In the garden this week: New fruit trees, plus lettuces for longer

A fruity future If you have planted fruiting trees over the winter or spring, you have an unhappy task to carry out. It is important that new trees are not allowed to fruit during their first year, because it takes masses of the energy that the plant should be putting into roots and establishment. Go over the branches and "de-blossom" or, if blossom has been and gone, pick off the tiny fruits. You'll have a stronger, happier tree in the long run. Lettuces for longer This year I am not sowing lettuce successionally every couple of weeks, but am instead following Charles Dowding's plan for mini leaves, as outlined in his excellent book Organic Gardening: The No Dig Way . Dowding plants out lettuces at a distance of 20-25cm, lets them develop and then discards the outer leaves (which reduces hiding places for slugs), before picking the next layer of leaves every few days, always leaving a central head of small leaves behind. This way, each plant crops for around three months.