Experienced nurseryman Steve Chapman has joined ICL’s expanding Professional Horticulture team as technical area sales manager for the Home Counties in the South East.
Former production manager of the highly efficient and renowned Palmstead Nursery − at Wye in Kent − Steve oversaw the production of more than 3,500 lines of quality nursery stock for the landscape and amenity sectors.From propagation to finished product, he managed the production of container and field-grown shrubs and trees as well as herbaceous perennials.
“Managing and stocking so many lines year-round is a challenging business model making selective feeding programmes essential,” says Steve.“We chose to mix our growing media on-site and, with the emphasis on quality, were reliant on Osmocote including a number of the latest fourth generation products including Osmocote Exact Hi.End and Osmocote Exact High K.”
Steve also has first hand experience of employing ICL’s precision nutrition software tool, Angelaweb, to fine-tune the nutrition of challenging crops – in his case Skimmia, Choisya, Viburnum and Griselinia.
“In today’s market you can’t afford to lose a crop,” says Steve. “Overall fertilizer costs are a diminishing curve compared to other overheads, such as labour which is constantly rising. Using precision nutrition products not only helps reduce wastage, but getting crop nutrition right saves money in the long run.”
“As our business continues to grow and our product ranges continue to develop there was a need to expand our sales team in order to continue to meet our customer needs,” says ICL sales manager Adrian Thirtle-Watts. “Steve joins our technical team with considerable practical growing experience as well as in-depth knowledge of our products.This will be invaluable in helping advise and work with growers to maximise the benefits of our industry leading products.”
An avid gardener, Steve spends many hours tending his own garden, greenhouse and vegetable and soft fruit plot.
