GARDEN TASKS

Healthy trunks

In consistently wet weather, grass or weeds growing close to the trunks of trees can cause rot. Clear it away to keep the bark healthy.

Salad greens

If you’re hanging out for crunchy raw greens, sow rocket and mesclun salad mixes in trays — you could be eating them in three or four weeks.

Spray programme

As trees begin to flower and come into leaf, start a spray programme to control leaf curl, brown rot and any early insects like aphids.

Food time

Prune camellias after flowering then feed them and your azaleas to encourage new growth. While you’re at it, apply a good fertiliser around the base of fruit trees and water in.