Seasonal Tips for April and May - Fruit
For the tastiest produce in the garden grow your own fruit, it’s not as difficult as you may think.
- Keep fruit beds weed free. Weeds not only compete for any available food and water, but they also provide shelter for a number of garden pests and diseases. Dig out any perennial weeds making sure to remove all the roots and hoe off any annual weed seedlings as they appear. Always hoe when the soil is slightly dry and on a sunny day so that the uprooted weeds seedlings will quickly wither. Persistent perennial weeds can be carefully treated with Weed Buster. This Glyphosate based weedkiller is systemic, which means it is taken into the plant and transported through the whole plant right down to the roots where it effectively kills every part of the plant. Apply to weed foliage when they are vigorously growing, from April onwards. Take great care not to let the spray drift onto any other plants, as it will kill all plants that it touches. Alternatively choose the new Westland Resolva 24H® This new technology combines the speed of a contact weed killer with the deep down root killing activity of a systemic weedkiller Resolva 24H® works so quickly that you can actually see effects in 24 hours so you really do know it is working.
- Trim back the side shoots of gooseberry plants by half and remove any that are close to, or touching the ground. Feed them with Growmore Garden Fertiliser or Feed-all Slow Release Granular plant food to ensure a good crop of fruit.
- Protect fruit bushes, especially currants and gooseberries from bird damage. Cover with fleece to keep the birds off while the new buds are bursting. Remember to remove the protection as the flower buds start to form, otherwise pollinating insects will not reach the flowers, and you will not get any fruit.
- Feed other fruit with Growmore Garden Fertiliser or Feed-all Slow Release Granular plant food.
- Install pheromone traps to reduce the risk of maggoty apples. The male moths (mostly codling moths) are attracted to the trap and detained, preventing them from mating with the female and thereby reducing the population.
- Look out for leaves on apple and pear trees that have been spun and twisted into funnels, these usually indicate the presence of another caterpillar, that of the Tortrix moth. Remove these by hand.
- Protect fruit such as strawberries from slugs and snails. Employ your preferred method of control. Look out for Westland Slug Blocker and Slug Buster effective ways to deal with slugs and snails.
Other useful tips for April and May:
