Tips and tricks for edible plant care

Create hospitable habitats for helpful hedgehogs by leaving some areas of your garden a bit messy (see photo above). 

SUMMER PRUNING 
Did you know that your fruit trees can benefit from a very simple summer pruning? You can cut back half of your apple tree's new growth in June. 
We leave the rest of our shrubs and trees alone to finish flowering and fruiting before we do any trimming or pruning. The bees need the pollen and the birds need the berries.

Strawberries are at their peak in June, but remember to remove any runners to keep them fruiting as long as they can. If you have a mix of June bearing and ever bearing, the strawberry season does not have to end till autumn!

SUMMER HARVESTS 
Perennial vegetables like rhubarb and asparagus are at the end of their season now, not because they will stop producing but because we have to hold back and stop harvesting! Let them concentrate on growth and regeneration for the rest of the year so we can enjoy a bounty again next spring. Meanwhile we can enjoy the other seasonal harvests that are coming in - cucumbers, courgettes and even cauliflower.