doesn’t seem to have been a corresponding reduction in volume of the youngsters music. Gosh isn’t it loud and it all sounds the same!
It’s a tad on the steamy side in the tunnels on the sunny days but our youthful team keep up their fluid levels and plough on . The show must go on. The office porta-cabin shows off one of its main weaknesses in this sort of weather with temperatures reaching over 42C on one afternoon, nearly enough to send me outside and do some work. It would be nice one day to build a proper building to house such important people but I fear that day is a long way off. I managed to attend the local Sustainable Business Network meeting last week, catching up on all the latest legal and practical developments in the exciting world of sustainability. A nice walk to the venue through Marwell Zoo who were telling us about all their work on site to improve their buildings' performances, investing to save huge amounts on energy use and looking to generate heat and power from their regular waste materials. Lots of energy was saved by altering the gift shop internal temperature control, running it to correspond with how the customers were dressed when coming in from outside rather than how warm or cool the staff would like to run it at. A nice bit of sensible thinking.
In a week of multiple outings Caroline and I where kindly invited by Hillier Nurseries to attend a delicious marquee lunch with a few select others at the Harold Hillier Gardens to celebrate 150 years of the business. Lots of friends old and new and a bit of a blast from the past for Caroline who started her horticultural career there as a pre-entry year student 35 years ago, she was only 5!
Our luck was definitely in this week when we inherited the thing that all destitute nursery folk desperately need. Caroline had been offered a couple of small 1930’s armchairs from her Auntie who sadly passed away earlier this year and was given a tour of the other kit they were trying to find a good home for. So we are now proud owners of a 1950 cocktail cabinet complete with an opening top to create your own 5ft+ bar! I can’t remember the last time I even thought of having a cocktail. Anyway I have set it up along a spare wall and filled it with my beer collection, let’s see how it goes. If things start to get a bit erratic from this end you will know my life has taken on a new direction. Actually it has already seen action, we served Caroline’s Mum a Creme de Menthe (found in the cabinet) on crushed ice for her birthday tea yesterday. She can remember when her father originally bought it (the cabinet) after a particularly good 1950 harvest. Are cocktail parties still in vogue? I must see about making a friend or two to invite over.
Availability
Last few Crocosmia’s left, both golden yellows and with buds just beginning to open (Sunglow and George Davidson).
It seems early but many of the Asters are showing buds and the occasional open flower, a great range of colours. The feathery foliage of Coreopsis Zagreb is also now supporting bright yellow colour.
Bud and strong fresh growth on the Anemones, looking good. Just a few Achillea varieties still left with bud coming.
The short Verbena bonariensis Lollipop are very strong, shooty, and showing bud and colour. Bushy but taller V. bonariensis are also in bud.
Leucanthemum Broadway Lights are showing their first signs of flowering, large pretty pale yellow bloo ms and lots of bud on nice strong stocky plants.
Ajuga Black Scallop is new on our list this year with really very dark tight foliage, a stunner. The variegated Burgundy Glow is looking great too.
Rudbeckia Goldsturm are showing lots of bud and the occasional open flower. They are quite tall but strong stemmed.
A few new addition for this summer is a range of hardy fuchsia’s which are wonderfully bushy and flowering nicely now.
We have a great range of good looking chunky Agapanthus we are producing for the first time this summer. Short bushy Thalictrum are showing a second flower flush of the summer.
Summer Penstemons growing well and looking verdant with numerous buds appearing.
Have a good one, from all at Kirton Farm Nurseries
Still hot and muggy down here, we seem to have missed most of the thunderstorm so the ground is still disappointingly dry. Plant sales have slowed fractionally which has allowed us to get stuck into the potting again which is a relief. Last week’s potting squeak cure has held up and makes for a far less tense working environment, although there doesn’t seem to have been a corresponding reduction in volume of the youngsters music. Gosh isn’t it loud and it all sounds the same!
It’s a tad on the steamy side in the tunnels on the sunny days but our youthful team keep up their fluid levels and plough on . The show must go on. The office porta-cabin shows off one of its main weaknesses in this sort of weather with temperatures reaching over 42C on one afternoon, nearly enough to send me outside and do some work. It would be nice one day to build a proper building to house such important people but I fear that day is a long way off. I managed to attend the local Sustainable Business Network meeting last week, catching up on all the latest legal and practical developments in the exciting world of sustainability. A nice walk to the venue through Marwell Zoo who were telling us about all their work on site to improve their buildings' performances, investing to save huge amounts on energy use and looking to generate heat and power from their regular waste materials. Lots of energy was saved by altering the gift shop internal temperature control, running it to correspond with how the customers were dressed when coming in from outside rather than how warm or cool the staff would like to run it at. A nice bit of sensible thinking.
In a week of multiple outings Caroline and I where kindly invited by Hillier Nurseries to attend a delicious marquee lunch with a few select others at the Harold Hillier Gardens to celebrate 150 years of the business. Lots of friends old and new and a bit of a blast from the past for Caroline who started her horticultural career there as a pre-entry year student 35 years ago, she was only 5!
Our luck was definitely in this week when we inherited the thing that all destitute nursery folk desperately need. Caroline had been offered a couple of small 1930’s armchairs from her Auntie who sadly passed away earlier this year and was given a tour of the other kit they were trying to find a good home for. So we are now proud owners of a 1950 cocktail cabinet complete with an opening top to create your own 5ft+ bar! I can’t remember the last time I even thought of having a cocktail. Anyway I have set it up along a spare wall and filled it with my beer collection, let’s see how it goes. If things start to get a bit erratic from this end you will know my life has taken on a new direction. Actually it has already seen action, we served Caroline’s Mum a Creme de Menthe (found in the cabinet) on crushed ice for her birthday tea yesterday. She can remember when her father originally bought it (the cabinet) after a particularly good 1950 harvest. Are cocktail parties still in vogue? I must see about making a friend or two to invite over.
Availability
Last few Crocosmia’s left, both golden yellows and with buds just beginning to open (Sunglow and George Davidson).
It seems early but many of the Asters are showing buds and the occasional open flower, a great range of colours. The feathery foliage of Coreopsis Zagreb is also now supporting bright yellow colour.
Bud and strong fresh growth on the Anemones, looking good. Just a few Achillea varieties still left with bud coming.
The short Verbena bonariensis Lollipop are very strong, shooty, and showing bud and colour. Bushy but taller V. bonariensis are also in bud.
Leucanthemum Broadway Lights are showing their first signs of flowering, large pretty pale yellow bloo ms and lots of bud on nice strong stocky plants.
Ajuga Black Scallop is new on our list this year with really very dark tight foliage, a stunner. The variegated Burgundy Glow is looking great too.
Rudbeckia Goldsturm are showing lots of bud and the occasional open flower. They are quite tall but strong stemmed.
A few new addition for this summer is a range of hardy fuchsia’s which are wonderfully bushy and flowering nicely now.
We have a great range of good looking chunky Agapanthus we are producing for the first time this summer. Short bushy Thalictrum are showing a second flower flush of the summer.
Summer Penstemons growing well and looking verdant with numerous buds appearing.
Have a good one, from all at Kirton Farm Nurseries
Sunday, 13 July 2014
Hairy Excitement abounds
Morning All
It’s hot and muggy down here, really difficult to keep going, quite fancy a nap. Plant sales are bowling along which is great although it has delayed the start of the potting slightly. Spent yesterday afternoon and evening dismantling the potting machine take-off conveyor to try and find the source of a very loud squeak which has been driving the potters bonkers for months. Liberal quantities of grease and oil would seem to subdue the racket for a minute or two but then it returned. After several failed ‘solutions’ and feeling very ineffective I ended up releasing the entire belt to get the end rollers out and dismantled where I found the problem. A worn, dry and dirty central shaft. I replaced this worst one with one from an old conveyor all clean and greased up, and tidied up the other one at the other end, just in case. So an exciting surprise for everyone next week, a quiet potting machine, what a relief that will be. Nursery life doesn’t get much more exciting that that!
Having said that, we have received fab samples of the new skewer we have had made to thread into our new labels for next season as well as new samples of the labels themselves. (I am happy for you to share this excitement, see below)
That’s much more excitement than I can really cope with in one go, I’m off for a lie down.
Availability
Summer is on its way with the first buds appearing on all the Crocosmia’s. It seems early but many of the Asters are showing buds and to occasional open flower, a great range of colours.
The feathery foliage of Coreopsis Zagreb is also now supporting bright yellow colour. Bud and strong fresh growth on the Anemones, looking good. The shorter Verbena bonariensis Lollipop are strong, shooty, and showing bud and colour. Bushy V. bonariensis are also showing bud. Leucanthemum Broadway Lights are showing their first signs of flowering, large pretty pale yellow blooms and lots of bud on nice strong stocky plants.
Ajuga Black Scallop is also new on our list this year with really very dark tight foliage, a stunner. The variegated Burgundy Glow is looking great too.
The Lobelia Fan range are so strong and bushy they could burst and flower spikes are thrusting too , but not many left now. Beautiful pale yellow flowers of the Eucomis autumnalis are opening, short and chunky a really eye catcher but only a few left. A few new addition for this summer is a range of hardy fuchsia’s which are wonderfully bushy and flowering nicely now.
We have a great range of good looking chunky Agapanthus we are producing for the first time this summer. Summer Penstemons growing well and looking verdant with numerous buds appearing.
Lots of Hemerocallis varieties are colouring up as summer approaches. Dianthus Gran’s Favourite and Hayter White are also strongly in bud.
Achillea Desert Eve series are just producing their first buds again but just a few left. Also a nice short bushy batch of The Pearl with its little white button flowers is reaching perfection.
Wildlife
Not had any room in recent weeks to report on latest news. Tiny frogs and newts have started leaving the ponds and spreading out over the nursery. Looks like a good batch this summer with still loads left in the main pond and plenty being seen in the tunnels. I have moved a few in by hand where they miss the doors and get stuck between the tunnels, but I can’t think it will really make much difference. Perhaps we should be thinking about frog-flaps down the tunnel sides! Maybe a few holes might be easier.
Counted 20 house martins feeding above the house yesterday evening, so assuming I might have missed a few we should have another good summer, I must take a moment to survey all the nests on the house to see how many look occupied. I suspect babies are on the way but I haven’t heard any shouting yet. At the end of last summer we witnessed a mass swarming of families in the yard as they prepared to fly off for the winter, there were 80+ birds, perching and diving about it was a riot, very lucky to see them as in a hour or two they were off. There are advantages to being here for so many hours a week!
Chickens have been on a go slow for 6 months now, 1 or 2 eggs a day is not a viable output for 8 birds. Tried hanging up a pack of Paxo but it hasn’t helped.
Have a good one, from all at Kirton Farm Nurseries
It’s hot and muggy down here, really difficult to keep going, quite fancy a nap. Plant sales are bowling along which is great although it has delayed the start of the potting slightly. Spent yesterday afternoon and evening dismantling the potting machine take-off conveyor to try and find the source of a very loud squeak which has been driving the potters bonkers for months. Liberal quantities of grease and oil would seem to subdue the racket for a minute or two but then it returned. After several failed ‘solutions’ and feeling very ineffective I ended up releasing the entire belt to get the end rollers out and dismantled where I found the problem. A worn, dry and dirty central shaft. I replaced this worst one with one from an old conveyor all clean and greased up, and tidied up the other one at the other end, just in case. So an exciting surprise for everyone next week, a quiet potting machine, what a relief that will be. Nursery life doesn’t get much more exciting that that!
Having said that, we have received fab samples of the new skewer we have had made to thread into our new labels for next season as well as new samples of the labels themselves. (I am happy for you to share this excitement, see below)
That’s much more excitement than I can really cope with in one go, I’m off for a lie down.
Availability
Summer is on its way with the first buds appearing on all the Crocosmia’s. It seems early but many of the Asters are showing buds and to occasional open flower, a great range of colours.
The feathery foliage of Coreopsis Zagreb is also now supporting bright yellow colour. Bud and strong fresh growth on the Anemones, looking good. The shorter Verbena bonariensis Lollipop are strong, shooty, and showing bud and colour. Bushy V. bonariensis are also showing bud. Leucanthemum Broadway Lights are showing their first signs of flowering, large pretty pale yellow blooms and lots of bud on nice strong stocky plants.
Ajuga Black Scallop is also new on our list this year with really very dark tight foliage, a stunner. The variegated Burgundy Glow is looking great too.
The Lobelia Fan range are so strong and bushy they could burst and flower spikes are thrusting too , but not many left now. Beautiful pale yellow flowers of the Eucomis autumnalis are opening, short and chunky a really eye catcher but only a few left. A few new addition for this summer is a range of hardy fuchsia’s which are wonderfully bushy and flowering nicely now.
We have a great range of good looking chunky Agapanthus we are producing for the first time this summer. Summer Penstemons growing well and looking verdant with numerous buds appearing.
Lots of Hemerocallis varieties are colouring up as summer approaches. Dianthus Gran’s Favourite and Hayter White are also strongly in bud.
Achillea Desert Eve series are just producing their first buds again but just a few left. Also a nice short bushy batch of The Pearl with its little white button flowers is reaching perfection.
Wildlife
Not had any room in recent weeks to report on latest news. Tiny frogs and newts have started leaving the ponds and spreading out over the nursery. Looks like a good batch this summer with still loads left in the main pond and plenty being seen in the tunnels. I have moved a few in by hand where they miss the doors and get stuck between the tunnels, but I can’t think it will really make much difference. Perhaps we should be thinking about frog-flaps down the tunnel sides! Maybe a few holes might be easier.
Counted 20 house martins feeding above the house yesterday evening, so assuming I might have missed a few we should have another good summer, I must take a moment to survey all the nests on the house to see how many look occupied. I suspect babies are on the way but I haven’t heard any shouting yet. At the end of last summer we witnessed a mass swarming of families in the yard as they prepared to fly off for the winter, there were 80+ birds, perching and diving about it was a riot, very lucky to see them as in a hour or two they were off. There are advantages to being here for so many hours a week!
Chickens have been on a go slow for 6 months now, 1 or 2 eggs a day is not a viable output for 8 birds. Tried hanging up a pack of Paxo but it hasn’t helped.
Have a good one, from all at Kirton Farm Nurseries
Sunday, 6 July 2014
Hairy pots
Good morning all.
Yet another hectic week, sending out lots of orders. Most of the planned other work has gone on hold for a bit until we can find a moment. The deliveries of next year’s young plants are already here in large numbers and rather than keeping them waiting for too long before finding their way into a pot we are repeating the trick of the past couple of years and dropping them in a big module of our peat free potting compost. Although it adds in an extra production stage it does keep the plants growing strongly and provides monster stock to pot a bit later in the summer. There are a number of benefits to this, an extra chance to grade out any rubbish, an extra large plant framework provides greater pest and disease resilience as well as stonkingly sized plants, quicker and denser compost coverage reduces weed, moss and liverwort growth, better overwintering success and a bit of extra production flexibility. That is all brilliant and if we achieve the ultimate elusive aim and sell them all too, we will be able to do it all again next year!
Had an interesting email enquiry this week questioning if anything we used on our plants (MET52 specifically mentioned) would have killed off some tiger moth caterpillars which had been feeding on a couple of our plants in the garden. The easy answer is no, but that is not altogether helpful or informative. Such a specific question was a tricky one to reply to as the amount of info you need, to try and provide that illusive useful answer is immense. How long ago were the plants bought, how did the caterpillars get on the plant (naturally or helped), were there signs of them eating stuff, weather, caterpillar death symptoms and I’m sure more questions to materialise later. I suspect a full investigation and visit would still not come up with a definitive diagnosis of the deaths but I managed to spend an hour replying, explaining how MET52 spores (an anti vine
weevil bio-insectide) had been incorporated in the compost and not on or inside the plant so not going to be the problem. This led on to the fact that having spent many thousands of pounds over the last two seasons on this remedy we found it fairly ineffective on the weevil and had now changed to applying parasitic nematodes at key times of year. Then of course a description of why this is not going to be the cause followed (live in dark damp compost and are very , very short lived in daylight etc). An explanation of bio-controls simply boosting local natural populations to achieve a degree of pest control was needed and further general assurances followed that most chemicals available nowadays to all growers are so short -lived that by the time the plants were despatched, bought, planted and rained on there would be little residue left to cause mega death to the general insect population of the nature friendly gardener. That brings us to the fundamental issue that everyone wants to buy lovely looking pest free healthy plants but just as long as we aren’t cruel to any wildlife along the way! Even using natural bio controls and predators seems to raise alarm. Can we ever win or are we all failing to get our best intentioned messages across?
Plants are good for you, your garden and nature. Plant more. Plants are good. Good, mmm, yummy plants.
Availability
The Lobelia Fan range are so strong and bushy they could burst and flower spikes are thrusting too!
Beautiful pale yellow flowers of the Eucomis autumnalis are opening, short and chunky a really eye catcher but only a few left. A few new addition for this summer is a range of hardy fuchsia’s which are wonderfully bushy and flowering nicely now.
Ajuga Black Scallop is also new on our list this year with really very dark tight foliage, a stunner.
We have a great range of good looking chunky Agapanthus we are producing for the first time this summer.
The feathery foliage of Coreopsis Zagreb is also now supporting bright yellow colour.
Summer Penstemons growing well and looking verdant with numerous buds appearing. Lots of Hemerocallis varieties are colouring up as summer approaches.
The shorter Verbena bonariensis Lollipop are strong, shooty, and showing bud and colour. Bushy V. bonariensis are also available again with first buds showing.
Leucanthemum Broadway Lights and Banana Creme are showing their first signs of flowering, large pretty pale yellow blooms. Summer is on its way with the first buds appearing on some Crocosmia.
It seems early but many of the Asters are showing buds and to occasional open flower, a lovely range of colours.
The Helenium Waldraut and Moerheim Beauty are in stunning colour and strong stemmed although quite tall.
The traditional Dianthus are in bud, the new ‘Scent First’ (SF) series are compact and scented with some lovely colour combinations. The slightly larger classic varieties Gran’s Favourite and Hayter White are also strongly in bud. Summer campanula’s are in bud (carpatica white and posharskyana).
Achillea Desert Eve series are just producing their first buds again. Also a nice short bushy batch of The Pearl with its little white button flowers is reaching perfection.
Have a good one, from all at Kirton Farm Nurseries
Yet another hectic week, sending out lots of orders. Most of the planned other work has gone on hold for a bit until we can find a moment. The deliveries of next year’s young plants are already here in large numbers and rather than keeping them waiting for too long before finding their way into a pot we are repeating the trick of the past couple of years and dropping them in a big module of our peat free potting compost. Although it adds in an extra production stage it does keep the plants growing strongly and provides monster stock to pot a bit later in the summer. There are a number of benefits to this, an extra chance to grade out any rubbish, an extra large plant framework provides greater pest and disease resilience as well as stonkingly sized plants, quicker and denser compost coverage reduces weed, moss and liverwort growth, better overwintering success and a bit of extra production flexibility. That is all brilliant and if we achieve the ultimate elusive aim and sell them all too, we will be able to do it all again next year!
Had an interesting email enquiry this week questioning if anything we used on our plants (MET52 specifically mentioned) would have killed off some tiger moth caterpillars which had been feeding on a couple of our plants in the garden. The easy answer is no, but that is not altogether helpful or informative. Such a specific question was a tricky one to reply to as the amount of info you need, to try and provide that illusive useful answer is immense. How long ago were the plants bought, how did the caterpillars get on the plant (naturally or helped), were there signs of them eating stuff, weather, caterpillar death symptoms and I’m sure more questions to materialise later. I suspect a full investigation and visit would still not come up with a definitive diagnosis of the deaths but I managed to spend an hour replying, explaining how MET52 spores (an anti vine
weevil bio-insectide) had been incorporated in the compost and not on or inside the plant so not going to be the problem. This led on to the fact that having spent many thousands of pounds over the last two seasons on this remedy we found it fairly ineffective on the weevil and had now changed to applying parasitic nematodes at key times of year. Then of course a description of why this is not going to be the cause followed (live in dark damp compost and are very , very short lived in daylight etc). An explanation of bio-controls simply boosting local natural populations to achieve a degree of pest control was needed and further general assurances followed that most chemicals available nowadays to all growers are so short -lived that by the time the plants were despatched, bought, planted and rained on there would be little residue left to cause mega death to the general insect population of the nature friendly gardener. That brings us to the fundamental issue that everyone wants to buy lovely looking pest free healthy plants but just as long as we aren’t cruel to any wildlife along the way! Even using natural bio controls and predators seems to raise alarm. Can we ever win or are we all failing to get our best intentioned messages across?
Plants are good for you, your garden and nature. Plant more. Plants are good. Good, mmm, yummy plants.
Availability
The Lobelia Fan range are so strong and bushy they could burst and flower spikes are thrusting too!
Beautiful pale yellow flowers of the Eucomis autumnalis are opening, short and chunky a really eye catcher but only a few left. A few new addition for this summer is a range of hardy fuchsia’s which are wonderfully bushy and flowering nicely now.
Ajuga Black Scallop is also new on our list this year with really very dark tight foliage, a stunner.
We have a great range of good looking chunky Agapanthus we are producing for the first time this summer.
The feathery foliage of Coreopsis Zagreb is also now supporting bright yellow colour.
Summer Penstemons growing well and looking verdant with numerous buds appearing. Lots of Hemerocallis varieties are colouring up as summer approaches.
The shorter Verbena bonariensis Lollipop are strong, shooty, and showing bud and colour. Bushy V. bonariensis are also available again with first buds showing.
Leucanthemum Broadway Lights and Banana Creme are showing their first signs of flowering, large pretty pale yellow blooms. Summer is on its way with the first buds appearing on some Crocosmia.
It seems early but many of the Asters are showing buds and to occasional open flower, a lovely range of colours.
The Helenium Waldraut and Moerheim Beauty are in stunning colour and strong stemmed although quite tall.
The traditional Dianthus are in bud, the new ‘Scent First’ (SF) series are compact and scented with some lovely colour combinations. The slightly larger classic varieties Gran’s Favourite and Hayter White are also strongly in bud. Summer campanula’s are in bud (carpatica white and posharskyana).
Achillea Desert Eve series are just producing their first buds again. Also a nice short bushy batch of The Pearl with its little white button flowers is reaching perfection.
Have a good one, from all at Kirton Farm Nurseries
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