In The Fruit Garden This September

Tidy up your strawberry plants and clear away any used straw, as this will harbour pests and diseases over winter.

Pick ripe apples. To test when they’re ripe, gently lift them in the palm of your hand and give them a gentle pull, they should come away easily.

Cover wall-trained peach trees to prevent preach leaf curl from taking hold. The fungus needs wet conditions to infect the plants.

Pot up strawberry runners to make extra plants for next year.

Pick off rotting fruits from pear, apple and stone fruit trees, they will spread disease if left on the tree.

Harvest plums. If you have more than you need, freeze them by washing, halving and stoning them, before laying them out on a tray in the freezer. Once frozen, pack them into freezer bags.

Pick blackberries as they ripen and use straight away or freeze some for use later on.

Take hardwood cuttings of currants, gooseberries and figs to increase your stock.

Cut back the fruited canes of your summer raspberries, if you haven’t already., leaving the new green canes for next year’s crop. Tie in next year’s raspberry canes to support wires of fencing.

Top Tip:

Mow long grass under fruit trees to make it easier to spot windfall fruits.