• The most important spray of the year for citrus trees is the autumn copper one. Without it, the fruit can be susceptible to rot even while hanging on the tree. Mandarins are the most vulnerable. While most of Taranaki can grow lemon trees, warmer coastal areas can equally grow mandarins, Tahitian limes, oranges, grapefruit and tangelos. To ensure good fruiting, look for grafted, named varieties (not seedlings) and pay accordingly. The key to self sufficiency in citrus (which we have, thanks to the previous generation of gardeners here) is to plant a range of different varieties. Our absolute stand-by is the orange Lue Gim Gong but we have no idea if this is still available commercially. If you see it, buy it. Washington Navel is another excellent choice for our conditions here, especially on trifoliata dwarfing rootstock.

• If you are fortunate enough to have an asparagus bed, make sure that it is cleaned up and weed free. Gently fork the surface over to stop it from getting too compacted but be careful not to damage the asparagus crowns which sit out of sight below the surface. Then cosset it under a blanket of mulch. Asparagus is a clumping perennial and it is a permanent fixture in the garden.

• Keep a watchful eye out for spring bulbs coming through and be vigilant with slug and snail control around these. Try circling the patches of foliage with a generous ring of bran if you want a more eco-friendly solution to poison. The bran does not kill them but after gorging themselves on it, the slugs and snails then tend to lie there in a comatose state waiting for the early birds to get them.

• A local garden centre was advertising the first of the lily bulbs last weekend so keep an eye out from here on for summer bulbs which will be coming into stock. Bulbs require some forward planning as opposed to impulse buying.

• If you have wrenched larger shrubs and trees for relocation, get onto moving them now even if deciduous ones have still to drop their leaves. Take as large a ball of roots as you can physically manage and prune back the top of the plant by about a third to reduce the shock. If you lack a digger or a suitable tractor with a bucket, the old fashioned approach is to lever the plant out onto a tarpaulin, piece of old carpet or similar and then drag it to the new location. This usually requires more than one person.

• The popular navel oranges have all descended from a chance mutation discovered at a Brazilian monastery around 1820. Because navel oranges do not ever set seed, they can not reproduce on their own. The world stock of navel oranges has, apparently, descended from cuttings and grafts of that original plant and are therefore all of the same original genetic stock. Propagation in the mega thousands has led to natural mutations and all the named selections. Navel oranges are delicious but have a shorter fruiting season and do not hold on the tree.