October

The caterpillars of the Winter Moth feed on fruit trees in the spring and may cause serious damage. This damage can be easily prevented. A winter moth infestation can be prevented by placing a greaseband around the trunk, as the females cannot fly and need to crawl up the trunk in order to lay their eggs. Other pests that enter the tree via the trunk are also caught.

Regularly collect and destroy windfalls as the rotting fruit may cause an infection to break out. Also remove fruit mummies that are still hanging on the tree. Otherwise, the disease threatens to spread further the following year at the latest.

Fertilising with a low-chloride potassium fertiliser in the autumn increases the fruit trees resistance to frost. Spread the fertiliser over the ground and water in. This helps trees and shrubs to get through the winter.

After harvesting, cut back the canes down to ground level and remove them. This helps to reduce infestation with blackberry mite the following year. Blackberry mites infest the fruit so that these partially remain red and hard.

The hazelnut weevil lays its eggs in the still green nuts, which are then eaten by the larvae. The larvae then leave the nut through a tiny bore hole and overwinter in the soil.

In October, cultivate the ground to disturb the hibernating hazelnut weevil. Birds can then eat the pupae that make their way to the surface of the soil.

Fruit trees can be planted from mid-October. When choosing what variety of fruit tree to plant, also consider its resistance to diseases as well as the harvesting time and fruit characteristics. It is particularly important to consider diseases that are difficult to control or that cannot be tackled with pesticides. Recommended varieties of apple are, for example, “James Grieve", “Ontario” and “Red Boskoop". Seek advice before buying fruit tree from a reputable nursery or garden centre. Fruit trees grow particularly well when the excavation soil is mixed with heat-free planting soil and watered with Super Strength Seaweed Extract. Super Strength Seaweed Extract promotes root formation so that the plants can quickly grow.