In The Fruit Garden This March

Plant Bare-Root Fruit Trees and Bushes 

• Bare-root fruit trees and bushes. It’s an excellent time to plant apple, pear, plum, and cherry trees, as well as fruit bushes like blackcurrants, gooseberries, and raspberries. 
• Ensure proper spacing: Fruit trees and bushes need enough room to grow, so make sure to plant them at the right distances apart, following the variety’s specific recommendations. 

Prune Fruit Trees and Bushes 

• Apple and Pear Trees: Late winter/early spring is the ideal time to prune apple and pear trees. Remove any dead, diseased, or damaged wood and shape the tree to ensure good air circulation. Avoid pruning stone fruits (like cherries, plums, and peaches) until late spring to avoid disease. 
• Soft Fruit Bushes: Prune blackberries, raspberries, and gooseberries. For raspberries, cut back last year’s growth, leaving the new, more vigorous stems to fruit later in the season. 

Mulch Around Fruit Plants 

• Mulching helps retain moisture, suppress weeds, and regulate soil temperature as the weather warms up. Use organic mulch like compost, wood chips, or bark around fruit trees and bushes. Avoid mulching directly against the stems to prevent rot. 

Start Feeding Strawberries 

• Strawberry plants: If you have overwintered strawberries, now’s the time to feed them with a general-purpose fertiliser to encourage healthy growth and fruit production. 
• Remove dead leaves from last season’s plants to make room for new growth. 

Feed Your Fruit Plants 

• Fertilise: In March, start feeding fruit trees with a balanced fertiliser to encourage strong growth for the upcoming season. Use a slow-release feed or compost around the base of trees and bushes. For soft fruit, use a nitrogen-rich fertiliser. 
• Compost and Manure: Add well-rotted manure or compost to the soil around fruit bushes and trees to improve soil structure and nutrients. 

Start Planting Fruit from Seed or Cuttings 

• If you’re growing fruit from seed or cuttings, March is a good time to start them indoors. For example, you can start growing grapevines, figs, or apple trees from seeds or cuttings in pots, and transplant them later in the season once the weather warms up. 

Train and Tie In Fruit Vines 

• Grapevines and kiwi vines: March is the time to prune and train these plants. Tie in new growth to their supports and trim any excess growth to encourage more fruitful vines. 

Plan and Protect Early Crops 

• For fruits like apricots, peaches, or nectarines, ensure that they have protection from late frosts and windy weather, as they can be more susceptible to damage. These crops may require additional fleece or cloche coverage. 

Protect Against Frost 

• Cover vulnerable fruit buds: Some early blossom can be vulnerable to late frosts. Use horticultural fleece or cloches to protect buds and blossoms of early-fruiting trees like cherries and plums during frosty nights. 
• Frost protection for strawberries: If you have early strawberries planted outside, cover them with fleece during cold spells to prevent damage. 

By staying on top of these tasks, your fruit garden will thrive and set you up for a fruitful season ahead. 🌳🍓