APRICOTS The trees flower too early (March-April) to succeed in the open but sunny walls may be used for fan-trained trees. Train as for the peach but without the rigorous need for replacement shoots since apricots fruit on both old and new wood. It will be necessary to remove surplus shoots by pinching or rubbing out when young. Winter pruning should be avoided. A slightly alkaline soil is to be prefered. The dying back of branches is common and occasionally whole trees die back. All dead or dying wood must be removed back to healthy tissue and the wound painted with an approved wound dressing. BLUEBERRIES The American cultivars are large fruited and well worth trying but an acid, moist soil with plenty of peat is essential. Little or no pruning is necessary apart from the occasional removal in winter of old, worn-out wood. Recommended Cultivars 'Berkeley', 'Coville', Tvanhoe' and 'Blue Crop'. It is advisable to plant at least two cultivars to assist pollination. FIGS The cultivar 'Brown Turkey' is often successful given correct treatment on a warm, south-facing wall. Root restriction is essential to curb excessive growth and a stone or concrete-lined bed approximately 3ft(im) long and 2ft by 2ft 6in(6ocm by 75cm) deep is advisable. A fan-shaped framework of branches is developed, side shoots from which should produce the crop following timely pinching and pruning. The young shoots require pinching at the fifth leaf by the end of June; fresh shoots then develop and ripen by the autumn with embryo figs in the leaf axils. If the figs are any larger than a pea they are unlikely to overwinter for successful growth and ripening the following season. Winter pruning is best delayed until March in case frost damages the shoots. These, together with weak and overcrowded growth, should be removed. If severe weather threatens, some winter protection may be necessary, if practicable. Feeding is not normally required and neither pests nor disease are usually a problem. MEDLARS The medlar is a decorative, spreading tree which produces regular crops of unusual fruits that must be collected when ripe and stored and "bletted" until over-ripe and soft. It is only suitable for cultivation where space is unlimited. MULBERRIES The black mulberry is a very attractive, slow-growing and long-lived tree. Its ripe fruit is excellent for jam. It is best grown on a lawn where the cut grass makes the collection of ripe fruit, shaken or fallen from A Reasoned Approach to \fegetable Growing There are many different reasons for having a vegetable garden; it may be no more than to provide a few salads throughout the season, or no less than a desire for complete self-sufficiency in vegetables. Whatever the objective the keen gardener naturally wants to produce the highest quality crops as efficiently as possible, and although previous experience may help to achieve this goal the full potential of new growing methods and varieties is often not appreciated.