ORCHARD : Before the sign shifts this morning, harvest any remaining pears or quinces still in store for checking — handle each fruit gently, setting aside bruised ones immediately to protect the rest. Once the afternoon fruit day takes hold, turn your attention to bare-root planting: apple trees and pear trees go in now while the soil stays workable, in a hole wide enough to spread the roots fully, with a bucketful of well-rotted compost worked into the base. Space apple trees at least 4 m apart for standard forms. On heavier soils, mound the planting hole slightly to improve drainage around the crown.
VEGETABLE PATCH : Peas are worth sowing now under a cold frame or cloche — push seeds 3 cm deep, 3 cm apart, in rows 40 cm across. Broad beans are equally suited to this fruit day: sow 5 cm deep, seeds 10 cm apart, rows 40 cm. Both crops germinate slowly in cool soil but establish strong root systems before winter really bites, giving you an early spring harvest. In milder regions, outdoor sowing in a sheltered bed is perfectly viable.
LANDSCAPING : Raspberry canes planted today will settle in well — set them 50 cm apart in a prepared trench, roots spread wide, then firm the soil around each crown. Currant bushes and blackcurrants are equally at home going in now, 1.2 m apart, with a generous mulch of bark chips to lock in soil moisture through the cold months ahead. Grapevines can also be planted in autumn: choose a sheltered, sunny wall and work in grit if your soil is heavy.