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Apples
 If you have a good crop of
apples on your trees, look well after them, as you are one of a
fortunate few. The poor weather during pollination time has
meant that many apples fell off after flowering, and that for
many, crops will be light (as indeed will crops of Champagne
grapes, which are predicted to be the worst for fifty years).
Keep the area around the trees weed-free, and add some farmyard
manure if the leaf colour is a bit light. If there is still an
abundance of fruit, remove some to allow the others get bigger
and tastier. Spraying should not be necessary from now on.
Plums
 Plums
are also very light in every location that I have seen. No
intervention should be needed between now and harvest.
Strawberries
 Strawberry
plants are already producing new runners. Either cut these off
to divert all energy into fruit, or allow them to root so that
you can transplant them next winter. Keep birds away from fruits
with netting over the plants, and keep slugs at bay with
beer-bait or slug pellets.
Raspberries
 Raspberries are now ripening. Harvest
them every day to prevent mould from infecting healthy fruits,
and cover with netting if there are many birds about. Keep weeds
at bay by hand-weeding, and if more than five new canes per
metre of ground are appearing from the soil, remove the smaller
and weaker ones.
Last year's Summer garden advice
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