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Jobs for November

It’s a lovely time on the allotment as we continue to harvest the many tasty seasonal veg available to us. There is a lot to enjoy in the way of stored and preserved produce, too and then of course there is still some sowing to do and fruit to plant as well as preparing the soil for next season

 

Fruit in brief

• Pick the last of the late apples and put them into storage. Any damaged fruit should be kept to one side and used as soon as possible or chopped and frozen.

• Clean the old leaves and debris from rhubarb crowns. Mulch with compost to suppress weeds.

• Check stakes and ties on young fruit trees to prevent damage from strong winter winds.

• Remove any apples and pears that have become infected with brown rot (brown fruit with rings of dirty white raised spots). Before they finally drop, they will spread the infection to next season’s fruiting spurs.

• Prune soft fruit such as redcurrants and gooseberries, cutting back the leading shoots by a half.

Begin pruning

Tree fruit can be pruned as soon as the leaves have fallen. This seems to become later every year, so be patient and wait until they have all gone – as long as pruning is finished by the end of February next year, the trees will not suffer.
Although not nearly as complicated as most gardeners think, the pruning of the various types of tree fruit is carried out slightly differently and it is best to buy a good guide such as one produced by the Royal Horticultural Society called RHS Pruning and Training, if you are unsure. Alternatively, watch the pages of KG for more information.

The basics of pruning established trees of the most popular types of fruit are:
• Apples and pears: Cut out any crossing, overcrowded or damaged shoots. Any branches that are growing too long can be cut back to a healthy bud, but never give a tree a ‘haircut’ and simply cut back all the shoots as this will remove fruit buds, especially from tip bearing varieties such as ‘Bramley’s Seedling’.
• Plums, damsons, gages, apricots, nectarines, cherries: Do not prune now – it is best done from April to June to avoid problems with silver leaf disease. When you do prune, remove as little growth as possible, restricting the pruners to cutting out dead and crossing shoots as well as cutting back overcrowded branches in the centre of the tree to 7-10cm (3-4in). One or two main branches can be cut back into older wood to encourage new growth.

 

For lots more advice, see this month's issue, available to buy online!

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