In the fruit garden

Raspberries
Your old raspberry canes should he removed by now, and the new ones tied to their supports. Weed around the base of the canes to eliminate any perennial weeds. These may have underground roots which will need to be dug-up as much as possible. Removing the weeds will give the new canes a good chance to get ahead when growth starts in the next little while. Once your plants begin to grow, apply a little nitrogen, either as farm- yard-manure or artificial fertiliser.

Strawberries
The strawberry plants will soon begin into growth. Make sure that they will be free from weed competition, by hand-weeding from the start.  A little compound fertiliser with nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium is useful. Remove all the plant debris (old leaves and stems) from last year as soon as possible. These old leaves harbour diseases which will be very hard to control if they transfer to the new leaves and flowers when they appear.

Apples
At the time of writing (March 20th), it is clear that we are having an early spring. Some of our plum trees are already in full bloom, and this is a full five weeks ahead of normal. This means an anxious wait for gardeners, who know that the tender flowers of their fruit-trees need only a few hours frost to kill the entire blossom, and with it any hope of a crop for the year. Also, such a slow spring gives ideal conditions for apple scab (a black-spot disease of leaves and fruit) to infect. A few sprays at this time of year can be crucial. If you have an organic garden, then spray with sulphur at ten-day intervals from the start of April until the end of May (except during flowering). If you use ordinary chemicals, Captan (available in the garden centre) at two- week intervals from the start of April to middle of May should keep your trees free from apple scab. 

Last year's Spring garden advice

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