Advice & help
Simple, practical tips for living a little more lightly and comfortably in Moray — when to prune your fruit trees, how to save water, how to keep warm in winter — with a link to trusted guidance for the detail. If you or a neighbour need a hand, there's local help below too.
Right about now
Garden & orchard
Harvest and store apples
Pick apples when they come away with a gentle twist and lift. Store only unblemished fruit somewhere cool, dark and airy, not touching — and juice or press the windfalls and the gluts before they spoil.
See Reviving the Lost Orchards → RHS: harvesting & storing apples ↗
Prune apples and pears in winter
Apple and pear trees are pruned when fully dormant — roughly late November to early March, before the buds break. Winter pruning keeps an open, productive shape and encourages healthy new growth.
See Reviving the Lost Orchards → RHS: pruning apples & pears ↗
Never prune plums in winter
Plums, cherries, damsons and other stone fruit should be pruned in summer, from June to August, while they are in active growth — never in the cold months. Winter wounds let in silver leaf disease and canker, which can kill the tree.
Save water
Fit a water butt
A single water butt on a downpipe can capture thousands of litres of rainwater a year for the garden — and rainwater is gentler on plants than treated tap water. Bigger roofs can feed several butts linked together.
See our Rainwater Harvesting project → Scottish Water: save water ↗
Water early or late, at the roots
Water in the early morning or the evening, when far less is lost to evaporation, and aim at the roots rather than the leaves. A good soak twice a week beats a light sprinkle every day.
Mulch to lock moisture in
A layer of mulch — bark, compost or grass clippings — over beds and around trees keeps moisture in the soil, suppresses weeds and cuts how often you need to water at all.
Fix drips, save litres
A single dripping tap can waste several litres a day. Fixing washers and leaks is quick and cheap — and Scottish Water offers free water‑saving advice, and has offered free water‑saving kits, for households.
Stay warm
Get free, impartial energy advice
Home Energy Scotland offers free, independent advice on heating your home, cutting bills and finding grants — including whether you qualify for funded insulation or a new heating system. Call 0808 808 2044 (free).
Draught-proof the cheap wins first
Sealing draughts around doors, letterboxes, floorboards and unused chimneys is one of the cheapest ways to keep heat in. Thick curtains and closing them at dusk hold warmth in too.
Heat the person, not just the room
When heating the whole home is costly, warm layers, a hot water bottle and keeping one room cosy go a long way. If money is tight, please reach out early — there is local help, and no shame in using it.
Check what help you're entitled to
Schemes such as Warmer Homes Scotland fund heating and insulation for eligible households, and payments like the Winter Heating Payment help with bills. Home Energy Scotland can check what you qualify for.
Need a hand?
If money or food is tight, please reach out early — there's no shame in it. Moray Food Plus offers crisis food and support across Moray (including rural outreach to Forres), and Home Energy Scotland gives free advice on heating and grants on 0808 808 2044. You'll find these and other local organisations in our Connections directory, under Local help & support.