Tuesday, August 3, 2010

Plum picking time: love those mirabelles

I suppose I could say that we plumb struck gold this year with our only plum tree. This is the first big harvest since we planted it 3 years ago, and so far is the only fruit tree that has done really well in our garden. Mirabelles are a major crop in the Lorraine region of France, so it was very fortunate to be able to source a nursery here. The tree itself has been very resistant to pests (unlike our cherry tree) and since we refrain from using pesticides, it's all organic. The fruit is popular in jams, desserts and liqueurs, but we like them fresh as a snack or chopped into a simple fruit salad.

Average daytime temperature: 24°C / 75°F

11 comments:

Jude said...

These are so beautiful - really like gold!

Faith said...

Very nice plums. We can't grow plums here in AK.

K and S said...

beautiful plums! that tree is tall :)

Racquel said...

That is one tall tree, and I've never seen golden plums. :)

Rowena said...

Jude - now just imagine this...out of the corner of her eye a local island girl on a road trip through Lorraine, France spots a fruit stand with some little yellow thingies. She yells at the driver-husband to stop and the rest is history. From the first taste of mirabelles I knew that I had to have a tree to call my own!

Faith - I imagine that the winters must be too harsh for these, or perhaps the wildlife would love them too much! Fortunately *knock wood* the squirrels haven't been brave enough to cross over into human territory.

Kat - that tree needs to be pruned. I ain't climbing ladders anymore, and actually the usual method of shaking the tree works much better. A good shaking from the MotH and it's raining plums!

Racquel - let me tell you, I never even knew they existed until that trip to Alsace. The plums that I grew up with were reddish purple and a little larger than golf balls.

Julie said...

Gorgeous little plums Rowena! And if you ever get tired of eating them fresh then Eau-de-Vie de Mirabelle sounds absolutely brilliant (i followed your link).

Viooltje said...

Wow I must admit I have never seen plums of that color at local markets or nurseries, never mind so healthy and so... very natural. Beautiful. My compliments!
Most of our plums are mainly purple, and they only differ in size and shape.

Rowena said...

Julie - I gave some to my cousin who is currently visiting from Maui and she was delighted. Perhaps next year's crop will allow me to make my own liqueur....we are almost done eating the 15 pound harvest and wish there were more.

Viooltje - plums seem to do real well in our prealpine climate. If I had more space, I'd want to plant another plum tree and most definitely a purple one.

Sylvie in Rappahannock said...

Mirabelle are definitively a fruit I miss here in Virginia. I love mirabelles. I think if I were able to source a tree it might grow well enough here in our temperate continental climate. Our summer are probably hotter and muggier than Alsace, but our winters should be cold enough.

Enjoy the harvest!

Rowena said...

Susan - we are already looking forward to next year's crop. If I had known earlier that plums do well in our area, I'd have nixed the idea of the peach and gone for another plum tree instead.

tom tall clover farm said...

Bravo! I have a couple Mirabelles on order for planting this coming spring. My Italian prune plums are king here, but I dare say they are in search of a Queen, French Queen no doubt.