In your fruit garden in May |
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May is one of the best months in the fruit growers gardening year as it is full of promise. Fruit trees and bushes are heavy with blossom giving rise to high hopes of a large and healthy fruit crop. Although the weather is now improving, there is still a risk of a late frost which could ruin a potential fruit crop so don’t be too hasty to put away your fleece, it may still be needed. Even though there may be more jobs to do in the garden than time allows, do spare a few minutes to make a weekly inspection of your fruit as things can get out of balance very quickly at this time of year. Prevention is better than cure. |
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Straw mulch protects strawberry fruits from touching the soil or getting splashed with mud |
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Things to do in the fruit garden
Top fruit
Water all recently planted fruit plants - trees on dwarfing rootstocks and wall-trained fruit may continue to need watering in dry weather in future years. It is much better to water thoroughly rather than watering little and often. Once soil is moist keep it that way by mulching wherever possible. Many different materials can be used as a mulch.
- See our factsheets Mulches, weed prevention and control and Planting fruit trees and bushes for more information. Online access to our organic factsheets is password-restricted to Garden Organic members'.
Find out about becoming a Garden Organic member here
You can download the complete list of factsheets with order form (PDF document - 101Kb) -
Remove blossom from newly planted fruit trees - the trees will need all their energy to establish well.
Keep 1 square metre of ground weed-free around all fruit trees and bushes throughout their lives. Established fruit trees on vigorous rootstocks can have grass growing right up to the trunk, but otherwise grass and weeds will simply compete for food and water.
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Start formative pruning of new plums - invest in a good book, with diagrams to help. Lightly thin and de-shoot wall-trained peaches and nectarines (and rub out wayward shoots/buds on wall-trained plums and damsons). At the end of May to early July shorten leaders on mature top fruit trained as cordons, fans or espaliers.
If you've recently purchased pot grown container fruit pot them up into pots that are slightly larger than the plant's root area (7.5cm larger). Liquid feed every few weeks to get a good yield. See the Organic Gardening Catalogue for liquid feeds.
Soft fruit
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One of the best loved fruits are strawberries - their sweet taste is irresistible to almost everyone. They crop in the first year and are an excellent choice for the novice fruit grower.
Strawberry plants have a 3 year cycle; the first year you get a small crop, the second year a large crop, and possibly in the third year too. But after three years, they lose their vigour, so you need to replace your plants.
Mulch with straw to
protect fruitPlace straw underneath strawberry plants to protect the fruits from touching the soil or getting splashed with mud. Also, straw will reflect heat and help your strawberry crop ripen. If no straw is available 'Strawberry Mats' can be placed carefully around the crown of the plant, also giving some protection from slugs. Net the strawberries once the fruits start developing to deter birds. Peg down netting to prevent birds getting trapped or tangled up.
For more information and how to propagate your strawberries see our advisory note called ''How to take care of fruit' – available online to members (requires members' password).
- Mulch around other soft fruit with newspaper and straw or grass cuttings. This will help retain moisture over the summer. When the mulch is removed in the autumn, many pest larvae will be taken with it.
Melon - 'Hero of Lockinge'
Grape vine at
Audley EndBegin to prepare the ground where melons will be growing. If planted directly into soil, incorporate half a bucket full of well-rotted manure into each planting hole. Begin hardening off plants for planting out after the last frosts. Create a slight mound and plant one plant in the centre of each coldframe, training four laterals into each of the corners. When grown undercover, train plants up canes and wires towards the eaves or ridge.
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Keep the atmosphere moist around vines growing undercover by damping down the floors on warm days, until flowering begins. Once flowering, keep the atmosphere on the dry side to encourage pollination. It may be necessary to gently shake the rods to encourage a good fruit set, for best results do this at midday.
Start summer pruning outdoor vines by rubbing out unwanted buds and cutting the new shoots back to about 60cm (24in). Do not prune the two replacement shoots, which will later be trained.
For more information on caring for your vine see our Organic vine cultivation factsheet.
Access to this factsheet requires members' password.
Find out more about Garden Organic membership.
Pest watch
Close your fruit cage if you haven't already done so, and cover other areas of fruit with netting or Enviromesh at the end of May to stop birds eating the developing fruit. Birds often peck fruit for the water contained inside, so provide water in the garden for birds to drink instead.
Netting and Enviromesh are available from the Organic Gardening Catalogue
Codling moth trap
Pear leaf blister
mite damageTowards the middle of the month put up codling moth traps - the traps contain a codling moth pheromone to attract male moths. Once trapped the moths are no longer available for mating, so the females cannot produce fertile eggs. You will need one trap for every three to five trees.
Codling moth traps are available from the Organic Gardening Catalogue-
Look out for pear leaf blister mite. The first signs are pinkish-red pustules which develop on unfurled pear leaves at blossom time. Subsequently, yellow, red or green blisters can be seen on both sides of infested leaves. There is no cure for infested leaves. Damage to the tree is seldom serious and fruiting is not affected except in extremely heavy infestations. Pick off damaged leaves as soon as you see them to break the cycle.
See our Pear midge & leaf blister mite factsheet
Access to this factsheet requires members' password.
Find out more about Garden Organic membership. 
Cox’s apple badly
affected by scab
Gooseberry sawflyScab on apples and pears - the spores of apple scab are with us all the time, but it is the exact combination of air temperature and humidity that causes the spores to germinate and infect newly emerging leaves. Some research has shown that flame-weeding around the base of trees at the beginning of May reduces the amount of spores by about 85%.
Also, pick off and destroy any leaves that have over wintered on the tree and prune out and destroy any diseased twigs.
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Pick off and destroy the emerging larvae of apple and plum sawfly at petal fall to catch them before they start tunnelling into fruit. You will need to inspect your trees closely around the fruiting spurs. The creamy white larvae are about 15mm long.
For more information on apple pests and diseases see our factsheet Apple pest & disease management – a month by month guide.
Access to this factsheet requires members' password.
Find out more about Garden Organic membership. Carry out a thorough weekly inspection of gooseberries from May onwards concentrating in the centre of the bush for larvae of gooseberry sawfly. Pick off and destroy. The first signs of trouble are pinpricked leaves at the base of the plant. The larvae will rapidly skeletonise leaves if you don't act fast.
See our Gooseberry sawfly factsheet.
Access to this factsheet requires members' password.
Find out more about Garden Organic membership.
Ladybird larvaeCheck all fruit trees and bushes regularly for aphids. To help combat aphids grow plants that attract beneficial insects. Ladybirds, lacewings and hoverflies are all natural predators of aphids. Their larvae are particularly voracious feeders. The poached egg plant (Limnanthes douglasii) is a true ally to a fruit grower.
See our Aphid and Attracting beneficial insects factsheet for more information-
Apple powdery mildew is a common disease - it can be a problem all through the summer with a white powdery coating appearing first on leaves and shoots. Blossom may be affected, causing it to wither and drop.
See our Apple powdery mildew factsheet
Online access to our organic factsheets is password-restricted to Garden Organic members'.
Find out about becoming a Garden Organic member here
You can download the complete list of factsheets with order form (PDF document - 101Kb) 
Protect wall-trained peach
& nectarine from rainThe threat of peach leaf curl has passed, so it's okay to remove the barrier. However, peaches will relish the extra warmth that the barrier provides so leave it on if you like. Collect up fallen leaves that have been affected by peach leaf curl. The leaves should be broken down in a sealed black sack or taken to your local green waste site where they will be composted at high temperature.
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