Green manures are crops grown to improve the soil condition and nutrition. They can help crowd out the weeds you don’t want, and some even get rid of soil diseases. Instead of being harvested, the crop is dug into the soil while still lush and [...]

Once harvest is (mostly) finished and trees are getting ready for winter, their watering requirements change. During the growing season and summer it is important to keep water up to the trees at all times, especially during spring, and pre-ha [...]

Bacterial canker is one of many diseases that can cause gummosis in stone fruit trees, particularly apricot, peach, and nectarine. It can be useful to learn the difference between the different causes, to best  target your treatment, though f [...]

Bacterial spot is reasonably common on plums, less so on apricots, peaches and nectarines. It is more common on susceptible varieties in coastal areas. Read article in Autumn - Week 11

There are three main grafting techniques we use in winter— whip tongue, cleft, and bark grafting. Bark grafting is used when grafting onto rootstocks or branches that are larger than about 30 mm in diameter, and is a good way to change a whole [...]

Did you know that about one-third of the food that’s produced worldwide is wasted? Shocked? We were, when we discovered the facts behind the massive problem of global food waste. In this article we give you some great tips on how to make the m [...]

There are around 25,000 known species of bees known around the world, with the European honey bee being the most well-known by fruit growers. They are hugely variable, and range in size from tiny stingless bees less than 2 mm long, to large le [...]

Birds--we love 'em and hate 'em! They can be so amazing, but at the same time can do so much damage to our fruit. In this article we explore the main ways of deterring birds, including giving a rundown of the different kinds of netting systems [...]

Black spot (also called Apple scab) is a fungal disease of apples and pears which causes small black lesions on fruit and leaves. If the infection is severe, fruit can be badly deformed and unusable. Read article in Autumn - Week 1

One of the most hated invasive weeds in Australia, blackberry (Rubus fruiticosis agg) is ironically also one of the most delicious and healthy! In the United Kingdom (where it’s more fondly known as Bramble) it’s a common roadside plant, where [...]

Blossom blight is one of the main reasons (other than frost) that you may never have picked any apricots from your tree. It’s a fungal disease, and most seasons is preventable by using the right organic fungicide, at the right time. Read arti [...]

Also called starflower, bush bee, bee bread, burrage and bugloss, Borage is sometimes thought of as a weed because of its ability to self-seed very successfully, which means it has a propensity to pop up by itself in the garden. In fact it’s a [...]