MID-WINTER
- plan vegetable plot;
- order seeds;
- make cabbage root fly mats, bottle cloches, lacewing refuges and bird and bat boxes;
- wash pots and trays ready for sowing;
- remove any damaged or diseased branches from trees and shrubs;
- cut down herbaceous plants after birds have taken seeds;
- fork over soil where soil pests have been a problem;
- winter-prune canes of autumn raspberries;
- cover wall-trained peach trees to prevent peach leaf curl.
LATE WINTER
- make up sowing and potting mixtures;
- sow early vegetable crops if you have a heated propagator;
- put potatoes out to sprout in cool, light, frost-free place;
- add organic matter to vegetable beds for early spring planting and put out cloches and polythene to warm soil;
- dig up over-wintering brassicas as soon as you have finished harvesting as they can harbour pests and diseases;
- check ties on trees.
EARLY SPRING
- last opportunity to plant bare-rooted trees, fruit bushes and shrubs;
- best time to plant evergreens last chance to prune apples, pears and soft fruit;
- sow early vegetable crops in greenhouse and under cloches; only sow outside if the soil is warm enough;
- sow early peas to miss pea moth;
- sow half-hardy annuals if you have a heated propagator;
- plant early potatoes if you can protect tops from late frosts;
- mulch over-wintering vegetables such as japanese onions with nutrient-rich mulch or top-dress with fish, blood and bone;
- prepare vegetable beds for summer crops;
- sow quick-growing green manures on ground that will not be used until mid-summer;
- protect fruit blossom from frost if possible;
- prune roses prune shrubs, such as buddleia davidii, that flower on new shoots;
- cut back shrubby herbs such as lavender, sage and thyme;
- give lawn an initial cut if weather is mild, but not too closely; do not cut if the weather is wet but wait until the grass is dry.
MID-SPRING
- sow and plant hardy vegetables outside;
- protect newly sown vegetables with barriers where necessary; for example, put cabbage root fly mats on brassicas and fleece on early carrots;
- sow hardy annuals like pot marigolds outside (a good choice of plant because they attract hoverfly);
- sow tender vegetables such as tomatoes in greenhouse;
- plant main crop potatoes and onion sets mulch ornamental borders with materials such as leafmould, bark and shreddings when soil is moist;
- top-dress established plants in pots with worm compost or begin liquid feeding;
- feed neglected lawns;
- start cutting lawn in mid-spring and continue regularly until early autumn;
- check regularly from mid-spring onwards for fruit pests, diseases and other problems, in particular, canker, aphids, winter moths and tortrix moths;
- inspect gooseberries and currants for sawfly and eggs from mid-spring.
LATE SPRING
- continue sowing vegetables outdoors and plant out early crops sown inside;
- keep early-sown crops well weeded;
- mulch top and soft fruit with hay or straw;
- watch for aphids but do not spray unless damage is severe; predator numbers should be building up by now;
- look for first signs of greenhouse whitefly and order biological control;
- hang codling moth traps in apple and pear trees from late spring onwards until the end of late summer;
- remove covers from wall-trained peaches;
- remove tied-on grease bands;
- apply shade paint to greenhouse roof and/or walls or fix blinds.
EARLY SUMMER
- continue sowing and planting vegetables;
- sow main crop carrots in early summer to miss first generation of carrot fly;
- sow peas late to miss pea moth;
- plant out tender crops after the last frost;
- prune plums and cherries now until end of late summer to avoid silver leaf disease;
- net fruit bushes, raspberries and main crop strawberries; thin plums, pears and apples;
- look out for cabbage caterpillars or eggs until early autumn;
- water plants as needed until early autumn, especially those that are newly planted.
MID-SUMMER
- cut spring wild-flower meadows; move hay;
- cover flowering peas with mesh to protect against pea moth;
- summer-prune red and white currants and gooseberries to keep bush open and help control disease;
- collect immature fallen fruitlets from apples and pears.
LATE SUMMER
- start sowing overwintering green manures;
- sow winter salad crops such as endive and overwintering vegetables like spring cabbage;
- lift onions and dry thoroughly before storing to avoid storage diseases;
- prune out old raspberry canes after fruiting;
- cut off strawberry leaves after harvest;
- plant new strawberries if needed;
- cut hedges after birds have finished nesting;
- remove and compost early-fallen apples or pears in case they contain pests;
- summer-prune cordons, espaliers, fans and other restricted forms of apples and pears.
EARLY AUTUMN
- sow overwintering green manures;
- sow new wild-flower meadows;
- sow hardy annual attractants to overwinter and flower early;
- harvest potatoes early on heavy soils to avoid slug damage;
- prune out old canes of hybrid berries;
- take nets off fruit after harvesting to allow birds to get at overwintering pests;
- cover ponds with netting to keep leaves out;
- remove greenhouse shading.
MID-AUTUMN
- last chance to sow grazing rye;
- cover root crops with straw to protect from frost damage and lift and store those that are not frost hardy;
- dig a compost trench on next year’s runner bean bed;
- insulate worm bins;
- cut summer wild-flower meadows and then remove hay;
- clean out greenhouse thoroughly;
- top-dress neglected lawns;
- trim back flowerheads of shrubby herbs and herbaceous plants after birds have eaten seeds;
- prune blackcurrant bushes any time from mid- to late autumn;
- prune out old canes of blackberries;
- apply greasebands to apple, pear and plum trees and to the stakes;
- lift, divide and replant herbaceous plants any time from now until early spring if soil conditions permit;
- collect up fallen leaves from apple and pear trees to help control scab;
- collect leaves from lawns and paths to make leafmould; this will also prevent them from rotting on the ground.
LATE AUTUMN
- fork-over seed beds on clay soils and leave to weather over winter;
- mulch roses after leaf fall to help prevent reinfection with blackspot;
- prune red and white currant bushes and gooseberries any time from leaf-fall until early spring;
- harvest remaining apples and pears before severe frosts occur.
EARLY WINTER
- check for hibernating hedgehogs before having bonfires;
- best time to plant any new trees, fruit bushes, shrubs and hedges;
- remove any mummified fruit from tree to help prevent spread of disease;
- prune apple and pear trees, gooseberry bushes and red and white currants anytime from now until early spring;
- check greasebands remain sticky through winter until mid-spring;
- feed wild birds from now until spring.