ORCHARD : Fruit day with a waxing gibbous moon — a fine moment to transplant tomato seedlings to their final positions: 50 cm between plants, rows 70 cm apart. Sweet pepper and aubergine plug plants can go in too — 40 cm apart in the row for peppers, 50 cm for aubergines — firm the soil gently around each stem and water in well. Add a generous shovelful of well-rotted compost around the base of raspberry canes and currant bushes, keeping it clear of the stems by a hand’s width.
VEGETABLE PATCH : Check pea plants on their supports and remove yellowing leaves at the base to improve airflow — a damp spring encourages mildew in crowded growth. Broad bean plants at flowering height benefit from pinching out the top 5 cm of stem, which discourages blackfly and concentrates energy into pod set. Strawberry crowns lifted by late frosts should be pressed firmly back to soil level and any brown foliage cleared away.