In your fruit garden in March

Things to do in the fruit garden

• 
  Wall trained fruit can be
  prone to drying out
  
  
  Keep beds clear of weeds

Top fruit

• Remember, do not prune apricots until the sap is rising. In other words pruning is out of bounds from mid September to the end of February.

  See our factsheet GG22 on Fruit Tree and Bush Suppliers
• Remember, do not prune apricots until the sap is rising. In other words apricot pruning is out of bounds from mid September to the end of February.
• The best time to prune an established fan trained fig is early spring, after the worst of the frost has passed and just before growth starts. Prune out all diseased, dead and frost damaged wood on an established fan, tie in the young shoots 15-30cm apart and cut surplus shoots back to one bud.
• Cobnuts and filberts should be pruned when catkins are releasing pollen if not already done in February.
• Peaches flower early in the spring. Where possible protect from frost damage. They are self fertile so do not need another variety close by to help with pollination. In early spring there is often a shortage of pollinating insects so help out by transferring pollen from one flower to another with a fine soft brush.
• Wall trained peach, cherry, almond and apricot trees can easily be protected from both frost and peach leaf curl with a covering..
  

  Trained apricots being protected from the frost with bracken fronds pushed in behind removable garden netting (left) and with polythene sheeting on a removable frame (right).

• Apricots become easier to grow. Both Tomcot and Flavourcot are relatively new varieties that are self-fertile and are hardy enough to withstand the British climate. They are late flowering so the blossoms miss the frosts andthe tree goes on to produce a heavy crop of fruit

Soft fruit

• 
  Ripe blueberries
• Prune blueberries. Remove one or two unproductive branches once flower buds are visible, cutting close to ground level encourages new shoots from the base. Remember to keep a check on the soil pH level. As a guide, aim for between 4 - 5. The addition of pine needles or well rotted leaves will help to acidify soil. If these materials are not available, add sulphur chips. They are slow acting, lasting for 2-3 years and are available from the Organic Gardening Catalogue.
• Untie and retrain canes of blackberries and related fruits that have been bundled together against winter damage. Train on to wires before buds burst.
• Prune autumn fruiting raspberries if you have not already done so. All of the old fruited canes from last year should be cut down to ground level. Take care not to damage any emerging new shoot tips.
• Prune gooseberries now if they were left unpruned over winter. All the sideshoots can be pruned to two or three buds from the main stems and the leading shoots pruned by one-third to half, depending on the vigour of the shoot (prune weaker shoots harder). After pruning apply a mulch of garden compost.

Fruit garden maintenance

• Finish all planting of bare-rooted trees and bushes early in the month. Don’t worry if you have not managed to plant fruit in your garden yet. Nurseries and garden centres will have a range of container grown plants that can be planted throughout the spring.
• Firm newly planted fruit trees and bushes if the frost has lifted them over the winter, but allow the ground to thaw first.
• In March the winds can be particularly drying so it may be necessary to water fruit trees and bushes. Be particularly aware of potted trees and those against a wall as they are prone to drying out.
• As the soil warms up apply a mulch. The most common materials used for mulching fruit, are straw and hay. Newspaper, cardboard, well rotted manure or compost can also be used. Apply the mulch up to 10cm deep, keeping a clear area of around 15 cm diameter around the tree trunk to deter mice. Before mulching hoe carefully (avoiding roots) under the canopy to expose pests to predators.
• Start weeding around fruit trees and bushes while there are few weeds. This will make weeding easier later on in the year.
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  Poached egg plant
• Sow from March to May Limnanthes douglasii (poached egg plant) around established fruit bushes. It is low growing and quickly covers the soil, the bright flowers attracting beneficial insects for pollination and pest control.
• Plant out new strawberry plants.
  Strawberry plants can be purchased from the Organic Gardening Catalogue

• Continue to cover strawberries for an early crop with polythene tunnels or glass cloches. Remember to ventilate on warm days, especially around flowering time for pollinating insects, replacing covers at night.
  
  Sow alpine strawberries undercover, lightly covering the seeds with sharp sand, keep at 18-24°C. Germination can be slow and erratic, when the seedlings are large enough to handle pot up into individual pots.

Wildlife

• Boost your local population of native bees by using nest kits placed around your garden. All you need to do is place the bee nest boxes in sunny, sheltered, south-facing position in the garden and you will attract nest-seeking females of the Red Mason Bee in spring

  Bee nests should be put out in the garden by late March.

Pest & disease watch

• Look out for Pear leaf blister mite. The first signs are pinkish-red pustules that develop on unfurled pear leaves at blossom time. Subsequently, yellow, red or green blisters can be seen on both sides of infested leaves.
  See our factsheet Pear midge and leaf blister mite for more information
• Start checking for Powdery mildews in apples and gooseberries. Mildew symptoms show up most clearly in spring on blossoms and young shoots. Cut back to healthy wood and dispose of diseased material to avoid spreading the spores to healthy wood.
  
  Gooseberry sawfly larvae
• In spring it is the Gooseberry Sawfly that does the most damage to both gooseberry and redcurrant bushes. The newly hatched larvae make pin prick holes in the leaf and prefer to feed from the heart of the plant, so this is what you should initially be vigilant for. Destroy all affected leaves and cultivate the soil around bushes now to give predators a chance to feed on the adult cocoons that overwinter in the soil.
  See our factsheet Gooseberry sawfly for more information
• Winter moth - continue to check that grease bands have not been breached or become loose. Do not remove until the end of the month.

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