Urgent jobs in the garden for January

• Check fruit fly lures for fruit flies. These are the males. If present, paint eco-lure bait onto branches or onto a piece of wood and place in tree. This kills both male and female fruit flies.
• Net your fruit trees with fine net, tying tightly at the base to prevent fruit fly entry and to protect fruit from birds.
• Check lures for codling moth in apples, pears and quinces. Every two weeks change and burn cardboard or hessian traps that have been placed around tree trunks.
• Check pear and cherry trees for pear slug. Hose them off with a strong jet from the hose, and then stand upwind of the tree and caste ash, chalk, flour, lime or powdered clay onto the damp leaves causing the slugs to shrivel and drop off (or you can squash them with your fingers daily).
• Spray summer vegetables with seaweed solution.
• Spray eggplant fruit with Dipel to prevent caterpillar infestation.
• Water citrus trees once or twice a week especially in extreme heat as they are shallow rooted and need water near the surface.
• Water, weed, and mulch all beds to keep maximum moisture in the soil.
• Fill wicking beds weekly but daily in extreme heat.
• Prepare simple shade structures for days of very high temperatures.
• Tie raspberries to wires.
• Tie up asparagus fronds and leave until they yellow in autumn/winter before pruning to ground level.
• Harvest your fruit!

Note: blossom end rot on summer vegies is caused by under watering

Written by Robin Gale-Baker