july-fruit

Gardeners Diary for the month of

JULY

Fruit

Peg Strawberry runners on the plants reserved for this purpose. Ensure that the plants are completely healthy before doing this. The runners can be pegged down into the soil or into pots of compost.
Prune Blackcurrants as soon as the fruit has been picked. Cut out the old stems to make room for new shoots that will fruit next year.
Water Strawberry runners in pots regularly.
Thin out Pears, Plums and Cherries if the crop is particularly heavy.

Give Apples their final thinning. If the King fruit (the one at the centre of each cluster) has not already been removed, do it now. This is usually of poor shape and removal will allow the other fruits to form better.

Spray Gooseberries against pests and Mildew if needed.

As soon as the Blackcurrant crop has been picked, prune the plants. Blackcurrants fruit on new wood so approximately one third of the old wood should be cut out to encourage new growth for next year. After pruning feed with a general fertiliser at 4oz per plant.

Cover Morello Cherries with nets to prevent bird damage.

Prepare the ground for new Strawberry beds. As the plants will remain in this bed for 3 years it is well worth ensuring that the bed is well dug with plenty of organic matter.

Cut out and burn any branches of Plum that have Silver leaf disease.

Keep Melons in frames watered to help swell the fruits.