Tuesday 26 August 2014

Hairy Holidays

Good morning all.

Bank Holiday time, hurrah.
Never very good at these events, can’t make up my mind whether to rejoice in the extra day in the weekend or lament the days production lost when we have so much stock just perfect for potting! Let’s rejoice, although I seem to have already managed to spend most of the first two days fiddling about on the nursery trying to get those odds and ends of jobs done which I didn’t get done during the week. Tomorrow looks a bit damper so might go out then!
Three of us here are getting closer to completing our 5 days of compulsory drivers CPS training to allow us to still drive the big van. It’s not too bad so far although the day can drag after a few hours and I can think of so many other things I could be doing. Looking forward to the days training on driver wellbeing, customer relations, and ‘you are what you eat’. You should see the stampede for the sandwich/burger van at 9.00am when it pulls into the training company yard and it’s not for a bag of mixed organic seed!
Another big batch of pest predators released this week which seems to be keeping on top of most of the main pests and the nursery has a helpfully huge population of young frogs this summer. The first of our late summer and autumn applications of nematodes against vine weevil goes on this weekend. The spring applications where applied slightly later than they should have been, but the build up of weevil many growers have seen over the last few years seems to have taken a severe dent in the wake of those applications. Quite a relief after the disappointing results many have seen after a few seasons using the bacterial spores incorporated in the compost mixes. We hope that the new regime of 3 x half rate applications of 3 different species of nematode in the autumn, repeated in the spring will have a much greater effect. In the past the application costs where high and just a single full dose applied, which made it a bit hit and miss in its effectiveness with us. But now with timed application through the irrigation system and my home designed aerated and self agitating nematode stock barrel we can not only apply them cheaply and accurately but also time it for the late evening which is better for the light sensitive nematodes. The three applications provide a longer period of nematode action and reduce the risk of nematode misses or losses. Sounds good, let’s hope it is as effective as the spring applications.
Brilliant walk round Stonehenge last weekend. Inspiring stuff and only got slightly damp. If only all summer holidays were as good as this.

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.
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

Ancient and Hairy

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

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

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