Fruit – prune cherries and plums now, reducing any long strong growths from last year to four or five buds to help develop fruiting spurs for next year.

Apply straw to your strawberries now to keep the flowers and fruits away from moist soil and the threat of botrytis.Vegetables – sow courgettes and runner beans over the next two weeks in pots in a warm glasshouse for planting out from the end of May.

Continue to plant or containerise chitted potatoes. Sow beetroot and carrots in the open ground along with spinach, lettuce and rocket. Plant out leeks and summer brassicas and get tomatoes and peppers underway in heated glasshouses.

Do not put outdoor tomato varieties out until the end of May. For those of you with iphones, you can access and download a Grow your Own app from the RHS website – go to www.rhs.org.uk/iphone.