BACK TO BASICS WITH FRUIT

This month our resident fruit expert David Patch takes a look at three essential summer tasks for fruit growers

-  David Patch

I make no apology for concentrating on the basics when it comes to looking after your fruit. The term ‘marginal gains’ has been around for the past 10 years or so, and comes from the world of elite sports where, in the pursuit of excellence, coaches would try and find small techniques which individually would make an imperceptible improvement in performance, but when added together might make the difference between a gold medal and coming fourth. I think it’s easy to get distracted by these final touches, the tips and tricks which promise perfection and neglect the fundamentals. The basics may not be so exciting but they do form the bedrock for success. So let’s look at the three tasks which will get your fruit into the best shape possible. 

WATERING 

The past two summers have been exceptionally dry, so watering correctly is absolutely essential for a good crop of fruit. Obviously, I realise that in writing that sentence I have pretty much guaranteed that the coming summer will be the soggiest on record and you’ll be reading this while sheltering indoors and listening to the rain beat against the windows. I have previous form in this – having not booked a holiday for years, I finally got my act together and booked flights and accommodation for a dream trip to New York the following year.

Unfortunately, this was November 2019, and four months later the world ground to a halt with Covid and all travel to the US was banned. I haven’t rebooked.