OUR GARDENS: PLUMS AND COMPOST HOLES
There are three plum trees in the side yard. After heavy pruning in early 1997, a heavy crop of plums began to form on the two large trees, but the small tree had very few flowers and none of them turned into fruit. Phebe said that the small tree hadn't borne any fruit for over a dozen years.
The fruit on the large trees started to get a brown blight and drop off. The state extension agency reccommended spraying with Bordeaux mix. We dissolved the powder into water and sprayed the trees. After the first application, the fruit stayed on the tree and began to mature. A couple of months later, we noticed the beginnings of fruit drop again, so we gave it another application of Bordeaux mix and brought it under control again. A third application a couple of weeks before harvest brought in such a good crop that we have enough plum preserves to last for several years.
We decided to try an experiment to see if we could get some plums off the small tree. Early in 1998, before the trees started to bud, we dug three post holes on the uphill side of the small tree. These were located along the drip line. The drip line is right under the the furthest reach of the branches from the trunk; if you stand under a tree during a light rain, you'll stay dry if you stay inside the drip line. That's where the roots are supposed to end, also.
The post holes were about three feet deep and filled with alternate layers of horse manure, dried leaves, and dirt. Each layer of horse manure was lightly sprinkled with garden lime. The theory was to shock the tree into bearing by giving it a super charge of nutrients right into the roots.
The small tree had an amazing amount of flowers this Spring, which turned into a multitude of little green plums. They ripened into an abundance of elongated, prune-style plums, but we didn't harvest them fast enough. The squirrels hadn't bothered the round plums on the other two trees, but the shape of these new plums appealed to them for some strange reason and they ate all but one. Next year, we'll pick them as soon as they ripen.
