JOBS TO DO THIS WEEK

■ It’s harvest time for loads of crops, so catch fruit and veg at its best, either for eating now or storing for the winter. Onions are ready when the foliage starts drooping over. You can tell if sweetcorn is ripe by squeezing a kernel and milky juices come out.

■ Watering and feeding remains top priority, especially for pots, troughs, hanging baskets and containers.

■ Look after pond life – keep water levels topped up, remove blanket weed and cut back yellow foliage on pond plants

■ Plant autumn-flowering bulbs. Colchicum autumnale, also known as ‘naked ladies’, is a lovely crocus-type bulb that will flower on bare stems in September.

■ Finish pruning fan, cordon or espalier apple trees, above.