Pick grapes when ripe.

Pick nuts (hazelnuts, cobnuts and filberts) when the husks begin to yellow, but before they start to drop from the tree.

Harvest apples and pears for eating or storing. Only store unblemished fruit to prevent it rotting in storage.

Pick blackberries, hybrid berries and autumn raspberries.

Provide winter protection for wall-trained outdoor figs to help successfully overwinter the embryonic green figs that will form next year's crop. Cover the plant with plastic netting and fill between the plant and the netting with a loose layer of straw, bracken or other open material. This covering should remain on until danger of frosts is past.

Cut down the fruited canes of blackberries and hybrid berries and tie in new ones.

Take hardwood cuttings of currants, gooseberries, figs and grape vines after leaf fall; only use virus-free plants.

Order fruit trees and bushes from mail order catalogues and nurseries, and prepare the ground well before planting.

New trees can be planted as soon as the autumn weather sets in. The soil will still be quite warm in early October, even if the weather is cool, and the roots of new plants will benefit from this. This is particularly important for peaches and nectarines. Other fruit trees may have a higher tolerance of cold at the roots, and can be planted later in the dormant season.

Keep an eye on any newly planted strawberry beds, watering them if necessary - using stored rainwater wherever possible.

Pest & disease watch

Place mouse controls near stored fruit.

Collect fallen apples and pears affected with brown rot. Pick off any affected fruit that remains on the tree otherwise the fruits become mummified and form a source of infection for next year.

Do not let fallen apple and pear leaves infected with scab or European pear rust lie on the ground at the base of the tree. Garden hygiene is crucial in the control of these common problems.

Put up sticky grease bands on fruit trees to protect them from female winter moths. Tree stakes will also need grease-banding if they provide a route up into the branches.

Spray peaches and nectarines against peach leaf curl just as the leaves begin to fall. Trees can then be covered with polythene supported on wooden posts, to prevent re-infection next year by spores carried in rain droplets.

Clean up old strawberry beds, removing yellow foliage, old runners and any plants that look as if they may have virus.

Keep nets or cages over ripening fruits to protect them from birds.

Monitor yields on soft fruit crops, as older plants frequently become infected with viruses, which reduce yield. If this happens they may need replacing.

Prune out any dead, dying or diseased shoots on apple and pear trees that are affected by canker or other problems that can continue to worsen over the winter. Don't prune stone fruits after midsummer, though, as this can make them vulnerable to silver leaf.

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