Plum - Planting And Care. Varieties. Photo

Plum is characterized by high productivity, early maturity, early ripening. Plum usually bears fruit already in the 3-5th year. The yield reaches 18-30 kg per tree. Plum fruits are fragrant, juicy, tasty, have healing properties, are used as a prophylactic agent for diseases of the heart, kidneys, gastrointestinal diseases, constipation, metabolic disorders, etc. Now almost every gardener grows this necessary and useful crop at his site. Plum ranks second after raspberries in terms of nutritional value. It is used fresh, as well as for the preparation of compotes, preserves, jellies, etc.

Content:

• Popular plum varieties
• Plum planting
• Plum care
• Plum Recipes

Popular plum varieties

• Opal, early ripening variety, fast-growing, self-fertile, high-yielding. The fruits are large. The pulp is juicy, sweet, dense, orange. In the suburbs and in the southern regions it gives a good harvest.
• Bogatyrskaya. A medium-ripening variety, self-fertile, high-yielding. The fruits are large, purple. The pulp is greenish, juicy, sweet.
• Eurasia 21. A variety of early ripening, winter-hardy, self-fertile (pollinator - Skorospelka red). The fruits are red, maroon. The pulp is yellow-orange, juicy, sweet.
• Renklode Tambov. A variety of medium ripening, self-fertile (pollinators - Skorospelka red, Renklod, etc.). The tree is hardy. The fruits are large, purple. The pulp is greenish-yellow, juicy, sweet and sour.
• Early ripening red. A variety of folk selection, early maturing, self-fertile or semi-fertile (pollinators - Vengerka Moscow, Renklod collective farm). The fruits are large, oblong-oval, violet-red. The pulp is firm, sweet and sour. Fruit ripening in August. Propagated by shoots.
• Tula black ( Bryansk late ). A variety of folk selection, late ripening, self-fertile, fruitful. Average winter hardiness. Fruits are of medium size, round-oval, dark blue. The pulp is yellow with a reddish tint.
• Egg blue. A variety of early ripening, medium winter hardiness, self-fertile. The tree is vigorous. The fruits are blue-purple, sweet, tasty. The pulp is tender, juicy.
• Blue gift. The variety is of medium ripening, fruitful, partially self-fertile (pollinators - Egg blue, Smolinka). The fruits are purple-blue, beautiful, large, tasty.

In addition to those listed, we recommend such varieties as Red Dessert, Leah, Mirnaya, In Memory of Timiryazev, Early Yellow, Smolinka, Morning, Charodeyka.

Plum planting

Plum prefers clay and medium clay, that is, heavy, moist soils. Of the fruit crops, it best tolerates high soil moisture. Plum develops well and gives a large yield on soils with a sufficient Ca (calcium) content, and on acidic soils it becomes sick, withers, and reduces productivity. Therefore, when planting plums, 300 g of fluff lime or dolomite flour, or chalk, or wood ash are introduced into each pit.

Plums are self-pollinating and cross-pollinating, but both of them bear fruit better if there are pollinating varieties that bloom at the same time.

The fruitfulness of plums depends on the location of the planting and wind conditions. Plum is less sensitive to frost during flowering than sweet cherry. However, some of its varieties are not hardy enough.

A novice gardener can propagate a plum in the simplest old way - by shoots from the roots of their own trees, and it should be taken a little further from the trunk, since such a shoot has a well-developed root system. Plums are propagated by cuttings (green) and grafting, but this is more difficult for a young gardener, since some experience is required.

The landing site is chosen necessarily calm, for example, near the fence. Very damp low soils with a close groundwater table are not suitable.

It is better to plant plums and other stone fruit crops in spring before bud break. Pits can be dug and prepared in late fall and spring, one week before planting. A hole is dug with a diameter of 70-80 cm, a depth of 60-70 cm. If the bottom of the hole is very dense, then a crowbar is used to loosen the soil to a depth of 20-25 cm; as a rule, the top fertile soil layer is folded to one side, heavy, unusable soil is removed.

To the fertile soil add 2 buckets of manure and peat, 300 g of organic fertilizers - "Berry" or "Berry giant", from mineral - 1 glass of superphosphate and 3 tablespoons of potassium sulfate and urea (carbamide). The specified mineral fertilizers can be replaced with 2 cups of nitrophoska. The main thing is not to forget to add 300 g of fluff lime or dolomite flour, or wood ash. Mix everything well and, if there is not enough soil mixture for the pit, add ordinary turf soil.

Eggshells accumulated over the winter are thrown at the bottom of the pit - this is very useful for plums. Then the entire soil mixture is laid in the pit, well mixed with fertilizers, and then watered well. If the pit is not filled to the top, add earth and water again.

When planting plums, it is necessary to ensure that the root collar is at the level of the soil or slightly higher. Sprinkling the spread roots with earth, they simultaneously water and tamp. So that the water does not evaporate, peat or sawdust is poured into the trunk circle after planting and watering.

Plum care

In the first year after planting, the plum is not fed. In the second year, only nitrogen fertilization is given. They are made in the first and third decades of June: for 10 liters of water - 2 tablespoons of liquid fertilizer "Ideal" or mineral fertilizer urea (carbamide), consumption - 10 liters of solution for each tree. Plum trees are sprayed with this solution in the morning or evening.

In subsequent years, before fruiting, root dressings are done: in early May - 2 tablespoons of urea or 3 tablespoons of liquid sodium humate per 10 liters of water; in early June - 2-3 tablespoons of nitrophoska per 10 liters of water; in August - 2 tablespoons of superphosphate and potassium sulfate per 10 liters of water. Consumption - 30-35 liters per young tree.

For trees that have entered the fruiting phase, the first top dressing is done before flowering: for 10 liters of water - 2 tablespoons of urea and 2 tablespoons of potassium sulfate or 300 g of Yagodka fertilizer, spending 30-35 liters of solution per tree. Top dressing is applied to moist, loose soil.

The second feeding of plums is carried out during the pouring of the fruits: for 10 liters of water - 3 tablespoons of nitrophoska or 300 g of "Berry giant" and 2 tablespoons of urea. Consumption - 20-30 liters of solution per tree.

The third plum feeding is done immediately after fruiting: for 10 liters of water - 3 tablespoons of superphosphate and 2 tablespoons of potassium sulfate or potassium chloride, at the rate of 35-40 liters of solution per tree.

In addition, every year during the summer period it is necessary to control weeds, loosen the soil to a shallow depth in the near-stem circle of the plum, add 1 bucket of peat, or humus, or compost mixed with 300 g of organic fertilizer "Deoxidizer", with 1 glass chalk or dolomite flour, or lime fluff. A bedding is especially needed during fruiting, because plums give good yields on fertile soil with a pH of 6.5-7.5.

At the beginning of the summer period, when the plum begins to actively throw out shoots, the excess is cut off so that there is a good growth on the left shoots. The crown should receive a lot of light. After winter in April-May, damaged shoots are necessarily cut off. It is also necessary to remove the root growth. To do this, they rake off the soil from the root collar and cut off the shoots without leaving hemp.

If the tree grows poorly, rejuvenating pruning is done, that is, perennial branches are shortened. Plum pruning is carried out from March to April-May. During the summer, you can cut off growing branches no more than 2.5 cm in diameter without putty.

Plum Recipes

To make a delicious jam, take 2 kg of plums, 1 kg of apples and 1.6 kg of sugar. The plums are washed in cold water and the seeds are removed from them, the apples are cut into small pieces and, together with the plums, are placed in layers in a saucepan, sprinkling with sugar: a layer of apples, a layer of plums, a layer of granulated sugar, etc. Add a little lemon zest and cinnamon (taste). Cook, stirring all the time, until a thick mass is formed. The warm mass is poured into dry sterilized jars, covered with loose lids and left for two days, after which they are sealed.

A very appetizing and healthy dish of prunes in milk. The prunes are washed well with warm water, rinsed with hot boiled water, poured over with boiling milk and left for 50 minutes. Then sugar is added to taste, placed in a heated oven and kept there until the prunes swell (become soft) and the milk turns slightly yellow (like melted).