ORCHARD : A descending moon on a fruit day — the energy settles into wood and developing fruitlets, making this a particularly rewarding moment for orchard work. Check apple (‘Cox’s Orange Pippin’, ‘Braeburn’) and pear (‘Conference’, ‘Williams’) trees for any crossing or rubbing branches and remove them cleanly with a sharp pruning saw, cutting just outside the branch collar to encourage swift healing / Apply a balanced granular fertiliser (around 70–80 g/m²) in a broad ring under the canopy of quince and plum trees, keeping it clear of the trunk by at least 15 cm — this feeds the fine feeder roots that spread outward, not downward / Where you haven’t already done so, net strawberry beds (‘Elsanta’, ‘Mara des Bois’) against birds and check that runners from last year are well anchored; space any new crowns 30–35 cm apart in rows 75 cm wide / In milder or Mediterranean areas, young fig trees benefit from a handful of well-rotted manure worked shallowly into the soil around the base — avoid deep digging to protect surface roots.
VEGETABLE PATCH : A light morning dew on the beds is a good sign that soil temperatures are creeping up. Direct-sow climbing French beans (‘Cobra’, ‘Neckargold’) under a cloche or in a cold frame, setting seeds 4 cm deep and 15 cm apart in pairs — soil must be at least 12°C for reliable germination, so check with a thermometer before committing / Transplant courgette seedlings (‘Black Beauty’, ‘Defender’) started under cover into large 30 cm pots or prepared outdoor beds if nights remain above 8°C; harden off for 5–7 days first by leaving them outside in a sheltered spot during the day / Sow sweet corn (‘Swift’, ‘Earlibird’) in module trays under glass, one seed per cell at 2.5 cm depth, maintaining 18–20°C — germination takes 5–8 days and starting indoors gives a meaningful head start in cooler climates / On heavy soils, delay outdoor sowing of French beans until the ground has drained further; a raised bed or mounded row improves drainage and warms faster.
INDOORS : Cucumber seedlings (‘Marketmore’, ‘Passandra’) sown a fortnight ago should now show their first true leaves — pot them on individually into 9 cm pots using a peat-free multipurpose mix with 20% added perlite, and move them to the brightest windowsill or greenhouse bench available / Check overwintering pepper plants (‘Numex Twilight’, ‘Lemon Drop’) that were cut back in autumn: new shoots emerging from the base can be pinched to two or three strong stems to build a well-branched plant before the season accelerates / Tomato seedlings (‘Gardener’s Delight’, ‘Sungold’, ‘Costoluto Fiorentino’) benefit from a quarter-strength liquid feed of a balanced fertiliser (NPK 5-5-5) at this stage — roots are active but the plants don’t yet need the high-potassium formula reserved for flowering.