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Plums Harvest: Mid-August to September. Popular for cooking, jams or canning, plums are a popular dessert fruit that can also be enjoyed ripe from the tree. Varieties at Kimmel include Stanley, Castelton, Santa Rosa and Shiro. This early-flowering tree is found in most parts of the country, including Nebraska, where wild varieties commonly appear in thick hedgerows along fields, roads, and highways. Plums grow best in rich, well-drained soil. Unlike apples and pears, plums do not produce fruiting spurs, and therefore are somewhat more difficult to train into a desired shape. For smaller orchards or gardens, a plum tree is best maintained through root pruning. Plum wood tends to be brittle, so during heavy crop years the thinning of fruit and the placement of padded props beneath branches may be necessary to avoid limb breakage.  |
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