Mulching fruit will help them to retain moisture around the roots.

On indoor grape vines allow only one flower truss to develop on each main lateral coming off the central rod. Any others should be removed. Keep flowering laterals short, pinching out their tips of at two leaves past the single flower truss. Non-fruiting laterals can be kept a bit longer, pinching out the tips after five leaves have formed. Any sideshoots branching off the main laterals should be stopped at one leaf.

Thin out bunches of grapes on dessert grape vines to encourage decent-sized fruit. You should aim for one bunch per foot of rod (i.e. 10 bunches on a 10ft rod). Wine grapes do not need thinning.

Wall-trained plums and cherries can be pruned this month. If pruned in winter or spring (while still partially dormant), they run the risk of getting silver leaf disease. Any branches coming out away from the wall should be removed entirely. Pinching out tender shoot tips, plus any sideshoots coming from the main stems, will prevent the trees from putting on too much green growth, re-directing their energy into fruit production. If you need replacement shoots for bare areas of an established wall-trained tree, or if you are forming a new tree, then select and retain one or two strong shoots arising at the base of the bare area, to train into these areas. Selecting two suitable shoots means that you have insurance in case of the first shoot being damaged.

For wall-trained sweet cherries, pinch out the growing tip of each branch, once it has grown six new leaves. After fruit picking, the shoots can be cut back again, removing half of the current year’s new growth, and removing any overcrowded or unhealthy looking stems at the same time.

For wall-trained ‘Morello’ and acid cherries, prune out entirely any fruited shoots, removing all of this year’s new growth. But be careful not to remove any unfruited new shoots, as it is these that will produce fruit next year. Instead, tie them in so that they are easy to pick the following year.

Thin fruits on wall-trained peaches and nectarines. When they are marble-sized, thin to leave one fruit every 10cm (4in), and then thin again to 15-20cm (6-8in) when they reach walnut size.

Wait to thin plums and gages until the natural fruit drop has occurred, usually around the start of June. Then thin in two stages: in early June to 4cm (2.5cm/1in gaps between fruits), and then in late June to 7.5cm (3in) between fruits.

Shorten leaders and sideshoots on over-vigorous wall-trained apples and pears, to weaken their growth and divert their energy to fruit production rather than shoot growth.

Wait to thin apples until after the 'June drop'. Pears only need thinning if fruit set is heavy. Thinning can help improve the size and quality of the crop, and can prevent a cycle developing of ‘one good year followed by one bad year’ (known as biennial bearing).

Gooseberries can also be thinned - this will result in larger, dessert-quality fruits. The unripe thinnings can still be used in cooking.

Pinch out tips of new fig shoots once they have five leaves.

Hoe off or pull out raspberry suckers appearing between the rows.

Water tree, bush and cane fruit thoroughly every seven to 10 days during dry spells.

Put straw around strawberry plants to prevent soil splashing on to the fruit. Strawberries grown through black plastic do not need strawing.

If a small number of new strawberry plants are needed, you can peg down the runners that develop on existing plants, to encourage them to root along the stem. If a large number of new plants are needed, it is better to remove the runners before they start to creep along the ground. Leaving too many of them will sap energy from the existing plants and reducing yields. Removed runners can be potted up separately. You could even keep a couple of plants aside, pinching off any flowers to encourage them to concentrate on producing green shoots and runners only, for saving and potting up.

Any strawberry crops previously kept under glass, fleece or cloches, should now be uncovered (or the greenhouse doors opened fully), to allow access for pollinating insects.

Tie-in the new canes of blackberry and other hybrid berries to prevent wind damage.

Control weeds to prevent them competing for moisture and nutrients. Hoe regularly between rows on hot days to make sure the weeds dry up and die.

Pest & disease watch

Net soft fruit as they begin to ripen, to protect them from birds.

Keep alert for gooseberry sawfly damage and the raised red blisters of currant blister aphid.

Dead shoots on tree fruit may indicate a number of disease problems. Check for signs of apple and pear canker, bacterial canker, and blossom wilt.

Hang pheromone traps in apple trees to help reduce codling moth numbers, if you have not done so already. You will need one trap for every three to five trees. A similar trap is available for red plum maggot on plums.

Don’t be too worried if your pear tree leaves come up in small pale blisters. This is probably due to the pear leaf blister mite. Although there are no effective pesticides available to amateur gardeners, the damage is not as severe as the plant's appearance may suggest. Infested trees can still produce a good crop of pears.

Reduce numbers of rotten strawberries by tucking straw mulch, strawberry matting or similar around the plants, to prevent the fruits from touching the soil or getting too damp. Covering the whole bed with netting will also reduce bird damage. Remove any mouldy fruit and leaves promptly to prevent spread of infection.

Never spray pesticides once blossom has opened on fruit crops. They will kill the pollinating insects that you rely on for your crops. When carrying out any spraying operation, take care to spray early in the morning when fewer pollinating insects are about - you only need to kill the pests, not the beneficial insects.

Keep an eye out for early aphid attacks, and deal with them appropriately, either by squashing small colonies, or by using pesticides on larger infestations. Remember that very few pesticides have approval for use on edible crops. Derris and pyrethrum are often good choices, but always check the label first for confirmation of approval, safety and effectiveness.

American gooseberry mildew can appear as a brown crust over the leaves and fruits of gooseberry bushes. Spraying with fungicides containing sulphur or myclobutanil is usually effective, but you may wish to grow a more resistant variety like ‘Invicta’.

Apples and pears may need spraying against scab, where this has got out of hand in previous years. Fungicides containing mancozeb or myclobutanil are suitable choices.

Look out for powdery mildew, especially during warm dry spells.

Keep watch for signs of cane spot or spur blight on blackberries and hybrid berries. Ensure that any fungicides used have approval for use on edible crops. Products containing sulphur, myclobutanil or mancozeb are often good choices, but always read the label to check for approval and safety before using.

Blackcurrants are vulnerable to big bud mite (affected buds appear larger than normal). The mites can spread blackcurrant reversion virus. Affected plants must be dug up and disposed of in the rubbish, or by burning. You may wish to grow resistant varieties such as ‘Farleigh’, ‘Foxendown’ or ‘Ben Hope’.

Raspberry beetle can damage crops of raspberries and loganberries. Treat with an appropriate insecticide as soon as the first pink fruits are seen.

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