Spring promises so much, days are lengthening, the weather starts to warm up and the orchard awakens from its winter dormancy as buds start to swell and open. A time to take a moment to watch with wonder as the earth wakes from winter and the newness of life begins again.

Hopefully, all our winter pruning jobs are complete, if not we do need to attend to this quick smart or leave until later in the summer. Spring can bring a lot of rain to nourish the soil, but this is not the time to prune as fungi (leaf curl) are easily spread by rain splash and unsealed cuts. Also, as the sap starts to rise with the increase in soil temperatures this can lead to plants especially grapes bleeding (the sap oozes out). So put the secateurs away unless it is to prune off any rootstock that appears from the base of our fruit trees. If left to grow these will compete directly with our fruit trees, for food and resources.

As buds start to swell and bloom one of the most important activities in the orchard happens, pollination. Bees should be humming in our fruit trees to aid pollination resulting in a good fruit set later in Spring. It's not only bees that help pollinate think bumblebees, hoverflies, butterflies. Ideally, a mature plum tree needs 8 bees per minute per tree to result in adequate pollination (Yes that’s a lot of bee activity?) It’s important for us to think of assisting our pollinators, how? It’s all about attracting them to our trees and not just for the spring but creating an environment to encourage them to hang around year-round.

Now is our chance to indulge in flowers, early bulbs, yarrows, borage, lavenders, chives, herbs, comfrey the list is endless, go wild. I have become a huge fan of tree lucerne Cytisus proliferous (Tagasaste) not something perhaps that everyone has room for in their gardens but if you do it's so worthwhile. It is in flower right now just prior to all our fruit trees breaking into flower. An amazing source of food for bees as they come out of winter slumber. It’s also a great source of food for birds, tui, bellbird, Kereru are big fans. It can be feed to stock, fixes nitrogen in our soils, a great tree to coppice and can even be turned into firewood.

Insects also play an important job of controlling pest problems which burst forth with abundance in spring as well, lacewings, ladybirds (aphid munching machines) earwigs and ground beetles. Planting alternative food sources encourage a diverse habitat.

Talking healthy habitat’s, the other super important task to attend to in Spring is to look back at the soil under our fruit trees. The soil is the key to healthy trees and now is our chance to give it a helping hand. Mulching replicates the forest floor in nature, habitat for insects, fungi, seeds, food. This is what our trees carve is a thick layer of mulch, it suppresses weed growth which is just competition for our super productive fruit trees. It holds moisture in our soils, especially for those long dry summer months. Ensures good root growth by warming the soil, just like a big cosy blanket. Builds soil life and encourages microorganism activity and feeds our soils. What should we mulch with, shredded leaves, well-rotted animal manure, homemade compost and the key for most fruit trees is wood mulch? This wood mulch is especially important for peach, nectarines, as they need the symbiotic relationship wood chip fungi brings, it’s a match made in heaven. So lay it on thick (just avoid it sitting directly against the trunk) and keep adding to it. Feed with Compost teas, liquid fertiliser of seaweed and fish (keeps pesky possums and rabbits away) EM (effective microbes) neem etc. Comfrey tea is especially beneficial to our fruit trees as its high in Potash, this is one of the key nutrients in good fruit tree production.

Stake new trees and check stakes on older trees as Spring also brings lots of wind! The idea of a stake is to hold the roots firmly in the soil and minimise disruption. A stake does not need to be tall as the tops of trees in nature get blown about. Also like our muscles in our bodies the fibres in a tree trunk need to be used to remain strong. Stakes can normally be removed after a few years but initially, they are to aid the tree to ongoing resilience. Check those tree ties too, we don’t want them over tight, rubbing or cutting into the tree.

As the weather warms, we can also think about planting, strawberries, asparagus, fruit trees especially Citrus. Citrus will also need a feed right about now with an Acid fertiliser and as they are shallow-rooted mulch heavily to protect those lovely feeder roots. Mulch with acid-based material, coffee grounds, pine needles remember the Blueberry patch too they love acidity. Ideally, we need to wait until the frosts have passed and late Spring is the time for tomatoes, Passionfruit and Tamarillo.

Enjoy the newness that Spring, time brings but also caution as 4 seasons in one day is truly Spring weather.

Sarah Frater – Edible Garden Ltd