Still another great plum

General Fruit Growing
#1

I’m starting to harvest Autumn Sweet, which is pretty poorly named given it is still summer and the tree was bred in the west where stuff ripens sooner. The product is much better than the name- it is the first Euro plum I’ve tasted that has followed Zaiger’s lead of creating plums that sweeten while they are still crisp. Just had one with a 19 brix reading even though the flesh was still green and the plum was quite crisp. I will have to trap out yellow jackets if I want to find out if it will stick to the tree until it is amber and gives a reading something like 25, but it is a very nice plum as I’ve already harvested it.

Problem with it is that it takes a dog’s age to bear with it’s decidedly upright branch habit. I festooned one branch which coaxed it to fruit much earlier than the rest of the tree. A lot of rain just before it ripens can also cause it to crack, which usually isn’t a problem with plums that look like it- classic prune plum features.

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#2

Measured a soft Autumn Sweet this morning that reached 23-24 brix-as high as any plum I’ve ever tested. This, on a season when even nectarines are not consistently topping 12. Of course, plums are the one fruit that don’t seem to be adversely affected by too much water. This is not a good year here to grow highest quality peaches and nects (although a few nects I’ve eaten have gotten there) and most of my J. plums were frozen out in Feb. It’s lucky to be in a region where at least I can grow most common fruits so something is always bound to yield and be highest quality. Maybe this is the year for E. plums.

If everything was always great I’d become a brix snob like Fruitnut.:wink: This way I really appreciate the occasional greatness I get to enjoy.

Incidentally, my Flavor Grenade pluots do seem adversely affected by too much rain. They are huge and ripening much too soon with less sugar than ever before. They taste the way Scott describes them- sweet nothings.

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