Just like commercial nurseries we at the CFC are not immune to the appetite of birds and beast. Something (probably a rabbit or hare) has taken a fancy to one of our carthamus plantings despite us having rabbit netting all the way round the trial ground. This has put paid to these making many marketable stems!!
The lily alternative media trial is starting to show some real differences now. As a general rule, the higher the proportion of AD in the mix, the shorter is the crop (see left hand photo which shows the height difference with 100% AD). But what is very surprising is that the mix of one third Coir and two thirds AD is showing a severe yellowing of the foliage whereas the Coir on its own is performing as well if not better than the standard lily peat (see right hand photo). This result has yet to be fully explained.
