So far so good this year.   Have planted out the Birchenhayes Tamar Valley cherry and the mystery Morwellham pear.  The cherry is a maiden (no branches) and only slightly taller than I'd want the main branch point to be anyway, so I've just taken off the top of that.  The pear I've trimmed to 4 branches and tied them all down so that it will start growing outwards rather than up. 

Having read up on pruning for the new fruit tree, I decided my cherry 'Summer Sun' was well overdue for a trim to encourage sideways growth which is more likely to bear fruit.  It had one very upright leader which seemed to be heading for orbit.  I have just sawed it off, and found that it was over 5 feet from the fork to tip!   The tree now has a rather artificial looking flattened profile, but with a bit of luck it will even out with a season or so's growth. 

I have dressed the soil around the trees, and my raised beds, and the greenhouse bed, with that mysterious and rather sacrificial-sounding substance, Fish, Blood and Bone.