91Èȱ¬

Autumn’s here, the first really frosty nights have started while I’ve been busy crushing apples and making leather. I left my , , and other tender plants outside till the last moment. I reckoned I could safely leave them out that bit longer than most years as it’s been so mild. Then the other night I had to rush out, lay the plants over and put old sheets over them as serious frost was predicted. I prefer to leave citrus out as long as possible as once they’re under cover they become soft and more prone to moulds and pests, to say little of just how cramped it can all get.

You see, in order to move the citrus and friends in I have to first make space - which means evicting the last of the tub-grown grapevines and figs. And all the vines need to be pruned back before they can be moved. More than a little work thus my prevarication. But with frosts finally arriving I’ve been forced to get the job done in a hurry.

There were a few late tub-grown grape bunches to collect to start with, they’re super sweet so they’re now drying to raisins. I cut most of the young growth off each vine - save a few stubs of this year’s shoots - with but two or three fat buds apiece.

Next year each bud will give a new shoot, spray of flowers then fruits, so only a few buds are needed. Say five in total plus three spares. With the more difficult varieties, i.e. those needing more heat or a longer season; I left fewer still; to produce stronger shoots and earlier bunches.

The prunings, which are too tough to compost, went on a wildlife pile, though some varieties my children liked most were made into cuttings - Flame, , , .

The supporting canes have been stacked outside to weather clean but old ties were composted as twine harbours many pests.

Using a sack barrow (a jolly useful device) I’ve moved the dozen and a half tubs outdoors by a shady hedge. They’ll sit there till brought in again when winter’s over.

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Once emptied I had to spruce up (weed and tidy) then wash the end of my polythene clad tunnel where the vines had sat. I found I had to stick plastic tape over a myriad holes in the polythene - made by my cats running up to sit on top. It’s lovely up there I’m sure; most dry days I notice their fat bodies curled up sunk deep into the soft warm hammock of my now perforated plastic sheet roof. Once all this was done I could bring in my citrus, they’ve loved being outdoors and were well cleansed by their sojourn. While many are already carrying fruits which will ripen mid-winter, others are now flowering, some even flowering while a previous crop is still hanging. What gorgeous perfume they’re giving and how incredibly intoxicating it is now confined under plastic!Ìý

Bob Flowerdew is an organic gardener and panellist of 91Èȱ¬ Radio 4's Gardeners' Question Time