Page 29 - Simply Vegetables Spring 2024

Preparing for the
new fruit season
GERRY EDWARDS FNVS
The UK has had its fair share of wintry and stormy weather this year and although we are not very far away
from the early days of spring it won’t
be long before many of our fruit trees start showing the first sign of life for the oncoming fruit growing season; indeed early stone fruits such as peaches, nectarines, apricots and plums may already have tried to get their blossom pollinated in some quite horrible weather when the majority of pollinating insects are still safely tucked up in their beds.
To maximise our fortune with our fruit the important thing is to be ready for the season ahead as once our trees start moving it may be too late to help them
to be at their very best for the season ahead. In order to act as an aide memoire, I suggest that you consider the following points for your fruit trees -
a) Have a good look at your trees. Are
there any branches that were missed in last summer’s pruning or are there any branches damaged by winter weather. With the exception of stone fruit (cherries, peaches, plums, damsons and gages and nectarines) you can prune your trees now and then you can prune your stone fruit from the middle of April.
b) Quite often after heavy winter rains surface feeding roots become exposed andyourtreeswillbenefitfromthese roots being covered by soil which can be obtained from elsewhere in your garden or allotment but making sure
that the bud or graft union with the rootstock is not covered. Hopefully a good mulch of organic matter will be applied sooner rather than later.
c) Check that where trees are tied to
any form of supporting structure or stakes, they are still adequately so. It is usually impossible to see ties during the growing season and winter can take its toll particularly if there have been strong winds. Re-tie any that have rotted or come loose with good twine or proper ties but not too tight as this will cut into the bark.
d) Clear all weeds, old leaves and decaying fruits on the ground around the base of your trees as these will harbour pests and diseases which can quickly spread during the growing season. Lightly fork around the base of your trees to expose any overwintering unfriendly grubs, insects and maggots which birds will very happily home in on and eat!
e) To prevent the winter moth from climbing up your apple trees apply a band of fruit tree grease on the trunk about 300mm (12 inches) from the ground. Do not attempt to use anything other than horticultural grease otherwise you can seriously harm animals. Grease bands are available in garden centres or via the internet.
f) Topreventcodlingmothdamage-itis the caterpillars from these which burrow their way out of apples - it is possible
to buy codling moth pheromone traps
Pheromone trap
which can give a good control. One should be hung every five trees from the beginning of April.
g) Apply a handful of blood, fish and bone to the base of each tree and very lightly fork it in. This will give your trees a good boost for the beginning of the season and help the trees start off well. As the soil warms up apply a good mulch to each of the trees to prevent the soil drying out as well as prevent weed growth.
h) Although time is getting on you can still contemplate, order, buy and plant bare rooted fruit trees! You can continue to plant bare rooted trees until the middle of April although the earlier in the year the better. However, the downside is that you will need keep these trees well- watered during the growing season as they will not have any chance to grow any feeding roots into the soil. You can, of course, continue to select and buy pot grown fruit trees but my view is that it isstillbesttogettheseinthegroundas soon as you can as trees grown in pots for sale will more than likely have their roots pot bound.
i) Sometimes when fruit trees begin flowering one or two may not and therefore there is an assumption that they may have died during the winter. This may be particularly so with plums, damsons and gages. Please do not
be tempted to quickly root these trees out and contemplate replacing them.
It is highly possible that such trees
will not have developed any fruit buds and growth buds often don’t appear
for several weeks after trees have blossomed. I’m certain that many a good fruit has been dug up and taken to the tip unnecessarily! I suggest that you wait until June before you make such a pronouncement.
Hopefully our spring and summer this year are going to be good for fruit growing which is much needed after quite a poor 2023. By helping them along as I have just noted will help them flourish in the year ahead!
Plums in flower
Simply Vegetables 29