Fantastic morning to all. Ok it might get a bit hot later which can be a bit stressful so early in the year but just for the moment it is perfect. Sun out, light cool breeze, early mist clearing from the valley just stunning. I suppose today may see a few of you on restricted hours today with many centres closed for Easter Sunday, a moment to catch your breath, gather your thoughts and press on with what is a bonkers couple of weeks with all the bank holidays. We have had a good couple of days to catch up a bit and today it’s just Caroline and I sorting out the irrigation, seed sowing and accounts. We are having a bit of a holiday later with a trip to Dorset for family lunch which will be a nice break, then back later to finish the watering. We are back on Monday with a ¾ crew and will be treating the coming week as a normal trading week but with deliveries probably not starting until early Tuesday.
Last week was unsurprisingly a hectic one but we got there in the end although we are getting a bit tired. It would be a lot easier if it wasn’t so hot but there you go, can’t do much about that and it does get people outside. It doesn’t take much to push me over the edge at the moment, I caught myself at the top of the stairs this week on my way to bed carrying my empty dinner plate, realising I set out for the kitchen! Fruit juice at breakfast made it into the cereal and most of my wardrobe has disappeared where I have taken something off and forgotten where I put it. I put it down to an active mind, thinking about lots of different things at the same time, or is it just old age creeping up. Still at least it keeps us fit in body if not mind.
Eco news
I spent last Sunday having a great time rotorvating a 60m x 3m strip next to the new hedgerow we planted this winter. This was to sow a wild grass and flower patch as part of our wind turbine ecology improvement plan. I was just going to tickle the surface to get the seed raked in and it would only take an hour. Five hours later the job was done, well the bed preparation anyway. I had forgotten about the rather flinty nature of our thin chalk soil, and the run wasn’t quite as smooth as I had pictured. You just get set on a moments nice tilling when you hit one the size of the Isle of Wight and the whole machine leaps out of the ground usually sideways too, making for a bit of a wrestling match. Late on Friday we managed to get it levelled and rolled, sowed the seed, raked it in a bit and put on the irrigation. Hopefully in a few weeks we will have our wild flower meadow, although the amount of seed recommended for the area seemed a bit mean. I doubled it to allow for the bird feeding but we will see later if it is enough. A bigger area I was thinking of sowing will have to wait until I find a man with a tractor, I’m keen on promoting wild flower areas but not that keen!
Nature ramblings
Exactly three weeks from seeing the first swallows, the house martins arrived this morning. I was out at 6.00am and there were none, by 8.00am they were there. A characteristic flash of black & white and there they were, probably 4 or 5 all swooping around the house checking out the old nest sites. A long trip for them from their African feeding grounds all the way back home to Kirton Farmhouse, how do they do that? We get a great view of them from the bedroom window and it is always a summer morning sight that gladdens the heart.
Have a good week, from all at Kirton Farm Nurseries
Sunday, 24 April 2011
Monday, 18 April 2011
What a great run of weather, maybe we could with a drop of rain, just as long as it is at night. This morning is fantastic, early nip, bit of mist, blue skies and no wind, a perfect day to get outside and get to grips with life the universe and everything. I am expecting a change in attitude to the windless days in a few months time, but not today.
Another hectic week has passed, we sent out more deliveries this week than we have done for years, the fuel bill is growing but luckily the sales are there to cover that. Next we have a bonkers three weeks when the bank holidays and peak season will combine for a fun time for all. Hopefully we can all revel in the fact that we are all so popular at the moment rather than panic at the impending workload and lack of time. We will be pulling as many rabbits out of the hat as we can so do bear with us as we do our very best to make things go smoothly.
On top of the busy week we also had our Winchester Business Awards judging visit as finalists in the Green Innovation section and the overall Business of the Year. Despite my fears of a lack of written plans the nursery walk-round provided loads of examples of what we have done, what’s half way through and what is coming up providing we can find the funding. This seemed to get everyone quite excited although afterwards I kept thinking of bits I had missed out, like the ponds we put in, the LED lighting we are looking at in the lab growth room and worst miss of all, the handmade Christmas cards we slave over!
On the awards front, I was astonished to receive the player of the season of our old gits hockey team at the club bash on Friday night. I now have a small but heavyweight plaque on the mantelpiece, which I believe is made of solid green, as discovered by Lord Percy (Blackadder).
All the warm weather has got the insects going, the wasps and flies have all made an early rather dopey appearance. I’m hopeless with flies, something about them just makes me very tense. It is something to do with their second sense of what they can do to cause maximum irritation. Classic last night with Caroline reporting a whopper in the bathroom. Checked it out with the swatter and nothing, at least not until I got in the shower. Then of course it appears and gets in too, restricted space, lots of water, dopey fly, a recipe for true slapstick, good job no one saw that.
Eco news
End of March electric savings up to 28.24% on the 2009 figures, 7.7% on 2010. Extra savings this year probably down to the milder late winter. Looking forward to next year when we should be generating our own and hopefully selling a bit back to the grid.
The grid folk are currently (no pun intended) sorting out the way leaves across the field where the new cable has to go, then hopefully we will have some dates provided so we can organise the trenching and foundation works. Lull before the storm.
Nature ramblings
Fantastic sighting of the Red Kite this week. It must have been searching for food, performing repeated circles quite low to the ground over the nursery and the next field.
Swallows in residence and very active.
Jackdaws are nesting somewhere, I caught one perched on one of the donkeys backs pulling out the moulting hairs. It was there for ages with a great beak full.
There rabbits are at it. Our young cat Spare has been waddling around for a couple of weeks now, full of baby rabbit, leaving the odd half eaten trophy in the house just to let us know he is earning his keep. In this lovely weather even our ancient two are showing an interest. Seeing what the youngsters get up to gets the mind going even if the body can’t follow it up. Bit like me at the hockey dinner dance.
Have a good week, from all at Kirton Farm Nurseries
Another hectic week has passed, we sent out more deliveries this week than we have done for years, the fuel bill is growing but luckily the sales are there to cover that. Next we have a bonkers three weeks when the bank holidays and peak season will combine for a fun time for all. Hopefully we can all revel in the fact that we are all so popular at the moment rather than panic at the impending workload and lack of time. We will be pulling as many rabbits out of the hat as we can so do bear with us as we do our very best to make things go smoothly.
On top of the busy week we also had our Winchester Business Awards judging visit as finalists in the Green Innovation section and the overall Business of the Year. Despite my fears of a lack of written plans the nursery walk-round provided loads of examples of what we have done, what’s half way through and what is coming up providing we can find the funding. This seemed to get everyone quite excited although afterwards I kept thinking of bits I had missed out, like the ponds we put in, the LED lighting we are looking at in the lab growth room and worst miss of all, the handmade Christmas cards we slave over!
On the awards front, I was astonished to receive the player of the season of our old gits hockey team at the club bash on Friday night. I now have a small but heavyweight plaque on the mantelpiece, which I believe is made of solid green, as discovered by Lord Percy (Blackadder).
All the warm weather has got the insects going, the wasps and flies have all made an early rather dopey appearance. I’m hopeless with flies, something about them just makes me very tense. It is something to do with their second sense of what they can do to cause maximum irritation. Classic last night with Caroline reporting a whopper in the bathroom. Checked it out with the swatter and nothing, at least not until I got in the shower. Then of course it appears and gets in too, restricted space, lots of water, dopey fly, a recipe for true slapstick, good job no one saw that.
Eco news
End of March electric savings up to 28.24% on the 2009 figures, 7.7% on 2010. Extra savings this year probably down to the milder late winter. Looking forward to next year when we should be generating our own and hopefully selling a bit back to the grid.
The grid folk are currently (no pun intended) sorting out the way leaves across the field where the new cable has to go, then hopefully we will have some dates provided so we can organise the trenching and foundation works. Lull before the storm.
Nature ramblings
Fantastic sighting of the Red Kite this week. It must have been searching for food, performing repeated circles quite low to the ground over the nursery and the next field.
Swallows in residence and very active.
Jackdaws are nesting somewhere, I caught one perched on one of the donkeys backs pulling out the moulting hairs. It was there for ages with a great beak full.
There rabbits are at it. Our young cat Spare has been waddling around for a couple of weeks now, full of baby rabbit, leaving the odd half eaten trophy in the house just to let us know he is earning his keep. In this lovely weather even our ancient two are showing an interest. Seeing what the youngsters get up to gets the mind going even if the body can’t follow it up. Bit like me at the hockey dinner dance.
Have a good week, from all at Kirton Farm Nurseries
Monday, 11 April 2011
Phew, what a scorcher. This is all a bit of a shock to the system, it’s been like June out there not early April. It does make everything look stunning in the hedgerows and gardens so hopefully everyone will be enthused and excited about the spring garden projects. I wonder how many out there are asking already about bedding plants? - it must be tempting despite the prospect of weeks of potential frosts still to come. Summer also arrived with the first two swallows spotted on Sunday shooting off down the valley, then on Tuesday our pair arrived and started nesting activity and feeding around the donkey shed, which is their usual haunt. Lots of feel good stuff going on, don’t forget to look up and see it.
Usual nursery activity on the arrival of the sun and heat, fog system goes on a go slow, in need of new nozzles and ventilation fan in microprop weening tunnel trips out, needing a motor rewind. Perfect, so plants and pricking out teams have been wilting all week. In the house the insulation is beginning to get too efficient and we may have to look at a change in tactics for the summer. In theory it can keep the house cooler in summer but not when you’ve got an Aga generating heat in the middle! Whereas before most of the heat leaked away and left us in the cold it is now all retained which is great until the sun comes out. Still at least we have reduced our oil consumption by over 60% this winter, and I reckon it will be more next year as we didn’t get the insulation complete until December.
If I can find time this week we will need to have a bit of a tidy up as we have a team of judges coming round for the local business awards competition. The nursery looks pretty smart, for a nursery, but the judges may not be used to the somewhat primitive facilities we are all used to here. We are in the Green Innovations final and the overall Business of the Year final which is all very exciting. I can’t say I’m brimming over with confidence as they have asked to see our financial results and our business plan. Well the financials are ok, we are showing a marked improvement in the last couple of years after many years of less than impressive returns but the business plan is stored away in the spreadsheet that is my head. In other words we make it up as we go along. Not sure if that will be sufficient to impress anyone with our long term planning! The trouble with doing a written plan, well one of my written plans anyway, is that it is out of date before it’s even finished.
Eco news
I’m in print already. Our copy of South East Farmer magazine arrived complete with the telephone interview I unwittingly gave last week and it’s ok, luckily no picture. http://edition.pagesuite-professional.co.uk/launch.aspx?referral=other&refresh=w18B3K0j1mJ7&PBID=86ca4d1f-d261-48bf-a7cf-4c10bd9ca517&skip=
After introducing the anti vine weevil fungus (Met 54 or is it 55, can’t remember) as a new bio control this spring we have also got another new introduction to come onto the nursery next week. We have had a couple of aphid predators before among our usual bio control introductions but this is a ready mixed tube of six different ones that cover the control of over thirty different aphid types. We hang the tube up in the tunnel, they hatch, have a feed of glucose syrup on the end of the tube and that gives them the energy to zoom off and start eating and laying eggs in their prey. It’s not a particularly cheap solution at over £18/tube, one in each tunnel, three introductions needed to build up a population but results last year were said to be impressive and it should further reduce any control sprays we use.
Nature ramblings
Swallows in residence.
Newts active and feeding on the tadpoles which are growing strongly. They will soon be grown and getting revenge by eating newt babies. It’s an amphibian eat amphibian world out there.
Wagtails are nest building somewhere but haven’t spotted where yet, it’s bound to be somewhere inconvenient it always is. It only seems to take a day or two, you put a pile of crates down and go to move them and find it, complete with occupants. Then it’s a case of setting up an exclusion zone and hoping for the best.
Have a good week, from all at Kirton Farm Nurseries
Usual nursery activity on the arrival of the sun and heat, fog system goes on a go slow, in need of new nozzles and ventilation fan in microprop weening tunnel trips out, needing a motor rewind. Perfect, so plants and pricking out teams have been wilting all week. In the house the insulation is beginning to get too efficient and we may have to look at a change in tactics for the summer. In theory it can keep the house cooler in summer but not when you’ve got an Aga generating heat in the middle! Whereas before most of the heat leaked away and left us in the cold it is now all retained which is great until the sun comes out. Still at least we have reduced our oil consumption by over 60% this winter, and I reckon it will be more next year as we didn’t get the insulation complete until December.
If I can find time this week we will need to have a bit of a tidy up as we have a team of judges coming round for the local business awards competition. The nursery looks pretty smart, for a nursery, but the judges may not be used to the somewhat primitive facilities we are all used to here. We are in the Green Innovations final and the overall Business of the Year final which is all very exciting. I can’t say I’m brimming over with confidence as they have asked to see our financial results and our business plan. Well the financials are ok, we are showing a marked improvement in the last couple of years after many years of less than impressive returns but the business plan is stored away in the spreadsheet that is my head. In other words we make it up as we go along. Not sure if that will be sufficient to impress anyone with our long term planning! The trouble with doing a written plan, well one of my written plans anyway, is that it is out of date before it’s even finished.
Eco news
I’m in print already. Our copy of South East Farmer magazine arrived complete with the telephone interview I unwittingly gave last week and it’s ok, luckily no picture. http://edition.pagesuite-professional.co.uk/launch.aspx?referral=other&refresh=w18B3K0j1mJ7&PBID=86ca4d1f-d261-48bf-a7cf-4c10bd9ca517&skip=
After introducing the anti vine weevil fungus (Met 54 or is it 55, can’t remember) as a new bio control this spring we have also got another new introduction to come onto the nursery next week. We have had a couple of aphid predators before among our usual bio control introductions but this is a ready mixed tube of six different ones that cover the control of over thirty different aphid types. We hang the tube up in the tunnel, they hatch, have a feed of glucose syrup on the end of the tube and that gives them the energy to zoom off and start eating and laying eggs in their prey. It’s not a particularly cheap solution at over £18/tube, one in each tunnel, three introductions needed to build up a population but results last year were said to be impressive and it should further reduce any control sprays we use.
Nature ramblings
Swallows in residence.
Newts active and feeding on the tadpoles which are growing strongly. They will soon be grown and getting revenge by eating newt babies. It’s an amphibian eat amphibian world out there.
Wagtails are nest building somewhere but haven’t spotted where yet, it’s bound to be somewhere inconvenient it always is. It only seems to take a day or two, you put a pile of crates down and go to move them and find it, complete with occupants. Then it’s a case of setting up an exclusion zone and hoping for the best.
Have a good week, from all at Kirton Farm Nurseries
Monday, 4 April 2011
Wow, what a week, it’s been heaving this end, hopefully the same with you at your end. I’m not quite sure how we got everything delivered but we did and then had Friday and Saturday free to get potting again. This weekend looks promising again down here, not a lot of sun but dry and mild. Now the wind has dropped (Saturday evening) I will pop out and get a bit of weed control going, conditions are looking nice for it.
Just in case there is not enough to do at this time I’ve got a presentation to do to our PLATO Sustain group on Monday evening all about what we do and what we plan to do. I will need to do a bit of preparation I think, usually I just make it up as I go along but that is because I usually do that sort of thing on site and can use the nursery itself to illustrate points and prompt me as I go along. Having seen a few other presentations from the group I have opted to put something together on Powerpoint which I’ve never used before, it won’t be as slick but at least I can show a few pictures and tell a story.
Winter drew to a close on Tuesday with our last skittles game of the season where we pulled a rabbit out of the hat by winning 3-0 against the second placed team. It was our first 3-0 of the season and pulled us up 3 places from bottom to just about avoid relegation. A few beers and some chips for the opposition worked wonders. Caroline who is the team captain couldn’t play as she had spent the day at an old friends birthday bash at Taunton Races. I expected an excited response and reward for our glorious victory but all I got was how she had snogged Hugo Speer (famous actor for those not in the know). OK those weren’t her exact words but I know when I’m out gunned!
Thursday saw another trip to the big city to see Sandi Thom and her band who were great and very loud but the evening was made complete by a surprise appearance of Marcus Bonfanti as the support, who we have been wanting to see since getting his great album last year. Brillant young blues player and singer, check him out at http://www.marcusbonfanti.com/
Richard finished officially this week although you may be lucky enough to spot him helping out on the odd delivery for a few weeks yet as he has offered to help out occasionally to help fund the expanding family at home.
Eco news
I got interviewed on the phone by a journalist from the South East Farmer magazine this week about our wind turbines and all things renewable. Cleverly done, I didn’t even realise it was an interview until he asked for a picture at the end. I’m just wondering what I said now! I did pass comment on bank funding issues but I don’t think I was too ‘open’. Anyway I don’t think the readership is too vast! As someone doing an article on renewable energy stuff I was surprised how little background info he knew. He was asking about whether I believed the ‘experts’ that oil was getting in shorter supply and would get more expensive and he knew little of the Feed in Tariffs. I suppose after you focus on sustainable stuff for a while you assume everyone else is aware of the situation and the need to start doing something. When in fact most people are blissfully unaware and just complain when prices go up assuming that one day they will come down again. Watch out you boys and girls start planning now, the sooner you start preparing the more you will benefit.
Now could come a list of smug improvements we have made (like house insulation, wood burner, reduced electric use of over 28% on 2009 figures, reduced heating oil use on nursery and in house, reduced water use, smaller car, wind turbines on the way etc) and those we are thinking off (like a bit of solar generation, ground source heat pumps, rain water collection, LED lighting in growth rooms etc) but that would be rubbing it in. Oops too late.
Nature ramblings
Another first this week with the first sighting of a Nuthatch here. Unfortunately it was lying on its back with its legs in the air, definitely an ex-nuthatch. It looked in good condition apart from the lack of pulse and rather stiff demeanour, still that’s life, or not.
Have a good week, from all at Kirton Farm Nurseries
Just in case there is not enough to do at this time I’ve got a presentation to do to our PLATO Sustain group on Monday evening all about what we do and what we plan to do. I will need to do a bit of preparation I think, usually I just make it up as I go along but that is because I usually do that sort of thing on site and can use the nursery itself to illustrate points and prompt me as I go along. Having seen a few other presentations from the group I have opted to put something together on Powerpoint which I’ve never used before, it won’t be as slick but at least I can show a few pictures and tell a story.
Winter drew to a close on Tuesday with our last skittles game of the season where we pulled a rabbit out of the hat by winning 3-0 against the second placed team. It was our first 3-0 of the season and pulled us up 3 places from bottom to just about avoid relegation. A few beers and some chips for the opposition worked wonders. Caroline who is the team captain couldn’t play as she had spent the day at an old friends birthday bash at Taunton Races. I expected an excited response and reward for our glorious victory but all I got was how she had snogged Hugo Speer (famous actor for those not in the know). OK those weren’t her exact words but I know when I’m out gunned!
Thursday saw another trip to the big city to see Sandi Thom and her band who were great and very loud but the evening was made complete by a surprise appearance of Marcus Bonfanti as the support, who we have been wanting to see since getting his great album last year. Brillant young blues player and singer, check him out at http://www.marcusbonfanti.com/
Richard finished officially this week although you may be lucky enough to spot him helping out on the odd delivery for a few weeks yet as he has offered to help out occasionally to help fund the expanding family at home.
Eco news
I got interviewed on the phone by a journalist from the South East Farmer magazine this week about our wind turbines and all things renewable. Cleverly done, I didn’t even realise it was an interview until he asked for a picture at the end. I’m just wondering what I said now! I did pass comment on bank funding issues but I don’t think I was too ‘open’. Anyway I don’t think the readership is too vast! As someone doing an article on renewable energy stuff I was surprised how little background info he knew. He was asking about whether I believed the ‘experts’ that oil was getting in shorter supply and would get more expensive and he knew little of the Feed in Tariffs. I suppose after you focus on sustainable stuff for a while you assume everyone else is aware of the situation and the need to start doing something. When in fact most people are blissfully unaware and just complain when prices go up assuming that one day they will come down again. Watch out you boys and girls start planning now, the sooner you start preparing the more you will benefit.
Now could come a list of smug improvements we have made (like house insulation, wood burner, reduced electric use of over 28% on 2009 figures, reduced heating oil use on nursery and in house, reduced water use, smaller car, wind turbines on the way etc) and those we are thinking off (like a bit of solar generation, ground source heat pumps, rain water collection, LED lighting in growth rooms etc) but that would be rubbing it in. Oops too late.
Nature ramblings
Another first this week with the first sighting of a Nuthatch here. Unfortunately it was lying on its back with its legs in the air, definitely an ex-nuthatch. It looked in good condition apart from the lack of pulse and rather stiff demeanour, still that’s life, or not.
Have a good week, from all at Kirton Farm Nurseries
Monday, 28 March 2011
Morning all,
What a lovely week on the weather front. Great for getting out there and watch spring springing. Despite the forecast not being as good for the weekend it has been fine here, lots of sun and warm again. I have packed away my fleece lined trousers for the summer and look forward to taking my hat off soon. The fleece lined trousers were a revelation in the coldest weather of the winter, replacing my rather scary ‘two trouser’ fashion of earlier times. They came via a catalogue company called Chums which had loads of very useful bits of kit specially selected for those no longer in the first flush of youth. Slightly frightening was the pamphlets for mobility scooters and special pants that came in the parcel, but hey, the trousers did the job and I’m now old enough not to care!
Anyway talking of safety pants, I attended an open day run by the HSE at a local farm this week. It was mainly agriculturally based but did have quite a few good reminders of some of the most common safety issues associated with smaller outdoor enterprises too. Ladder safety, manual handling, safe handling of chemicals and vehicle use were all there with some sensible advice and a few scare stories to accompany it. It’s really a bit dull and negative to focus on this sort of stuff but it is something we all have to bear in mind every day. Keep it safe, check stuff regularly, and watch out when you get tired, irritable or lazy. It’s all ok until an accident happens, then it’s too late. Luckily we don’t have quite the risks associated with farms, there were some truly horrendous tales of accidents over recent years which certainly makes you focus on things, but we all face risk, so be careful out there.
Availability list - Spring is here so if for some reason you lose your list you can now download it from the www.kirtonfarm.co.uk website.
Star of the week the week is Fritillaria meleagris in flower, we have a few, but they won’t be there long.
Eco news
An engineer from the National Grid came in this week to check out the site for the installation of a new pole mounted substation for the wind turbines. Everything was fine and he reckoned it should be done in 8 weeks if all goes well, although I was quite surprised that he knew nothing about why the installation was needed. I suppose as long as the right kit goes in it doesn’t matter what it is for. Once the dates are set for that then we should be able to work all the trenching, cabling and foundation installation in over that 8 weeks, ready for construction once the power is in place. I still can’t really believe after all this time that something is going to actually happen.
With Richard off at the end of the week we are losing our nursery egg supply so we are currently looking into a small production facility to compensate. We have a good local source of second-hand free range chickens to stock it but are still trying to tie down the accommodation. Chicken housing isn’t cheep! The current favourite option is to adapt a redundant cat pen although I’m not sure myself how well they would cope with the cat flap. The other decision is how many to eat, or will that just be too traumatic? I love a hot bird on a Sunday but can we get through the pre-roasting stage without a fuss, I suspect not. I bet it won’t take long before they all have names and all hope of breast and stuffing evaporate. Visions of ‘Chicken Run’ and the decision of which one for the pie come flooding back. How much easier it is to pick up a plastic wrapped bird at the supermarket, with none of the associated angst. But at least it would be real, it would have had a good run and we know where it’s come from.
Nature ramblings
Tiny tadpoles are swimming about already, it doesn’t take long in this warm weather.
Ordered our wildflower seed mix for sowing our patch of ground down by the new hedge as per planning conditions. We do have a bit of unused ground next to the hedge strip, so I ordered a bit extra to do that too. It’s a mix of annuals and perennials so hopefully will be effective from the first season and mature over the years.
Saw our first Red Kite of the year this week, soaring in the sun with a couple of Buzzards. Hopefully they will continue their spread as they make such a dramatic addition to the skies. On the subject of birds of prey I keep an eye on the bird sitings in and around St Ives, just to see what I’m missing, and all this week they have been reporting a Golden Eagle over several sites. Now that is a spot.
Have a good week, from all at Kirton Farm Nurseries
What a lovely week on the weather front. Great for getting out there and watch spring springing. Despite the forecast not being as good for the weekend it has been fine here, lots of sun and warm again. I have packed away my fleece lined trousers for the summer and look forward to taking my hat off soon. The fleece lined trousers were a revelation in the coldest weather of the winter, replacing my rather scary ‘two trouser’ fashion of earlier times. They came via a catalogue company called Chums which had loads of very useful bits of kit specially selected for those no longer in the first flush of youth. Slightly frightening was the pamphlets for mobility scooters and special pants that came in the parcel, but hey, the trousers did the job and I’m now old enough not to care!
Anyway talking of safety pants, I attended an open day run by the HSE at a local farm this week. It was mainly agriculturally based but did have quite a few good reminders of some of the most common safety issues associated with smaller outdoor enterprises too. Ladder safety, manual handling, safe handling of chemicals and vehicle use were all there with some sensible advice and a few scare stories to accompany it. It’s really a bit dull and negative to focus on this sort of stuff but it is something we all have to bear in mind every day. Keep it safe, check stuff regularly, and watch out when you get tired, irritable or lazy. It’s all ok until an accident happens, then it’s too late. Luckily we don’t have quite the risks associated with farms, there were some truly horrendous tales of accidents over recent years which certainly makes you focus on things, but we all face risk, so be careful out there.
Availability list - Spring is here so if for some reason you lose your list you can now download it from the www.kirtonfarm.co.uk website.
Star of the week the week is Fritillaria meleagris in flower, we have a few, but they won’t be there long.
Eco news
An engineer from the National Grid came in this week to check out the site for the installation of a new pole mounted substation for the wind turbines. Everything was fine and he reckoned it should be done in 8 weeks if all goes well, although I was quite surprised that he knew nothing about why the installation was needed. I suppose as long as the right kit goes in it doesn’t matter what it is for. Once the dates are set for that then we should be able to work all the trenching, cabling and foundation installation in over that 8 weeks, ready for construction once the power is in place. I still can’t really believe after all this time that something is going to actually happen.
With Richard off at the end of the week we are losing our nursery egg supply so we are currently looking into a small production facility to compensate. We have a good local source of second-hand free range chickens to stock it but are still trying to tie down the accommodation. Chicken housing isn’t cheep! The current favourite option is to adapt a redundant cat pen although I’m not sure myself how well they would cope with the cat flap. The other decision is how many to eat, or will that just be too traumatic? I love a hot bird on a Sunday but can we get through the pre-roasting stage without a fuss, I suspect not. I bet it won’t take long before they all have names and all hope of breast and stuffing evaporate. Visions of ‘Chicken Run’ and the decision of which one for the pie come flooding back. How much easier it is to pick up a plastic wrapped bird at the supermarket, with none of the associated angst. But at least it would be real, it would have had a good run and we know where it’s come from.
Nature ramblings
Tiny tadpoles are swimming about already, it doesn’t take long in this warm weather.
Ordered our wildflower seed mix for sowing our patch of ground down by the new hedge as per planning conditions. We do have a bit of unused ground next to the hedge strip, so I ordered a bit extra to do that too. It’s a mix of annuals and perennials so hopefully will be effective from the first season and mature over the years.
Saw our first Red Kite of the year this week, soaring in the sun with a couple of Buzzards. Hopefully they will continue their spread as they make such a dramatic addition to the skies. On the subject of birds of prey I keep an eye on the bird sitings in and around St Ives, just to see what I’m missing, and all this week they have been reporting a Golden Eagle over several sites. Now that is a spot.
Have a good week, from all at Kirton Farm Nurseries
Monday, 21 March 2011
A relatively quiet week and weekend in comparison to this time last year and all the 20 years previous to this one. At long last we have got back to concentrating on growing plants, developing our own plans for the nursery and simply doing our own thing, and it is such a relief. In all those previous years we would have been shipping plants into the DIY multiples by now with all the pressure, stress and low personal and financial reward for all the effort involved. It could easily destroy any appreciation of the real joys of spring, the warming sun, bursting buds and the patter of gardener’s feet rushing out for their annual fix of gardening retail therapy. Although there still aren’t enough hours in the day at this time of year at least we are now focussed on doing something we feel is worth the effort. Other than the odd run in with the occasional big institution, like last week’s bank fiasco, we are back dealing with human beings again which has so much more going for it. So well done all you human beings out there!
Anyway, back to this ‘quiet’ week. Lots of orders as the weather improves and a bit of potting done too. Very nearly up to date with production in the microprop lab after a period of very high workload and the first seedling and cutting plant deliveries of the year are in. I finished clearing the hedge debris created when the turbine sites were cut back a few weeks ago, so they are ready for foundation installation sometime over the next couple of months.
The nursery has been selected as a finalist in the Business of the Year section of the Winchester Business Excellence Awards, which I think means we are finalists in at least one or maybe two other sections. I know it’s only a local do but it’s still nice to be loved by someone! The awards aren’t announced until June so I suspect we will get a visit from a judge or two before then, so best behaviour all round, could be tricky.
We managed to squeeze in a concert at a pub venue in Southampton to see Ben Waters playing with Charlie Watts (Rolling Stones), a brilliant night and so bizarre to see such a famous musician in such a tiny venue. Caroline had a good day yesterday with a Cat Protection training day (some people get all the excitement) and then going to see Southampton beat Sheffield Wednesday to move closer to an automatic promotion place. Meanwhile I lost my last hockey game of the year 2-1 at Oxford which means after a few weeks of freefall we are now awaiting other results to see if we get relegated. Ooops. A team curry last night helped improve spirits in the short term.
Eco news
Electric consumption continues to fall with warmer weather than last year during February, it’s down 8.82% on last year, 25.63% down on 2009 for the year as a whole. Every little bit helps. Next Saturday at 8.30pm is the WWF’s earth hour when they are encouraging people around the world to turn off their lights for an hour. You can register to take part at http://earthhour.wwf.org.uk/get_involved/signup/signup_individual.cfm
The nuclear power bubble seems to have deflated somewhat with the difficulties in Japan, perhaps it won’t be the easy answer to future energy demand after all. It does swing things a bit more back towards renewables for a bit which makes the turbine project even more exciting. This week we made our first big financial commitment to the scheme by handing over a large dollop to the National Grid chaps to put in a new sub station and some new cable. An interesting deal which demands payment up front and the possibility of the work taking 12 weeks to complete. So far I must admit they have been very helpful and I think quite excited about the first of this type of installation in the area. They certainly remembered us when I phoned to sort out the payment.
Nature ramblings
Having gone up to the hill top to clear hedge debris I couldn’t help but notice the lack of old nests in the bare hedge. In 400m I didn’t spot one. Just a few meters away, on the nursery, our hedge has loads of nests, I suppose we are talking about two different environments really, open arable fields and an insect rich, more sheltered nursery with winter feeding.
Have a good week, from all at Kirton Farm Nurseries
Anyway, back to this ‘quiet’ week. Lots of orders as the weather improves and a bit of potting done too. Very nearly up to date with production in the microprop lab after a period of very high workload and the first seedling and cutting plant deliveries of the year are in. I finished clearing the hedge debris created when the turbine sites were cut back a few weeks ago, so they are ready for foundation installation sometime over the next couple of months.
The nursery has been selected as a finalist in the Business of the Year section of the Winchester Business Excellence Awards, which I think means we are finalists in at least one or maybe two other sections. I know it’s only a local do but it’s still nice to be loved by someone! The awards aren’t announced until June so I suspect we will get a visit from a judge or two before then, so best behaviour all round, could be tricky.
We managed to squeeze in a concert at a pub venue in Southampton to see Ben Waters playing with Charlie Watts (Rolling Stones), a brilliant night and so bizarre to see such a famous musician in such a tiny venue. Caroline had a good day yesterday with a Cat Protection training day (some people get all the excitement) and then going to see Southampton beat Sheffield Wednesday to move closer to an automatic promotion place. Meanwhile I lost my last hockey game of the year 2-1 at Oxford which means after a few weeks of freefall we are now awaiting other results to see if we get relegated. Ooops. A team curry last night helped improve spirits in the short term.
Eco news
Electric consumption continues to fall with warmer weather than last year during February, it’s down 8.82% on last year, 25.63% down on 2009 for the year as a whole. Every little bit helps. Next Saturday at 8.30pm is the WWF’s earth hour when they are encouraging people around the world to turn off their lights for an hour. You can register to take part at http://earthhour.wwf.org.uk/get_involved/signup/signup_individual.cfm
The nuclear power bubble seems to have deflated somewhat with the difficulties in Japan, perhaps it won’t be the easy answer to future energy demand after all. It does swing things a bit more back towards renewables for a bit which makes the turbine project even more exciting. This week we made our first big financial commitment to the scheme by handing over a large dollop to the National Grid chaps to put in a new sub station and some new cable. An interesting deal which demands payment up front and the possibility of the work taking 12 weeks to complete. So far I must admit they have been very helpful and I think quite excited about the first of this type of installation in the area. They certainly remembered us when I phoned to sort out the payment.
Nature ramblings
Having gone up to the hill top to clear hedge debris I couldn’t help but notice the lack of old nests in the bare hedge. In 400m I didn’t spot one. Just a few meters away, on the nursery, our hedge has loads of nests, I suppose we are talking about two different environments really, open arable fields and an insect rich, more sheltered nursery with winter feeding.
Have a good week, from all at Kirton Farm Nurseries
Monday, 14 March 2011
Morning all,
This is the first weekend when it has felt, to me, like the first stirrings of spring gardening weather. Bit brighter, warmer and more colourful. The daffs are all coming out and the buds are swelling and splitting in some of the hedges. Hurrah, let’s hope the tills swell as the purses split open when the gardening public hit the plant sales areas. The plants on the nursery certainly know it’s springtime with plenty of chunky fresh shoots getting going, even the Hostas are getting started.
It can seem a bit shallow this week to focus on the apparently trivial bits of our nursery life considering the astonishing events unfolding in Japan. The coverage of world events by new technology, ironically developed and produced in the area provides compelling images of a huge disaster which is still to unveil its true outcome. If there can be a bright side to such an event, it must be the Japanese peoples use of modern design and technology to build earthquake proof facilities and buildings. The relatively low loss of life from such a huge quake so close to the shoreline is quite astonishing when compared to the devastation in recent years in China, Christchurch and Haiti from relatively small quakes. It is such a tragic shame that the tsunami which followed hit so swiftly, before the warnings could be fully effective.
Back to our little world, and although we are weeny it is still our bit, and where we can still make things happen. It’s been week of ups and downs here. On the up side we were very busy again which is great and will be especially good when the dosh actually begins to flow back in and knock the overdraft back a bit! We also got a bit of potting done and three new samples of peat-free potting composts arrived for us to trial. We got most of the minor frost damage to the irrigation repaired, I hope, so not too many leaks when it is all switched on. We need a few more replacement valves before I can leave everything on all the time but we are not far off. We don’t quite have the automatic part of the system set up yet, so I am setting things going manually at the moment and this week I mastered a new bit of modern high tech to help, the timer alarm on my mobile. As I don’t get off the nursery much and have no friends my mobile rarely gets an outing, my monthly bill comes out at about 75p, so to find such a useful function makes the £50 it cost several years ago much more worthwhile. There is also the extra street cred to consider as I walk down the nursery, head down, mobile in hand, punching things into the key pad with my thumb, tripping over pots and falling into drains!
Thursday saw another birthday slip by with some lovely cards and presents and the shock of being so old that I couldn’t remember how old I actually was! I suffered a huge overdose of sugar through the day, with all the various cakes that arrived with visitors, but that was easier to recover from than an over indulgence in alcohol that used to occur in younger days.
Eco news
Chocolate Teapot of the Year goes to the general management and organisational unhelpfulness of the banking system. The week started really well on the turbine front, with lots of positive noises from the banks pilot renewable energy financing scheme and our bank manager, but got turned on its head over 24 hrs and they effectively forced us out of a deal, when they couldn’t make us fit in with the rules that each bank department has.
I don’t have enough space to explain the detail, but because putting in an energy installation is not as simple as buying a tractor or combine (surprising to who?) they can’t do it under the same system and the alternative way, at present, was to instruct solicitors and experts to do a load more stuff at a cost in excess of £20,000 to secure a right over the feed-in-tariff and all the kit, organise a shed load of extra separate security for the project and get us to finance the project to the point of completion when they would take it over. This basically means that for lots of extra cost and time delays, they would lend us the money just as long as we can prove that we don’t actually need it! Does anyone really want to get this sort of thing going, or is it all just lip service. We had our accountant in this week, to report back on the project figures and his simple answers to the questions of; is it a good deal for the investors and for the nursery? was that it was a ‘no brainer’ (in the positive sense). It was a short meeting. It is still all going ahead, but only with the help of our families and a further resolve on our part to reinvest any nursery profit rather than squandering it on management remuneration.
Have a good week, from all at Kirton Farm Nurseries
PS. Frogspawn has appeared at last.
This is the first weekend when it has felt, to me, like the first stirrings of spring gardening weather. Bit brighter, warmer and more colourful. The daffs are all coming out and the buds are swelling and splitting in some of the hedges. Hurrah, let’s hope the tills swell as the purses split open when the gardening public hit the plant sales areas. The plants on the nursery certainly know it’s springtime with plenty of chunky fresh shoots getting going, even the Hostas are getting started.
It can seem a bit shallow this week to focus on the apparently trivial bits of our nursery life considering the astonishing events unfolding in Japan. The coverage of world events by new technology, ironically developed and produced in the area provides compelling images of a huge disaster which is still to unveil its true outcome. If there can be a bright side to such an event, it must be the Japanese peoples use of modern design and technology to build earthquake proof facilities and buildings. The relatively low loss of life from such a huge quake so close to the shoreline is quite astonishing when compared to the devastation in recent years in China, Christchurch and Haiti from relatively small quakes. It is such a tragic shame that the tsunami which followed hit so swiftly, before the warnings could be fully effective.
Back to our little world, and although we are weeny it is still our bit, and where we can still make things happen. It’s been week of ups and downs here. On the up side we were very busy again which is great and will be especially good when the dosh actually begins to flow back in and knock the overdraft back a bit! We also got a bit of potting done and three new samples of peat-free potting composts arrived for us to trial. We got most of the minor frost damage to the irrigation repaired, I hope, so not too many leaks when it is all switched on. We need a few more replacement valves before I can leave everything on all the time but we are not far off. We don’t quite have the automatic part of the system set up yet, so I am setting things going manually at the moment and this week I mastered a new bit of modern high tech to help, the timer alarm on my mobile. As I don’t get off the nursery much and have no friends my mobile rarely gets an outing, my monthly bill comes out at about 75p, so to find such a useful function makes the £50 it cost several years ago much more worthwhile. There is also the extra street cred to consider as I walk down the nursery, head down, mobile in hand, punching things into the key pad with my thumb, tripping over pots and falling into drains!
Thursday saw another birthday slip by with some lovely cards and presents and the shock of being so old that I couldn’t remember how old I actually was! I suffered a huge overdose of sugar through the day, with all the various cakes that arrived with visitors, but that was easier to recover from than an over indulgence in alcohol that used to occur in younger days.
Eco news
Chocolate Teapot of the Year goes to the general management and organisational unhelpfulness of the banking system. The week started really well on the turbine front, with lots of positive noises from the banks pilot renewable energy financing scheme and our bank manager, but got turned on its head over 24 hrs and they effectively forced us out of a deal, when they couldn’t make us fit in with the rules that each bank department has.
I don’t have enough space to explain the detail, but because putting in an energy installation is not as simple as buying a tractor or combine (surprising to who?) they can’t do it under the same system and the alternative way, at present, was to instruct solicitors and experts to do a load more stuff at a cost in excess of £20,000 to secure a right over the feed-in-tariff and all the kit, organise a shed load of extra separate security for the project and get us to finance the project to the point of completion when they would take it over. This basically means that for lots of extra cost and time delays, they would lend us the money just as long as we can prove that we don’t actually need it! Does anyone really want to get this sort of thing going, or is it all just lip service. We had our accountant in this week, to report back on the project figures and his simple answers to the questions of; is it a good deal for the investors and for the nursery? was that it was a ‘no brainer’ (in the positive sense). It was a short meeting. It is still all going ahead, but only with the help of our families and a further resolve on our part to reinvest any nursery profit rather than squandering it on management remuneration.
Have a good week, from all at Kirton Farm Nurseries
PS. Frogspawn has appeared at last.
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