Easter is upon us as is the Snow and gales, this early an Easter is of little benefit to gardeners as any planting is liable to be rocked out of the ground by this wind. Still , time to keep warm , and plan for planting in a few weeks time perhaps.

Lots of buds are appearing in the greenhouse, Peach trees and Apricots are in full blossom with their pale pink flowers, even drawing in a few Bees for an early breakfast of pollen, where there are no bees ,do not forget to brush the flowers with a small brush or rabbits tail, do this several times over the flowering period to get the best set of fruit. In a few weeks the small fruitlets form and will later have a natural ‘drop’ in May or so.

Grapevines have also started to fatten the buds ,these are very fragile at this stage so take care not to brush past them or tie up the vines yet.

Bare root trees should all be in the ground by now, any last minute delays of heeled in trees to be planted in the next week or two will be ok but do not delay if there are buds swelling as roots will also be forming and it will be a waste to let these be damaged.

Aphids are already making an appearance under glass, ‘Plant Invigorator’ is the best organic way to get rid of these and many other pests at this time of year.

Spraying emerging leaves with Seaweed (we use ‘Seasol’ )every 2 weeks will strengthen this new growth and make it less susceptible to pests and disease.

Please remember that we are here to help with advice on any plant purchased from us, if its doing something you are not sure of , give us a call.

Best wishes.

Stephen & Debbi