ORCHARD : A Waxing Crescent ascending moon on a fruit day — the orchard deserves your full attention today. Plant young apple trees (‘Cox’s Orange Pippin’, ‘Egremont Russet’) and pear trees (‘Conference’, ‘Beurré Hardy’) in well-prepared holes 60 cm wide and 40 cm deep, working in a bucketful of well-rotted compost at the base; stake firmly with a 1.2 m post and secure with a rubber tie, leaving 5 cm of play so the trunk can develop natural strength / Mulch established cherry (‘Stella’, ‘Morello’) and plum (‘Victoria’, ‘Opal’) trees with a 7–8 cm layer of wood chip, keeping the mulch 10 cm clear of the trunk to prevent collar rot — this also locks in spring moisture as temperatures begin to climb / Check over established fig and quince trees: remove any crossing or inward-pointing branches with clean secateurs, making cuts just above an outward-facing bud to encourage an open, airy framework. In Mediterranean climates, fig planting can start now directly in the ground; in heavier soils, add a generous layer of grit to the planting hole to improve drainage.
VEGETABLE PATCH : Finger the soil — if it crumbles loosely without sticking, conditions are just right for getting strawberries (‘Elsanta’, ‘Mara des Bois’, ‘Honeoye’) into the ground. Set plants 30–35 cm apart in rows 75 cm wide, burying the crown level with the soil surface — too deep and the crown rots, too shallow and the roots dry out / Sow tomato seeds (‘Gardener’s Delight’, ‘Sungold’, ‘Black Cherry’) indoors in 7 cm pots filled with fine seed compost, pressing seeds 0.5 cm deep and covering with a thin layer of vermiculite; place on a heated propagator at 18–20°C — germination typically takes 7–10 days / Transplant cucumber (‘Marketmore’, ‘Crystal Lemon’) seedlings started three weeks ago into 15 cm pots under glass, spacing them so leaves don’t touch; this extra root volume before final planting significantly boosts early fruiting. If you have a cold frame available, harden off any pepper (‘Padron’, ‘Corno di Toro’) seedlings for 30 minutes today to begin acclimatisation gradually.