Fruit gardening calendar

Learning objectives:

Harvest | Season | Planting | Growth | Pruning | Fruiting | Watering | Care

September

• Plant out strawberries – they’ll produce a small crop next summer and more in following years. Also plant raspberries
• Summer-prune trained apples
• Cut down old canes on blackberries and hybrid berries and summer raspberries to ground level once all the fruit is picked, and tie in new shoots
• Winter-prune currants and gooseberries
• Harvest midseason apples , blackberries and hybrid berries , blueberries , grapes , early pears , midseason plums and autumn raspberries

October

• Plan changes or additions to your plot and order fruit trees and bushes from mail order suppliers
• Apples on dwarfing rootstocks can be grown in pots. Autumn raspberries, blueberries, gooseberries and strawberries also do well in containers
• Dig over beds where new fruit is to be planted, removing weeds and incorporating organic material
• Put up post and wire supports and plant blackberries and hybrid berries , grapes and raspberries
• Continue to plant strawberries . For earlier crops, plant some in pots and move inside in just after Christmas
• Continue to prune blackberries and hybrid berries , gooseberries and red , black and whitecurrants
• Harvest late apples , blackberries, grapes , mid-season and late pears , and autumn raspberries
• Build raised beds to make cultivation easier, especially on poor soil
• Set up a water butt with a tight fitting lid and a tap, to collect rainwater. Raise it so that you can fit a watering can beneath it

November

• Plant fruit trees and bushes any time from now to February, unless the ground is frozen or waterlogged
  

  Describes soil or potting compost that is saturated with water. The water displaces air from the spaces between soil particles and plant roots can literally drown, unless they are adapted to growing in waterlogged conditions. Waterlogging is common on poorly drained soil or when heavy soil is compacted.

  . Plant rhubarb
• Continue to plant blackberries and hybrid berries , and raspberries
• Winter-prune trained and free-standing apples and pears
• Continue to prune currants, gooseberries and grapes
• Harvest late pears
• Set up a compost
  

  Can refer to either home-made garden compost or seed/potting compost: Garden compost is a soil improver made from decomposed plant waste, usually in a compost bin or heap. It is added to soil to improve its fertility, structure and water-holding capacity. Seed or potting composts are used for growing seedlings or plants in containers - a wide range of commercially produced peat-free composts are available, made from a mix of various ingredients, such as loam, composted bark, coir and sand, although you can mix your own.

  heap to recycle all your garden waste
• Collect fallen leaves to make leaf mould. Stuff them into black plastic bags, water if dry and leave in a cool, shady spot for a year or so then use as a mulch
  

  Mulch is a layer of material, at least 5cm (2in) thick, applied to the soil surface in late autumn to late winter (Nov-Feb). It is used to provide frost protection, improve plant growth by adding nutrients or increasing organic matter content, reducing water loss from the soil, for decorative purposes and suppressing weeds. Examples include well-rotted garden compost and manure, chipped bark, gravel, grit and slate chippings.

• Carry out maintenance on paths, raised beds and other structures before the worst of the winter weather sets in

January

• Continue to plant fruit trees and bushes up to February
• Begin forcing
  

  Artificially speeding up a plant’s growth, flowering or fruiting, usually by manipulation of temperature and light. Rhubarb and chicory can be forced in late winter by covering with a forcing jar or bucket, or by placing potted plants in the dark, to produce earlier, paler, sweeter growth. Hyacinths and other spring bulbs are often forced, so they flower earlier indoors.

  established rhubarb plants by upending a dustbin over the mulched crown to encourage fresh pink shoots to grow. Don’t force the same plants next year
• Continue to prune apples , currants, gooseberries , grapes and pears

February

• Buy and pot up strawberry plugs or bare-rooted plants
• Start to sow alpine strawberries indoors
• Continue to plant fruit trees and bushes
• Prune autumn raspberries until the end of March
• Continue to prune apples , currants, gooseberries , and pears
• Mulch around fruit trees and bushes with bulky organic material to retain moisture, suppress weeds and improve soil structure. Mulch
  

  Mulch is a layer of material, at least 5cm (2in) thick, applied to the soil surface in late autumn to late winter (Nov-Feb). It is used to provide frost protection, improve plant growth by adding nutrients or increasing organic matter content, reducing water loss from the soil, for decorative purposes and suppressing weeds. Examples include well-rotted garden compost and manure, chipped bark, gravel, grit and slate chippings.

  unused beds too

March

• Plant cane
  

  A cane is a slender, straight, length of woody plant material, usually bamboo. Canes are primarily used as plant supports. The fruiting stems of blackberries, raspberries and hybrid berries (such as loganberries and tayberries) are also known as canes, so these crops are often referred to as cane fruit.

  fruit such as blackberries and hybrid berries , and raspberries
• Continue to sow and grow alpine strawberries indoors
• Continue to buy and pot up strawberry plugs or bare-rooted plants
• Protect pear and plum blossom from frost with fleece
  

  A soft, fibrous, translucent material laid over or around plants hastening their growth and protecting them against weather and pests. Heavier grades of fleece give about 2°C of protection from frost. It is usually used without supporting hoops.

• Prune plums (under four years old)
• Harvest forced rhubarb and leave crowns uncovered
• Mulch around fruit (see details in February)

April

• Weed fruit beds then plant out raspberries and strawberries
• Protect early strawberries from frost with fleece
• Continue to grow alpine strawberries indoors
• Protect blossom from frost on apples , blackcurrants , pears and plums with fleece
• Watch for signs of pests and diseases attacking your fruit and take action quickly
• Encourage beneficial predatory insects to help fight against pests. For example, ladybirds love to snack on aphids and hoverfly larvae eat greenfly. Attract them by creating bug homes and planting nectar-rich flowers that are loved by pollinators

May

• Protect strawberries from soil splashes and rot with straw or strawberry mats
• Start to harden off alpine strawberries ready for planting out mid-May
• Net soft fruit against birds. Remove in late summer once fruiting has finished
• Weed strawberry beds and around fruit trees and bushes
• Water developing fruit plants, especially those near walls or on dwarfing rootstocks, including any trees or bushes planted in the last 12 months, if the weather is dry for more than two weeks. Soak each area thoroughly
• Tie in new growth on trained apples and pears
• Harvest gooseberries and early strawberries

June

• Peg down strawberry runners you want to keep, and remove the rest
• Weed strawberry beds and around fruit trees and bushes
• Continue to water developing fruit if dry
• Thin fruit for larger, tastier crops. Thin dessert apples to 10-15cm apart, culinary apples to 15-20cm; pears to one or two fruit per cluster; plums to about 8cm apart
• Tie in new growth loosely, as it develops, on blackberries and hybrid berries , grapes and raspberries
• Prune mature plum trees (over 4 years old) until July
• Summer-prune gooseberries, red and whitecurrants grown as cordons
• Harvest black , red and whitecurrants , gooseberries , summer raspberries and strawberries

July

• Plan how you are going to look after your fruit garden during the summer. Plants in containers may need watering every day, but a visit once or twice a week should keep outdoor plants ticking over. If you can organise a rota, there should be lots of fruit for helpers to pick
• Use netting over grapes and pears to protect against birds and wasps. Remove in autumn once picking is finished
• Weed strawberry beds and around fruit trees and bushes
• Continue to water developing fruit if dry
• Check ties on fruit trees are not too tight
• Continue to tie in new growth on blackberries and hybrid berries , grapes and raspberries
• Summer-prune cordon
  

  A plant that is restricted by pruning to usually one main stem, either upright or at a 45 degree angle, with short fruiting side-shoots (spurs). Apples, pears, gooseberries, tomatoes, redcurrants and whitecurrants are often grown as cordons, especially where space is limited. Sweet peas can be grown as cordons to produce large flowers for exhibition.

  currants and gooseberries and trained pears
• Harvest blueberries , currants, gooseberries, early plums , summer raspberries and strawberries
• Tidy up strawberry plants and compost
  

  Can refer to either home-made garden compost or seed/potting compost: Garden compost is a soil improver made from decomposed plant waste, usually in a compost bin or heap. It is added to soil to improve its fertility, structure and water-holding capacity. Seed or potting composts are used for growing seedlings or plants in containers - a wide range of commercially produced peat-free composts are available, made from a mix of various ingredients, such as loam, composted bark, coir and sand, although you can mix your own.

  any debris. Sever any rooted runners you want to keep and pot up, or plant in a new bed

August

• Take a break, but browse our website, look at gardening books and visit some gardens, for ideas and inspiration for the next season
• Continue to summer-prune trained pears
• Harvest early apples , blackberries and hybrid berries , blueberries , early pears , plums and summer raspberries

Use the following resources to plan your full growing year:

• Planning a fruit garden
• Growing fruit in containers
• Fruit harvesting

Additional information on fruit growing can be found through our Plant Finder or through our gardening advice pages.