Just picked these this morning and a similar batch yesterday,
and I barely made a dent in the tree.
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Thanks for posting this picture. Yours are much darker than the one I picked yesterday.
Sooo Beautiful!
You are KILLING me Ray! Those are my favorite fruit I grow. Thanks to late freezes, I have a grand total of THREE on my tree this year! I think I’m coming to your house! 
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I don’t see any velvet on the skin
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If the skin isn’t purple they aren’t ripe. In fact, some of these could
be even riper.
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Nice Harvest!
I used to have a graft labeled as Spring Satin Plumcot but it has very dark skin, almost black and have some hairs, and tasted more like an Aprium. Perhaps it was a mislabeled one from the exchange. That branch died off because it was shaded out for more than a year, and I don’t think it’s a Spring Satin based on your pics. I might find it again, it could be a black apricot instead of Spring Satin.
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Kevin,
The only reason I have these is because, this year, I the netted the whole tree. If I didn’t, the birds would eat them all. KDL really worked for me this year. Because of it, I have a FULL crop on ALL of my trees. I finally beat the freeze.
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Why would you think you would see velvet on the skin? SS has the same
haze that all plums get.
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The tree I used to have had a velvety skin
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Where did you purchase the KDL? Looks like a winner to me.
That is some of the best evidence I’ve ever had for KDL…looks like I’ll be adding it to my arsenal ! I already use bird netting on some things…its a huge pain in the a__ but like you’ve just shown, well worth it!
I must confess that I was thinking the same thing that @ltilton said…my spring satin plumcots are always have a layer of fine hairs. (velvet is the perfect description, though I had never heard that). Yours look like they have smooth skin. I was so curious about this that I did a photo search for Spring Satin. Turns out many photos look like smooth skin and some have velvet. They all seem yellow inside.
Great going!
Spring frost is the number one reason for plum crop reduction in my area. I would estimate without intervention a tree would be lucky to hold a good crop one in every four years. Bring on the KDL.
I think you may have had a mislabled tree. My SS has never
had velvety skin.
I bought it direct from the manufacturer in Minneapolis 800-328-2418
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Thanks
Just read this old post.
rayroseMar '16 Chris_in_GA
I bought it directly from Agripro, which makes KDL in mInnesota.
I had a long talk with the KDL “expert” in minnesota today, and he told
me the same thing. But you can use household vinegar instead of System Cal. KDL is a high alkaline product and will burn the blooms without the deacifier. He told me to call him back tomorrow, to let him know my situation. He gave me lots of tips in using the product and in frost protection. He told me to water my trees really good, which I’ve been doing all day, and will again tomorrow. To check the PH of my water and I also bought PH testing strips today. It appears that getting the right PH in the mix is very important. He also told me to use a fine mist spray and to not saturate the blooms, and to not respray, if I have left over mix. I would have
done all of these wrong things, and would have burned the blooms. He was extremely helpful. His name is Larry Schafer.
When SS is truly ripe, the yellow meat turns red and is quite juicy.
You have to be careful eating it, because the juice will stain your clothes.
I’ve had my tree for a number of years and bought it from
Cumberland Valley, and it has always had smooth skin.
Another reason to plant huckleberries (Vaccinium elliottii) the birds go after them instead of the plums.
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What is KDL?
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