- Grease band fruit trees to stop winter moths laying eggs. This will prevent the wingless females climbing up and laying eggs. Severe attacks can weaken young trees and cause extensive damage to established trees.

- Be sure to net over Brassicas if pigeons are a concern. Pigeons always look for the easiest meal option, so through the winter months where food is a little more scarce, your Brassicas will be at the top of the menu.

- Plant garlic and onions from sets and bulbs for harvesting early summer. If you own one of our Quadgrows/Veg Planters, put some in these.

This is a great way to use these products through the winter months and if planted now in the greenhouse, they should be ready just in time to replace with your usual summer crop of peppers and tomatoes. Its also a good way to use up any remaining mixed nutrient solution you have. Kale, chard and spinach can also be grown in these over winter.

- After clearing the veg patch of summer crops, mulch with organic matter. Well-rotted manure, leaf mould and spent mushroom compost are ideal.

- Start planning next years veg patch, taking into account any crop rotation. It’s the time of year when seed catalogues start dropping through the letter box and there’s no better way to pass a couple of hours on a winters evening, sat at the side of the fire with a hot drink and flicking through the pages.

- Turn compost heaps. This will increase oxygen and stimulates the bacteria that breaks it down.

- Prune fruit bushes. Remove any diseased or dead growth from blackcurrants, redcurrants and gooseberries. Hard prune any autumn fruiting raspberries as soon they have finished fruiting. Browse our range of pruning tools here.

Once again, disinfect the blades of your cutting tools beforehand to stop any disease from spreading from one plant to the next. Our Silver Bullet Spray is the ultimate disenfectant solution.

- It you thinking of adding fruit to the garden, it’s a great time to plant dormant, bare-rooted fruit trees and plants. These can usually be purchased far cheaper than potted specimens.

When planting, adding Mycorrhizae will only aid growth and benefit the plants. Also add the appropriate support at this point to help keep it stable in the high winds of winter. It will also save damaging any new root growth later. Our Root Magic Mycorrhizae Granules are fantastic and can be added to any plant at any point.

- Any remedial pruning of most fruit trees should be done as soon as the leaves have drop, but avoid the Prunus family (cherries, plums). The Prunus family should be pruned July/August when bacterial canker is less of a problem.