Fruit and veg

• Check crops such as runner beans regularly for aphids, and rub or wash them off straight away, before they multiply
• Water thirsty plants such as celery, beans, peas, courgettes, pumpkins and tomatoes regularly
• Make the last pickings of rhubarb and remove any flower spikes that start to form, cutting right down at the base
• Thin out heavy crops of apples, pears and plums, and remove any malformed, damaged or undersized fruits
• Prune plum trees in dry weather, when silver leaf fungal disease is less prevalent
• Sow a last batch of peas and dwarf beans before mid-July for an autumn crop
• Shorten side shoots growing from the framework of trained fruit trees, reducing to about five leaves from their base
• Water fruit trees and bushes, then lay a thick mulch of garden compost around their base to hold in moisture
• Cover brassicas with fine netting to prevent cabbage white butterflies laying their eggs on the leaves
• Peg down strawberry runners into pots of compost to root new plants
• Pick courgettes regularly so they don't turn into marrows
• Sow small batches of fast-maturing salad leaves, rocket and radishes every few weeks for continuous pickings
• Cut down broad beans after harvesting, but leave the roots in the soil to release nitrogen as they decompose

On the forum: which fruit and veg varieties are you growing?