Some really cold weather has killed off some tender plants this winter so it is heart warming to see new growth, such as on a tough old rhubarb plant in a pot, which is clearly still in the pink.

Also pushing up new growth are little shallot plants in 1 litre Air-Pot propagation pots.Keeping them in a greenhouse gets them off to an early start, prior to planting out in ground in Spring. Also benefiting from a little protection is a pot of flat-leafed parsey which has lush green leaves ready to pick.

After successfully establishing several bare-root fruit trees last year in Air-Pot containers, we are expanding the fruit growing. Last year one apple tree even produced fruit, something not usually seen in the first year after planting a bare-root transplant.

Bare-root fruit plants are very cheap at this time of year (February), so planting them in large Air-Pot containers is a great way to get fruiting plants quickly and cheaply. Also available now are bare-root soft fruit plants and we have several blueberry starts. We are also growing-on gooseberry, black currant and redcurrant from rooted cuttings. The branches pruned from larger existing plants root very easily if simply stuck in a pot of free draining soil. Raspberries can simply have runners detached and potted up.