In The Fruit Garden This August

If you have plants fruiting in containers, make sure you give them a high potash liquid feed to keep them healthy and productive.

Keep birds and squirrels off your berries with netting.

Plant out any rooted runners of strawberries for a good crop next year.

Remember to feed your lemon tree and other citrus fruit trees throughout summer with a special citrus fertiliser.

Harvest your fruit trees – cherries, plums, peaches, nectarines and apricots should all be ripe now. Early varieties of apple trees will be ready towards the end of the month.

Prune the fruited stems of your blackcurrant bushes after harvesting.

If you have a glut of autumn raspberries, blackberries or loganberries, freeze them on trays for a couple of hours and then bag them up for use over winter.

Protect your crops with a bird scarer made from CDs tied to strings.

Tidy up strawberry plants and remove any old straw from around the plants to improve ventilation and reduce the risk of pests and diseases.

Top Tip:

Cut back fruited canes of your summer raspberries, leaving the new green canes for next year’s crop. Tie in next year’s raspberry canes to support wires or fencing.