Alan's jobs for the month

Any dry and relatively mild day during December and I’m raring to get on with the winter pruning. My priority is always the fruit trees, which need routine pruning to keep them in shape and stay productive. If you find the thought of complicated fruit pruning too daunting, try using my simple ABC method.

• First, cut out any dead or diseased branches;
• Then remove any vigorous upright stems that will be all leaf and no fruit and cause a lot of shade;
• Finish off by thinning any overcrowded stems.

To improve yields, you need to know where the fruit is produced on your tree. Most apple trees, for example, produce fruit from knobbly spurs on the main branches. If there are a lot, you can improve the quality and size of the fruit produced, by thinning these spurs to leave the strongest ones.

Keep clearing leaves

It is important to keep clearing up leaves as they fall. Don’t wait for the last trees to shed, because a blanket of wet leaves will smother lawns and cause susceptible plants, such as alpines, to rot. Clear leaves from paths and steps before they stick to the surfaces where they will become slippery and could be a hazard.

Before the big freeze sets in, make sure you drain or insulate outside taps to prevent them freezing solid and risk pipes bursting. You can use split foam pipe insulation, held in place with duct-tape, or get a proprietary insulated winter tap cover.