Odd plums. It's thinning time again.

Gardening to 'grow your own food' from square foot to half an acre !!
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Mo
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Odd plums. It's thinning time again.

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I'm at it again thinning my plums so that I get beautiful big fruit instead of tiny fruit and broken branches. And I'll prune them at the same time, since they get PEach Leaf curl if you do it in winter.
But this year there are some very odd shaped fruit (only a handful, amongst the hundred of good ones.
I googled and found [urlhttp://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profile?pid=199]this[/url]. A fungus disease apparently.
Hope it doesn't spread.
Dance caller. http://mo-dance-caller.blogspot.co.uk/p/what-i-do.html
Sunny Clucker enjoyed Folk music and song in mid-Cheshire
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elliebear15
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Re: Odd plums. It's thinning time again.

Post by elliebear15 »

Hi Mo. We have inherited a plum tree, in the house we have just moved to. Its got lots of fruit. I have never grown plums before and don't know much about them. How much should I be thinning it?
Ellie x
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Mo
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Re: Odd plums. It's thinning time again.

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Imagine the size you'd like the plums to be. Victorias can grow to egg-sized if you give them the space. So any clusters need reducing to singles nicely spaced out along the branch.
Don't leave any touching, or any that looked marked or odd shapes, or rubbing on crossing branches. They'll just go bad instead of ripening.
It is very hard to be ruthless enough but the tree puts more energy into stones - you want big juicy plums. If you don't thin the branches can sometimes break (as I know!) and the plums are tiny and tasteless.

This is also the time of year to prune plums and cherry trees if needed. They are more prone to a disease if you do it in winter. At least take out dead and rubbing branches. I got so nervous by all the warnings of disease if pruned that I let my trees become a straggly criss-cross mess. I try not to now.
Do you know what kind of plum you've got? Happy eating.
Dance caller. http://mo-dance-caller.blogspot.co.uk/p/what-i-do.html
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Re: Odd plums. It's thinning time again.

Post by elliebear15 »

Thanks very much, that's really helpful.
I am not sure what variety the plum is at all. The little fruits are green at the moment but of course I bet they all start off that way.
I think it must be a self fertile variety though as it is the only plum tree on our site - we only have one close neighbour and I don't think they are into gardening much. I doubt whether they have fruit trees.
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Mo
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Re: Odd plums. It's thinning time again.

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How are your plums coming on?

I've finished picking my Czar. Dark purple plums, delicious to eat raw when black. We've had some crumbles and pie, I've frozen some and made 3 pots of jam, we nibble the dark ones every time we walk through the kitchen, and there's some indoors ripening nicely.

All of my plums have to be ripened indoors, the flies and wasps are happy to eat them when they are nearly ripe - I try to get them first.

I've turned my attention to the Victorias. None really ripe but a lot (that I should have taken off when thinning) have rotted. Lots are ripe enough to cook (after careful cutting in case they are inhabited).

Today I noticed that the Greengages were splitting their skins (and the flies were at them), so I picked 3 pounds and we'll have some for dinner.
Dance caller. http://mo-dance-caller.blogspot.co.uk/p/what-i-do.html
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Re: Odd plums. It's thinning time again.

Post by elliebear15 »

I have to confess I never got round to finishing doing the thinning of our plums. But we have had a lot of wind up here and that did it on my behalf really ... loads came off in the wind and after that there were just single plums here and there, no clusters any more :-D
They are all still very green and unripe looking, so I think it will be a while before we discover how they taste.
There is a pear tree with just ONE pear right at the very top. Fortunately that hung on in the wind. But I suspect it is needing a pollination partner - there is another pear tree but that hasn't done well either so I am not sure what is going on there.
It's lovely discovering all the new things but a bit frustrating when we have to guess at what is going on.
Ellie x
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Mo
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Re: Odd plums. It's thinning time again.

Post by Mo »

elliebear15 wrote:They are all still very green and unripe looking, so I think it will be a while before we discover how they taste.
Ellie x

Unless they are Greengages, of course. But I always know when my greengages are nearly ripe - things start eating them.

I didn't finish my thinning either, there are some very full branches at the top. Where I didn't put the step-ladder. And lots going bad that I should have taken off.
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Re: Odd plums. It's thinning time again.

Post by elliebear15 »

The green plums (gages??) feel quite hard and they are an unripe sort of green colour, if you know what I mean. Haven't tried eating one. Those that got blown off (and have been left lying around, tut tut) have gradually turned a lovely pinky red colour although they have been got at by various insects. So I think maybe we are waiting for a bit of colour to start on them. But if no change in a few weeks I shall try a nibble of one just to see.
I have never been a fan of plum jam, but last year I was given some damsons, and I made a damson butter which was lovely - so I quite fancy doing that with any plums we get this year. As well as crumbles etc. We have a dehydrator so I may even try some prunes )t'
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Mo
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Re: Odd plums. It's thinning time again.

Post by Mo »

elliebear15 wrote:The green plums (gages??) feel quite hard and they are an unripe sort of green colour, if you know what I mean.

Sounds like unripe hen. My greengages do turn more yellowy, some have a pinkish blush.
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