For clear, concise, step-by-step instructions, get your hands on a copy of Dr Hessayon's impressively straightforward guide, The Fruit Expert ( quickcrop.ie), a classic that has stood the test of time. Recommended pruning techniques vary according to the species, as well as the age of the tree/bush. A kneeling pad, if you have one, will also make the job a lot easier. Pick a dry day to prune, arming yourself with a sharp secateurs and a long-armed loppers or small pruning saw and making sure to bag and bin any decayed fruit left on the branches that might act as a potential source of disease. But don’t prune stone fruit at this time of year (examples include cherries, plums, apricots etc). Gooseberries, currant bushes, autumn-fruiting raspberry canes, freestanding apple and pear trees (trees that have been grown as bush and standard specimens), medlars and quince are all suitable candidates for the job. Pruning is another one of those late-winter jobs that will (literally) bear fruit in the months to come. A much better alternative is to choose a dry day to chop back or strim down any weeds or coarse vegetation, using a few sturdy wooden boards beneath your feet to spread your weight and protect the soil structure. For that reason, unless the soil in your garden or allotment is a free-draining one, resist the urge to dig or rotavate it in the coming weeks. Let’s start with the important task of prepping beds, a job that can quickly turn into a mucky tale of woe at this time of year. Late January, for example, is definitely not a good time to direct-sow seed of most kinds of vegetables outdoors into the open ground (too cold, too dark, too wet), or to deep-dig beds (again, too cold, too dark, too wet) or to install a new polytunnel (you guessed it).īut the good news is that it is a great time to lay the foundations for a productive growing year with a little judicious prep work, careful pruning and planting. Timing is everything, as that famous saying goes, from those sliding-door moments that can forever change the course of our lives to much more mundane matters such as getting the kitchen garden or allotment ready for another growing year.
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