I'm not sure whether to call this the 'winter' notes or not, we have as yet to have any real frost as such .We have had plenty of wind though--- one Poly Tunnel levitated over a 20ft hedge and landed in a pond 60ft away ,otherwise it has been so mild that many grapevines still have their leaves on and have not ripened the wood. This may cause a problem with fruit set later this year, time will tell ,but if you can, leave the vents open on all fruit at the moment to try and let the cold into them.

All trees and vines require what are called, 'chill hours' , in order to ripen the wood and create 'inflorescence' ie. the setting of fruit buds. Some need more than others - grape vines can work from only 1 to 200 hrs, some peaches require 800 hrs. These are hours at or below 42.f for 10-12 hours per day, if the day temp is higher then this will negate the effect, a complicated thing to calculate. It can be easier to open the vents in December and then shut them in January!

I hope all your grapevine pruning has been completed, any later and there is a risk of the vine bleeding.
Have a good tidy up in the greenhouse and remove any old leaves that have fallen and clean the frayed bark off vines, it will help to prevent disease carry over. Winter wash is also a good idea, there is an organic form available now.

Citrus may well need a feed now, as the day length increases they will start into growth, make sure you have feed available, we do not use 'summer and winter' , our feed has a formula of 21:7:21 ,nitrogen to aid growth and high potash to get the fruit to hold on rather than fall off in 6 weeks time.
A slow release citrus feed will be available soon, an all year feed for those with a memory like mine.

Fruit tree pruning is also ongoing now, Apples / Pears and other 'Pip' fruit, leave the stone fruit until later to avoid silver leaf disease risk. The wound paint argument still goes on, some authorities say you should not paint as it inhibits healing, others paint with all sorts of strange goo ! I must admit we still paint with a proprietary wound paint , and we do not have a disease problem.
On a positive note the Nursery now has 'Fireblight buffer zone status' this means we are free of the disease and certified by DEFRA to export to other countries such plants that are susceptible.

Bare root fruit are still available for the next 6-8 weeks although some rare varieties are running out, why not try an Asian pear, 'Chojura 'has a lovely texture and juicy flavour.

Should you require any advice give us a ring or email, buying a plant from us gives you ongoing advice at any time.We are here to help you grow successful fruit.

Best wishes.

Stephen & Debbi