Crazy Year For Fruit

This has been the weirdest year or our fruit trees. The early peach did just like it always does. The plums were crazy. We have two plum trees on the west side of the orchard that usually produce quite a few good plums. We have four plum trees on the east side that had never produced. This year, the trees on the east side were loaded and when they began getting ripe, you could almost stand there and watch them get ripe. I told my friend before we went to Missouri that I thought there were going to be a ton of ripe plums on those trees. I think they ate all they could eat, gave plums away and she still had either 7 or 9 gallon ziploc bags in her freezer for me when I got back. She was picking about 10 pounds of plums per day almost every day while we were gone.

The trees that normally produce good plums had quite a few, but not as many as normal, but they stayed hard and sour. They got purple and looked ripe. I picked one, knew it was hard, bit into it and oh, my . . it had pucker power. We ate just a couple of plums off that tree and then the birds finished them off. They were too sour to enjoy.

Peaches

The peaches off our second tree to get ripe, that usually get ripe around the middle of June are gorgeous. They’re big and look ripe but they are hard as a rock and sour. They’re staying on the tree so long that the birds are ruining them. We’ve tried picking them and putting them in a paper sack but they just will not soften up and get sweet.

Figs

The big old fig tree is just loaded. We’ve usually have figs by the middle of June and I don’t see any signs of figs getting ripe.

Figs

I sure hope they get ripe. There are so many figs on the trees but I’m getting a little concerned about them too. It’s been plenty hot enough. I’ve been watering . . just don’t have a clue why the fruit isn’t getting ripe as it normally does.