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KMC Bradley Nurseries The staff at Kirklees Bradley Nurseries grows and supply all the bedding plants for the parks, open spaces and towns within the borough of Kirklees. As well as supplying over twelve hundred hanging baskets and planters to shops, businesses and community groups in the area. The nursery situated on Leeds Road Consists of a three quarter acre glasshouse which is fully automated with automatic ventilation, thermal screens and a computer operated watering system as well as being heated by up to date condensing gas boilers. There are ten tunnels and large standing out areas for hardening off the plants. Other services provided include an office planting and hire service for Kirklees offices and a floral decoration service for civic occasions, concerts and church services.

All plants are grown in PEAT FREE compost to an extremely high standard and much of the watering is carried out using sub irrigation to conserve water.Hanging baskets are designed and planted by our skilled nursery staff and watered daily by the dedicated watering team This year we have purchased 135 self-watering baskets and had 7 self-watering planters donated by Yorkshire water. These not only save water but allow our staff to water more baskets in other towns and communities. Most of the baskets and planters are purchased by individual businesses or community based organizations in the area. We do not use sphagnum moss in the baskets but re-cycled wool waste held together by a wheat starch liner which helps conserve water and is biodegradable. All waste plant material is composted on the nursery and used as mulch. The use of chemicals is being reduced by the introduction of biological pest control in the glasshouse. A recent fly on the wall television programme has featured a day in the life of the nursery the nursery, the Huddersfield Cine and Video Club has this year covered many aspects of our work. Paul Marshall Nursery Manager

Environmental and Re-cycling Issues All the plants at the nursery are grown in peat free compost. Biological pest control is now used to a great extent to control the more common types of pest such as aphids, red spider mite and sciarid fly. Rainwater from the glasshouse roof is collected and used for watering plants on the nursery. Used pots and trays are re-cycled and sterilised before re-using. Heating, ventilation and shading is all automated to give optimum climate control to maximise growing conditions and save energy. All compost used in hanging baskets is peat free and contains water storing substances to allow a gradual supply of water to plants. Basket liners are made from wool, lined with a rye starch polythene liner to conserve water. These are totally biodegradable. Self watering baskets, barrier planters and tiered planters are now being used throughout the borough; these mean much less time is spent watering than with conventional containers. Self watering baskets and planters give the plants a constant supply of water, which helps the plants grow more vigorously.

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