Good Lord it's been a busy day today. We have had a little bit of sunshine and the world seems like a wonderful place once more.
The sun also means that the delphiniums are bursting open again and we are getting busier in the fields and the packhouse. I am trying not to look at the mess that the tractors are making on the headlands as they cart the flowers out of the fields. We should do around 10 000 stems today but we are still a fair way off the peak of our production.
We also started cropping peonies today (if you don't know what a peony looks like - you heathen - then click on the link to see how gorgeous they are)...
There are a thousand and one other things going on too. I have managed to pick up three new bits of business today which I will be able to tell you about over the next few weeks.
Our potato packhouse has had another busy day with the salad potatoes. We have had orders for 60 tonnes again today which we can only just do comfortably. Rebaz, our packhouse manager, is on holiday today and tomorrow. (Which reminds me I must tell you all about Rebaz soon) which means that I have been trying to do his job as well as my own. It's ages since I've done it so I've been wracking my brains trying to remember how a TEC printer works. Swear words have been used.
The bulk gas tanks arrived today for the daffodil drying system we are installing and we have had the Calor gas engineer here putting in the pipework. Chippy John is nearing completion with the letterbox tunnels. Good job too, we will start lifting daffodil bulbs in 4 weeks. It is my fault that we are so far behind with the project. I left the decision until the last minute because I was so nervous about spending that much money. The fans and burner will be arriving next week, those bits alone are costing more money than a new BMW - it looks as though my cronky car will have to last at least another twelve months. I have no regrets about going ahead with it now because all the rain will mean that the bulbs yields will be higher than usual and we will need the extra capacity.
We tried to apply a blight spray to some of the potatoes. We only managed to spray half of the first field before we had to give up. It was so wet that we were leaving deep ruts.
The last of our maincrop potatoes were loaded out of cold storage this morning as well. They are heading off to be packed for ASDA. We have had a profitable year overall despite the difficult growing season and the current depressed trade.
With all this going on I'm not sure why am sitting here typing this out. I'm living on my nerves a bit at the moment and if I stop there's a good chance that I'll sleep for two months. It's nearly half past eight, I should probably get the gates locked and go and cook some dinner
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