Hairy Spots

Morning all,
Crikey, that was a nuts week. I can't believe it's the weekend already. Lovely weather and some potentially busy gardening weeks coming up have created quite a bit of momentum. All very exciting and eventually great for the cash-flow, but the planned activities for the end of the week didn't get very far. Potting only just got started today and tunnel clearing to make some clean space had a couple of hours. Even that got interrupted by taking the team off for an hour or so to recover the tunnel that blew off in the wind of a couple of weeks ago. I was sorely tempted to leave it uncovered and press on with the potting, but the plants in there are still potentially a little vulnerable to a heavy frost and we are not out of the woods yet. The frost won't kill them but they just won't look quite as perfect as we would like and we can't have that. In the end the weather today was just too good to miss so up it went. Naturally the perfect sunny and still conditions instantly picked up into a gentle breeze, just enough to move the sheet about while fitting. It always happens, just as we get the roll unwrapped.
Took a couple of hours off last Sunday to meet up with some old friends for a walk in the sunshine around a couple of villages near Didcot. 10 miles was a bit more than I had bargained for, but the weather and views were great and the beer on route very restorative. Saw an amazing number of Red Kites, including one rabbit festooned hillside where 14 were wheeling about, just brilliant, although perhaps not for the rabbits. Also heard Chiffchaffs and saw a Wheatear, now just need to catch sight of a swallow or two to really get winter behind us.
Availability highlights
Got a nice surprise on my walk round this morning, the Camassia cusickii are in bud, be quick, they won't be around for long. The ever-giving Salvia nemerosa varieties are all coming into or are very close to bud. Compact and attractive they will repeat flower through the summer especially after a tidying hair cut of the old flower stems. The leaf aroma is not my favourite but you can't have everything!
Dicentra spectabalis are now up and showing bud. Surprisingly tough for such a fleshy exotic looking plant. We have a few of the delightful pale pink Bergenia Dumbo in stock, It is an unusual deciduous variety which produces large fleshy Elephant Ear leaves in the summer. It's still quite small now and a few flowers are present.
The attractive grey leaved Achillea Moonshine is producing bud now, it will be a little while before they are big enough to colour up, but they are full of promise. The earliest of the Campanula are coming into bud now. We are sadly out of the Takion White now for a week or two, but we have a very nice batch of the Takion Blue. Brunnera have emerged looking strong. The pretty blue 'forget-me-not' flowers are appearing now. Both the green form and the stunning variegated batch are looking smart. although selling through fast.
Our own sourced wild primrose (Primula vulgaris) are still going strong and still producing fresh buds and flower. Primula denticulata looking good, with big fat buds bursting through the compost surface and colour now in evidence. The last few spring flowering Pulmonarias are showing lots of bud now with most now showing pretty opening flowers. The ever popular Erysimums are looking fabulous as we get into spring. All looking very smart. Colour showing on most varieties now as the first flowers begin to open.
The bright ray of sunshine that is Doronicum Little Leo is throwing up as we speak. Fat little flower buds are bursting through and the odd bright yellow petal unfurling. Masses of bud on our Ajuga Chocolate Chips, looking full of spring vim and vigour. Burgundy Glow is close behind. Pushkinia are up and showing pretty colour. We only have a few left, but the Dalmation series Digitalis are starting to elongate their flower stems in preparation for flowering action. They are always a bit earlier than the larger hybrids which are still looking very strong.
Iphieon are showing the occasional bud, it spreads nicely making a good groundcover and it flowers here repeatedly through the spring and summer. The deep violet spring flowering and super scented Viola labradorica are looking great after their winter haircut. Plenty of flower bud to come and a strong colour already showing. Euphorbia purpurea are looking great with short strong arching stems producing their early spring display of yellow bracts over the purple foliage. E. robbiae are following close behind. Do watch out for the milky sap which is an irritant.
The Pulsatilla are here, they are just bursting through and the almost the first growth to emerge are the spring flower buds. I've not got huge numbers yet but if the weather doesn't get too harsh they are going to romp away. Stonking chunky Lupins on the list this week, having been cut back over winter they are now leaping into strong growth. Most of the Dianthus Scent First varieties are carrying flower bud already, a neat habit and full of promise.
Have a great week from all at Kirton Farm Nurseries.

Hairy Concessions

Morning all,

A grey but quieter week on the weather front was a relief after the wind and rain and the forecast for the following week doesn't look to shabby. Spring madness here we come!
It was an exciting week which got off to a shaky start with the small van going in for a gearbox repair, due to take all week. Luckily it was covered under warrantee but it did mean organising a hire replacement which always seems to be a bit of a lottery. We banked on the safe side by getting the same one we had in the summer which, although it didn't carry much due to a limited payload, had proved to be reliable. Naturally, the second day out it went into 'limp mode' with all lights flashing a long way from home. Having experienced something similar last year the old IT solution of switching it off and on again cleared it.
It did repeat the performance later in the day but then was fine the rest of the week. The hire company were very apologetic admitting that all 3 vans of the same model that they used, had similar episodes in the past but they never really got to the bottom of it. Not a confidence boosting scenario. Now we are wondering if we would be better off getting another van of our own to get the payload and efficiency up, as well as the confidence. We will have to think on that and wait a few weeks before any funds roll in to support the idea.
We had lots of visitors to the nursery this week, a few to buy plants, some on a nursery tour and another old friend dropping by. I'm hoping we made a good impression overall despite the early season pressures, although some of the conversations did seem to involve a lot of reminiscing over times gone by. Took advantage of my first concession last week, £1.50 off my cinema ticket, so there are some advantages of great age.

Availability highlights
Both Dicentra spectabalis forms are now up and showing bud. Surprisingly tough for such a fleshy exotic looking plant. We have a few of the delightful and compact, white Bergenia Diamond Drops left, the buds are now showing and the odd flash of colour in evidence. You'll need to be quick to catch a few of these.
Our Brunnera have emerged looking strong. The pretty blue 'forget-me-not' flowers are appearing now. Both the green form and the stunning variegated batch are looking smart. Our wild primrose (Primula vulgaris) are also bursting into flower, spring is springing. Not many left.
Primula denticulata looking good, with big fat buds bursting through the compost surface and colour now in evidence. The pretty candelabra Primula (japonica) Millers Crimson have buds shooting through and plenty of verdant leaf growth. Spring flowering Pulmonarias are all showing lots of bud now with most now showing pretty opening flowers.
The ever popular Erysimums are looking fresh and strong as we approach the spring. I have marked all varieties with bud and colour is close for many, there is the odd open flower on several now, looking very smart. The bright ray of sunshine that is Doronicum Little Leo is throwing up as we speak. Fat little flower buds are bursting through and the odd bright yellow petal unfurling. Masses of bud on our Ajuga Chocolate Chips, looking full of spring vim and vigour. Burgundy Glow is close behind.
We have some lovely spring flowering bulbs showing signs of good growth and even the odd bud on a few. Lots more to follow. Pushkinia are up this week and showing bud and some pretty colour as are the Anemone blanda White Splendour. Super blue Scilla looking great but not many left, Chionodoxa in colour too, a more subtle blue but none the less pretty. The Iphieons are showing the occasional bud, it spreads nicely making a good groundcover and it flowers here repeatedly
through the spring and summer.
Muscari varieties are looking really strong with plenty of young buds showing. The latifolium blue is deep and intense. The ever popular Snakes Head Lily (Fritillaria meleagris) have their first buds. Their drooping heads are a joy in the garden. We do have a few white ones this week, but not many.
Aquilegia Spring Magic are mostly now in bud. This strain is an early one, looking good and selling fast.
The deep violet spring flowering and super scented Viola labradorica are flushing up well after their winter haircut. Plenty of flower bud to come and a strong colour already showing. Euphorbia martinii are looking great with short strong arching stems producing their early spring display. The crop/potting timing and the winter weather seem to have combined perfectly this year to produce a great crop. E. robbiae and E. purpurea are following close behind.
The Pulsatilla are here, they are just bursting through and the almost the first growth to emerge are the spring flower buds. I've not got huge numbers yet but if the weather doesn't get too harsh they are going to romp away. Stonking chunky Lupins on the list this week, having been cut back over winter they are now leaping into strong growth. Most of the Dianthus Scent First varieties are carrying flower bud already, a neat habit and full of promise.
Have a great week from all at Kirton Farm Nurseries.

Hairy Hats

Morning all,

That was a breezy one, The turbines must be close to a record week despite having a brief unproductive few minutes when the gusts got a bit too strong and they shut down. I was a bit anxious at what I was going to find as I set off up the hill towards the stationary blades, but as I got halfway there they started up again. I had forgotten that they wait for 10 minutes of safe wind speeds before automatically starting up again.
We lost one tunnel cover over last weekend which resulted in a bit of reallocation of space to some of the crops that were in there so that they didn't get too beaten up and a third of the tunnel is still effectively covered by the remains of the sheet so there is still some protection. A bit frustrating when I had thought our spring tunnel covering was already complete but such is life. A new cover is on order and hopefully we might get it back on early next week if the forecast remains as it is.
We had a slightly quieter week this week on the sales front, I can't imagine why, but we did get a lot of potting done which is great. Seeds got sown and cuttings taken so it must be spring and I even got back into the swing of label printing which did get desperately behind during the office construction and moving. Still got one or two labels to print but should get another good run over the weekend so should alleviated the pressure a bit. No potting gang this weekend, it looks too wild on Saturday to make it a sensible day to be here messing about with compost and trolleys so we are saving ourselves for the coming better weather. Next week looks like a good one, hold on to your hats.

Availability highlights
Our variegated Brunnera have emerged looking strong. The pretty blue 'forget-me-not' flowers will be just around the corner. The green form are showing tight bud already and the stunning variegated batch are looking smart. Our wild primrose (Primula vulgaris) are also bursting into flower, spring is springing. Bronzed and ferny foliage of the Polemonium Heaven Scent looks great and tight flower buds are adding to their appeal but not many left. Primula grandiflora Rosea are putting on a show, flashes of vibrant colour showing and plenty coming.
Primula denticulata is not far behind with big fat buds bursting through the compost surface and colour in evidence. Spring flowering Pulmonarias are all showing bud now with most now with pretty opening flowers. The ever popular Erysimums are looking fresh and strong as we approach the spring. I have marked nearly all varieties with bud and colour is close for many, there is the odd open flower on the Super Bowl Mauve, looking very smart. Masses of buds on show with our Ajuga Chocolate chips, looking full of spring vim and vigour.
We have some lovely spring flowering bulbs showing signs of good growth and even the odd bud on a few. Lots more to follow. Pushkinia are up this week and showing bud and some pretty colour as are the Amemone blanda White Splendour. We don't have a huge number of the Anemone as we have had issues with these over the past years, but this year is looking better so I will up the numbers again for next time.
The Iphieons are showing the occasional bud, it spreads nicely making a good groundcover and flowers here repeatedly through the spring and summer. Muscari varieties are looking really strong with plenty of young buds showing. The latifolium blue is deep and intense, one of my favourites.
The ever popular Snakes Head Lily (Fritillaria meleagris) have their first buds. Their drooping heads are a joy in the garden.
Aquilegia Spring Magic Rose and Ivory are now in bud. This strain is an early one. The other colours are thinking about it. The spring flowering and super scented Viola oderata varieties are flushing up well after their winter haircut. Plenty of flower bud to come and a few already showing and smelling amazing. We can smell them as we walk past the outside of the tunnel and they make Despatch a delight to work in.
Early flowering Symphytum Wisley Blue are flushing in the little bit of warmth and bud is evident. Subtle pale blue flowers. Euphorbia martinii are looking great with short strong arching stems producing their early spring display. The crop/potting timing and the winter weather seem to have combined perfectly this year to produce a great crop. E. robbiae and E. purpurea are following close behind.
The Pulsatilla are here, they are just bursting through and the almost the first growth to emerge are the spring flower buds. I've not got huge numbers yet but if the weather doesn't get too harsh they are going to romp away. Stonking chunky Lupins on the list this week, having been cut back over winter they are now leaping into strong growth. Digitalis are always evergreen so get off to a head start on many other perennials, we have a good selection of this popular garden plant and they are looking really strong, difficult to believe they stand out in all that cold weather and still look so good. A few of the Dianthus Scent First varieties are carrying flower bud already, full of promise.
Have a great week from all at Kirton Farm Nurseries.

Hairy Whips

Morning all,
Back to more typical early spring cool and damp but the plants are loving it. Let's hope the footfall is there to hoover them up.
Nearly done with the office fitting, loads of shelves up this week, the compressed air is installed for the wooden label printing so just the little sink to squeeze in now and then I can have a tidy up. The smugness levels abound as I get daily emails offering new furniture for office refurbs, and I take a look round at our fantastically functional but maybe a tad patchwork collection of second-hand repatriated kit. Big thanks to my brother for donating some matching cabinets which look fab. Caroline found a moment or two last weekend to get the replacement native hedging planted among the stumps of our old Leylandii. About 200 whips from a local grower all planted, cut back and mulched, a big job. She slept well that night!
The frogs have been spawning over the last week or two which is always exciting to see and hear. They make quite a racket. We have a potting team and plant tidying team in on Saturday to make sure we don't get to far behind on the production front. The season is so much earlier than last year I don't want to let the earlier sales put us behind on the other work. Not quite sure what we are going to pay them with, but I'm sure the cash will begin to flow again soon and all the memories of this early
season juggling will fade away. Make hay while the sun nearly shines.
Availability highlights
The spring flowering and super scented Viola oderata varieties are flushing up well after their winter haircut. Plenty of flower bud to come and a few already showing and smelling amazing. We can smell them as we walk past the outside of the tunnel and they make Despatch a delight to work in.
Our wild primrose (Primula vulgaris) are also bursting into flower, spring is springing. Bronzed and ferny foliage of the Polemonium Heaven Scent looks great and tight flower buds are adding to their appeal but not many left. Primula grandiflora Rosea are putting on a show, flashes of vibrant colour beginning to show. Primula denticulata is not far behind with big fat buds bursting through the compost surface.
Spring flowering Pulmonarias are all showing bud now with most now opening the odd flower. The ever popular Erysimums are looking fresh and strong as we approach the spring. I have marked nearly all varieties with bud and colour is close for many, there is the odd open flower on the Super Bowl Mauve, looking very smart. We have some lovely spring flowering bulbs showing signs of good growth and even the odd bud on a few. Lots more to follow. Pushkinia are up this week and showing bud and some pretty colour as are the Amemone blanda White Splendour. We don't have a huge number of the Anemone as we have had issues with these over the past years, but this year is looking better so I will up the numbers again for next time.
The Iphieons are showing the occasional bud, it spreads nicely making a good groundcover and flowers here repeatedly through the spring and summer. Muscari varieties are looking really strong with plenty of young buds showing. The ever popular Snakes Head Lily (Fritillaria meleagris) have their first buds. Their drooping heads are a joy in the garden. Aquilegia Spring Magic Yellow are already in bud, but not huge numbers left. This strain is an early one. No sign of bud in the other colours just yet, but looking chunky.
Early flowering Symphytum Wisley Blue are flushing in the little bit of warmth and bud is evident. Subtle pale blue flowers. Euphorbia martinii are looking great with short strong arching stems producing their early spring display. The crop/potting timing and the winter weather seem to have combined perfectly this year to produce a great crop. E. robbiae and E. purpurea are following close behind.
Our variegated Brunnera have emerged looking strong. The pretty blue 'forget-me-not' flowers will be just around the corner. The green form are showing tight bud already and the stunning variegated batch are looking smart. I've added Pulsatilla to the list this week. They are just bursting through and the almost the first growth to emerge are the spring flower buds. I've not got huge numbers yet but if the weather doesn't get too harsh they are going to romp away. Stonking chunky Lupins on the list this week, having been cut back over winter they are now leaping into strong growth. Digitalis are always evergreen so get off to a head start on many other perennials, we have a good selection of this popular garden plant and they are looking really strong, difficult to believe they stand out in all that cold weather and still look so good. A few of the Dianthus Scent First varieties are carrying flower bud already, full of promise.
Have a great week from all at Kirton Farm Nurseries.

Hairy and Wiry

Morning all,
Not much room this week for the news and luckily not too much excitement to report. An astonishing weeks weather, with shorts and vests out in force on some days. Modesty forbids me to expose too much myself as I need to maintain a level of decency for the sake of the business!
We managed the move into the new office last weekend. I got all prepared on Saturday and cut all the computer and phone lines early on Sunday. There was a mild panic looking at the pile of wires to join back together, but with only a couple of cables ending up a bit short to reach their destination it was all up and running again by lunchtime. A good tidy up in the afternoon and evening got us in a position to start afresh on Monday on the new location. It's brilliant, can't believe we didn't do this years ago. It's warm, light and the extra foot or two in size makes all the difference. We still need to move a lot of other kit in but hoping to be sorted by the end of this weekend and with a bit of luck we will be able to find everything again.
A very busy week on the sales front thanks to the great weather and the last of the tunnel covers got replaced, so all in all a good week. The first big delivery of potting compost comes in on Wednesday so getting the empty tunnels ready for a potting blitz next week and into the weekend. Must be Spring.
Availability highlights
The spring flowering and super scented Viola oderata varieties are flushing up well after their winter haircut. Plenty of flower bud to come and a few already showing and smelling amazing. We can smell them as we walk past the outside of the tunnel and they make Despatch a delight to work in.
Our wild primrose (Primula vulgaris) are also bursting into flower already. We saved the seed from the wood on top of our hill and it was worth the effort.
Bronzed and ferny foliage of the Polemonium Heaven Scent looks great and tight flower buds are adding to their appeal but not many left. Primula grandiflora Rosea are putting on a show, flashes of vibrant colour beginning to show. Primula denticulata is not far behind with big fat buds bursting through the compost surface. Spring flowering Pulmonarias are all showing bud now with most now opening the odd flower.
The ever popular Erysimums are looking fresh and strong as we approach the spring. I have marked nearly all varieties with bud and colour is close for many, there is the odd open flower on the Super Bowl Mauve, looking very smart. We have some lovely spring flowering bulbs showing signs of good growth and even the odd bud on a few. Lots more to follow. Pushkinia are up this week and showing bud and some pretty colour as are the Amemone blanda White Splendour. We don't have a huge number of the Anemone as we have had issues with these over the past years, but this year is looking better so I will up the numbers again for next time.
One of the Iphieons is showing the occasional bud, it spreads nicely making a good groundcover and flowers here repeatedly through the spring and summer. Muscari varieties are looking really strong with plenty of young buds showing.
The ever popular Snakes Head Lily (Fritillaria meleagris) have their first buds. Their drooping heads are a joy in the garden. Aquilegia Spring Magic Yellow are already in bud. I knew this strain was an early one but it caught me out. No sign of bud in the other colours just yet, but looking chunky. Early flowering Symphytum Wisley Blue are flushing in the little bit of warmth and bud is evident. Subtle pale blue flowers.
Euphorbia martinii are looking great with short strong arching stems producing their early spring display. The crop/potting timing and the winter weather seem to have combined perfectly this year to produce a great crop. Our variegated Brunnera have emerged looking strong. The pretty blue 'forget-me-not' flowers will be just around the corner. The green form are close behind and showing tight bud already.
I've added Pulsatilla to the list this week. They are just bursting through and the almost the first growth to emerge are the spring flower buds. I've not got huge numbers yet but if the weather doesn't get too harsh they are going to romp away. Stonking chunky Lupins on the list this week, having been cut back over winter they are now leaping into strong growth. Digitalis are always evergreen so get off to a head start on many other perennials, we have a good selection of this popular garden plant and they are looking really strong, difficult to believe they stand out in all that cold weather and still look so good. A few of the Dianthus Scent First varieties are carrying flower bud already, full of promise.
Have a great week from all at Kirton Farm Nurseries.

Hairy Joints

Morning all,

A great week with lots to do, plenty of orders, a bit of potting, more office fitting and good weather to do it in as well. Can't ask for more. The forecast for the next 10 days doesn't look to scary and every week that slips by means less chance of the appearance of another 'Beast'. Hoping to keep up a steady sales momentum which hopefully will alleviate the cash-flow tension. It's the most challenging part of the year in the office juggling the overdraft limit with a limited income and increasing numbers of bills at this time. Each year we think it will get easier but then someone buys a new office and suddenly any spare cash has disappeared! Brexit preperations haven't helped much either with a few extra early purchases made to make sure we don't get caught out in the middle of the spring and I probably could have picked a better year to lash out on the new plastic-free colour pot labels, but then where would the fun and excitement be if we didn't speculate. If I remember rightly the theory is 'speculate to accumulate', I'm good at the first bit, not so hot on the second. One day.
Just a warning that we may go offline for a few hours over the weekend so the phones and fax may not work on occasions, but the emails should store up in the cloud ready for reconnection. Desperation is building with each passing week to get set up in the new office before we get any busier, otherwise it is just going to get more and more difficult with less time to get it done, I have high hopes of a move late on Saturday or early Sunday but on previous evidence (Mail Chimp etc) my hopes may come to nothing.
It looks like most of you taking stock out there, are selling through pretty well especially for the time of year, we have had lots of repeat orders already, even in the same week! Keep it up, we are very grateful for those early sales.
Must go and have another go at desk construction before it gets too late. Nice to have the uninterrupted evenings to get stuck into these jobs, music on and all the tools out. One of my flexible joints wore out this week and had to be replaced. It was making quite a bit of noise but we were assured it was ok to continue running it. Our friendly wind turbine engineers (Natural Energy) came and fixed it on Wednesday and now we are all quiet again. Luckily keeping the turbine going helped cover some of the repair bill which made me feel a bit better. The turbines have now paid for themselves and their installation (back in 2011) so in theory we are into profit, I wonder where that profit is, the spreadsheet says it's there somewhere.
Hoping that despite advancing years that the rest of my flexible joints hold together.

Availability highlights
Our wild primrose (Primula vulgaris) are also bursting into flower already. We saved the seed from the wood on top of our hill and it was worth the effort. Bronzed and ferny foliage of the Polemonium Heaven Scent looks great and tight flower buds are adding to their appeal. Primula grandiflora Rosea are sprouting up now and flashes of vibrant colour beginning to show. Primula denticulata is not far behind with big fat buds bursting through the compost surface. Spring flowering Pulmonarias are all showing bud now with Opal even opening the odd flower already. The ever popular Erysimums are looking fresh and strong as we approach the spring. I have marked nearly all varieties with bud and colour is close for many, there is the odd open flower on the Super Bowl Mauve looking very smart.
We have a few spring flowering bulbs showing signs of good growth and even the odd bud on a few. Lots more to follow. Euphorbia martinii are looking great with short strong arching stems just about to produce their early spring display. The crop/potting timing and the winter weather seem to have combined perfectly this year to produce a great crop. Our variegated Brunnera variegata have emerged looking strong. The pretty blue 'forget-me-not' flowers will be just around the corner. The green form are close behind and showing tight bud already.
Stonking chunky Lupins on the list this week, having been cut back over winter they are now leaping into strong growth. Digitalis are always evergreen so get off to a head start on many other perennials, we have a good selection of this popular garden plant and they are looking really strong, difficult to believe they stand out in all that cold weather and still look so good. The spring flowering and super scented Viola oderata varieties are flushing up well after their winter haircut. Plenty of flower bud to come and a few already showing.
More spring bulbs are emerging, Muscari Blue Magic looking really strong with plenty of young buds showing. A few of the Dianthus Scent First varieties are carrying flower bud already, full of promise. Early flowering Symphytum Wisley Blue are flushing in the little bit of warmth and bud is evident. Subtle pale blue flowers.
Have a great week from all at Kirton Farm Nurseries.

Warm and Hairy

Morning all,
OK I have to admit I haven't made the progress on Mailchimp that I had hoped for so still on the old system which seemed to work ok again last week. It's been a hectic week and the time has just disappeared.
After the electricians finished last Friday in the new office, the air con folk were here this week to install an air con unit we scavenged from the lab after we installed a more gentle blowing system in there last year. All running nicely now and providing we don't get tempted to use its cooling facility in the summer and have it set on 'heat only' it should workout much cheaper to run than the old little electric heaters and should run at a more comfortable temperature for no extra cost especially with all the insulation installed. Now we've just got to bite the bullet and pack up and move again, I' m hoping to get the printing and basics set up over the weekend and perhaps get the tricky part of the telephone and computer systems move on the following weekend. Having moved into the temporary office just before Christmas I am hoping to have learnt from my mistakes and the next move will all go smoothly with no accidental cutting of phone-lines this time!
The lovely weather has helped all round keeping the orders bubbling along and we even managed to re-clad 4 out of the five tunnels that had split covers which was an unexpected bonus. It swallows up time but is a very satisfying job to get under the belt so early in the year. Just one more tunnel to go and the forecast for next week looks promising to get that done too. We slotted in a bit of potting and propagation for good measure, in among all the other activities, so all in all a good week.
We had our annual review of bio controls this week, making a few final adjustments to the plan of predator introductions. It's always a bit of a leap in faith, releasing hundreds of pounds worth of tiny insects to open ended and open sided tunnels. Aren't they just going to fly away? Overall it seems to work we only have to spray the occasional breakaway pest outbreak during the season where they outrun their foe. The review is a fine tweaking session really. Last year we found that sticking some of the sachets that the predators are held in, onto our bamboo skewers with a bit of double sided tape allows us to position them in much more reliable positions nice and quickly making the installation cheaper and the predator more effective. This year we have changed the encarsia (whitefly predator) from being supplied loose to being supplied with the pupae stuck on little cards. A vile of 15,000 amounts to much less than a thimble full, which are spread over the whole nursery so it's easy to get the distribution wrong and the pupae can land anywhere so a fixed number on a card is much easier to spread evenly. Using our skewer sticking method also holds the cards in a perfect position so the small extra cost should be balanced by more effective application. Well that's the theory.
I see lots of students went on strike on Friday to highlight the need to take action on climate change. Hopefully lots of them used the time usefully and made their voices heard, it would be easy to be cynical about an extra day off school but I find it is encouraging that the next generation are thinking seriously about the future and their role in it. Hopefully we won't have messed it up too much by the time they get to take over.
Availability highlights
Our wild primrose (Primula vulgaris) are also bursting into flower already. We saved the seed from the wood on top of our hill and it was worth the effort. Primula grandiflora Rosea are sprouting up now and flashes of vibrant colour beginning to show. Primula denticulata is not far
behind with big fat buds bursting through the compost surface.
Our spring flowering Pulmonarias are all showing bud now with Opal even opening the odd flower already. The ever popular Erysimums are looking fresh and strong as we approach the spring. I have marked nearly all varieties with bud although it will be a little while before they show much colour, but the promise is there.
We have a few spring flowering bulbs showing signs of good growth and even the odd bud on a few. Lots more to follow. The winter and spring flowering Cyclamen coum varieties we grow are now showing colour. The strain we grow has an exceptionally long flowering season with colour usually showing from November through to March and even April. They rarely get swamped with masses of flower at any one time, they just keep going on, producing a pretty and dainty show for ages. Euphorbia martinii are looking great with short strong arching stems just about to produce their early spring display. The crop/potting timing and the winter weather seem to have combined perfectly this year to produce a great crop. Our variegated Brunnera have emerged looking strong. The pretty blue 'forget-me-not' flowers will be just around the corner. The green form are close behind and look pretty early in the year too, just in a more subtle way.
Stonking chunky Lupins on the list this week, having been cut back over winter they are now leaping into strong growth. Digitalis are always evergreen so get off to a head start on many other perennials, we have a good selection of this popular garden plant and they are looking really strong, difficult to believe they stand out in all that cold weather and still look so good.
Have a great week from all at Kirton Farm Nurseries.