G2 Slug & Snail progress report

Sales to garden centres have exceeded expectation, a lot of interest and support from garden centre buyers predominantly because of the safety factor particularly pets. Also because it doesn't harm the molluscs and has no impact on the soil there is real peace of mind for the buyer.
We are presently updating our on line 'buy it here' page to add a shopping cart which will allow multiple or combination purchases without being hit with excessive postage

I am using G2 at home on a clump of hostas in a shady area of our garden next to a wall-  a real test!
Strangely I still see snails in the plant on an evening and yes there is a little damage (you can see possibly in the image) but other years the clump has been dessimated (I have never used any other slug control as we have an amazing range of birds visiting our garden from the ancient woodland in the valley) the other point is, perhaps you will see from the image, while the clump on the left gets a good soaking top and bottom, the clump on the right gets merely drift and not directly sprayed. I wanted to do this to see the difference in growth, and now after a month of treatment  you can see the left hand clump romping away.

Gardeners (and growers) are so used to using chmicals that kill pests outright and given the right conditions leave our plants untouched - obviously there are consequences to this ie. effect on other non target wildlife , and the affect on the soil and its micro organisms aswell as safety to people and pets.
My feeling is we need to be a little less ruthless about our pest control in future, perhaps accept some slight damage or blemishes to our plants but in the knowledge that you are having negligible impact on the environment and actually helping to feed other wildlife and making a healthy strong plant!

NEW product now available.......

 

 

NEW G2 formula is now available!

 

Effective against damage from

 

 

New web page is up - click on the orange tab 

Promotional literature will be sent to garden centres shortly.

Initially it will be available direct from Grazers on line or by phone

followed soon in garden centres and mail order suppliers.

Please have a look at the web page.

 

 

 



Parrots!!

It's great to get positive feedback about Grazers from other countries, particularly where the climate is very different to the UK . Its even better when we here positive news regarding different pests.

So it was interesting  to hear back from a gentleman from the Dept of Agriculture in Western Australia who has been conducting his own trials with Grazers against PARROTS - a major pest for growers and gardeners alike in Australia. A couple of examples are listed below.

1.     On Cape lilac – normally very severe damage from parrots, but so far with the double rate every 2-3 weeks, damage has been almost zero

2.     On European oaks – normally light to moderate damage but so far has been very low

He makes it clear in his that the best effect is when there is good leaf coverage, and some species saw less damage than others.

It was also interesting to note from the report the difference in growth between treated and untreated evergreen oaks – he observed a surge in growth of up to 1 metre after 1 treatment. I must emphasize that this is in the Australian climate where the growing seasons and rates are more extreme than our rather cooler conditions - but it does go to show that even if we in the UK don't see the same marked difference in growth patterns, Grazers is having a positive effect on plant health!

Happy New Year from snowy Cumbria

Happy 2013! from a snowy Eden Valley, Cumbria.

The days are slowly drawing out, but today we are having a sudden reminder that winter is still very much with us as we take the kids down to the school bus in fresh overnight snow.
It is good in many ways that we always get a natural break in business over Christmas, as Grazers is a  seasonal product and, depending on whether you are a farmer or gardener or grounds person, application is still dependant on planting seasons and of course our 'interesting' weather patterns.
This, I expect, will change when we start trading more in the southern hemisphere!
It feels exciting to get back to business in January and this year we seem to have got off to a good early start.  All the small bottles  (375ml) that we stockpiled before Christmas, ready for dispatch in early spring, went out in orders during the first week in January. So, once the snow has gone, Nicola will be back in the barn bottling again to keep in front of orders!  Our goal is to get orders out within 48hrs, whether they are direct from private online customers or from new or existing trade customers. Particularly in the spring, summer and autumn, when crops/plants are most at risk we understand you don't want to be waiting for delivery, so all orders are sent either first class post or by overnight courier.
Back to work now - but next time I'll fill you in on some more interesting feedback from Western Australia regarding parrots!!


Wishing all our customers a prosperous year ahead and a better year for growing!
Thank you for your continued custom.

From Jonathan, Sally, Nicola & Sue

Feedback from Canada

Thought I would share some interesting feedback about Grazers from Canada.....

"In the early spring there were deer eating tulips etc. in the garden. So I sprayed just about everything, especially the raspberry patch. The deer then seemed to stay away since there was nothing nice to eat. We had very few deer all summer. Apparently we used to have a cougar in the area, which keeps the deer population in check, until he made the mistake of taking off with a neighbour's goat! I hope you are able to export to Canada for you do have a good product."

Arthur Cayford, British Columbia

Don't get this sort of email from the UK very much!

Grazers tonic

November is here and I am still reading damp reports in the farm press regarding the state of cereal production on farms up and down the country. A very trying year for all growers. Some counties have only managed to do 30% of normal planting due to sodden ground conditions. If this isn't bad enough, crops that have been sown are struggling because a) continuous wet weather makes germination difficult  and b) heavy persistent rainfall has washed out the nutrients essential for early plant establishment and preparations for getting through the winter.

I thought it worth mentioning the additional tonic effect of using Grazers. Being totally made up from trace elements (minor nutrients) it is very safe to spray from early signs of leaf emergence. Also becauseit is a liquid, Grazers is absorbed straight into the plant (foliar process) and doesn't need to wait to be absorbed by struggling roots. (that is why if there is green showing, it is usually a good tome to spray) 

So because of the nutrients in it, and because of the way it can get into young plants, Grazers is positively beneficial and can be a great tonic to struggling crops.
I know of farmers who have used Grazers specifically on stressed crops eg. young sugar beet plants which have been under water and gone blue, a treatment has given the plants a gentle kick start back to health again.

This is also a critical time for rabbit and pigeon damage so it is the ideal time for Grazers application to be effective against damage.

Wallabies?

We have exhibited at the Cereals event (arable trade show) for the last 4 years.
It has always been a busy and worthwhile show. Being able to talk to arable farmers who are our key customers is priceless! Not only can we pass on advice or guidance on how to use Grazers for maximum benefit on specific crops or situations, but more importantly we get feedback from the farmer on how they are using it most effectively in the field.
This year Cereals 2012 was our busiest ever, with some excellent contacts. Sue, although new to Grazers, was keen to help out and, despite being evacuated from the hotel at 4am because somebody had had a crafty fag in their bathroom, setting off the fire alarm, we managed to keep awake and talking for the 2 days.

One interesting contact was a farmer from Tasmania who came straight to our stand and collared Sue
" Hey this here Grazers! "-   Sue was slightly anxious being her first time at the show and still getting her head round the product -  what was this man going to come out with?  -"Its ruddy fantastic! You sent as a sample last year, we sprayed the headland (24m) round the worst edge of a field of wheat,  and the wallabies never crossed it, or the wild chickens! " Sue,  her poise and professional hat firmly back on, then got the gentleman to talk to other visitors to the stand to extoll our product. Fantastic!