Plums by the bucketful!

Plums by the bucketful!

What could be better on a warm September day than picking fruit or harvesting ripe and ready vegetables? My garden this year has borne pounds of small, sweet tomatoes - thanks to a good friend presenting me with two young plants in early summer – and they will continue, hopefully, to do so until the threat of a frost makes me pick the remainder to make my favourite chutney. We have also had a good year with strawberries, blackcurrants, tayberries and now, finally, the cultivated thornless blackberry is giving us lush, dark and juicy specimens, which are going straight into the freezer for winter consumption.

Victoria plums ready to be picked

Whilst on holiday in Norfolk last week we had the brilliant experience of visiting family-run P.M. Farming, a fruit farm which specialises, primarily, in the growing of plums and gages. Our visit was timed perfectly for the main Victoria plum harvest and the trees were simply dripping with fruit. The young lady behind the weighing-counter and stall confirmed that this year the Victoria was a little late to ripen but they were certainly, as we could see, in abundance!

Several varieties for sale

This large orchard produces many varieties of fruit during the season and prefers to sell mainly to local suppliers and, of course, direct to the likes of me as, of course, I couldn’t resist plucking several kilos of warm and ripe plums and greengages from the trees to bring home. What a joy to pick healthy, British-grown fruit, on a farm.

Greengages ready to simmer with vanilla

So today I made several jars of Greengage and Vanilla jam and the same amount of Plum and Cinnamon jam. We also have a beautiful Greengage Crumble for tonight’s dinner, plums that are going to be used in a Plum Cake, and some will also be frozen for winter days when I need to remember the September warmth. As any Norfolk person would say……it was all just boootiful!

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Plumbe and Maufe Farming on the North Norfolk Coast can be found on Facebook here https://www.facebook.com/pages/Plumbe-and-Maufe-Farming/530889030287849?fref=ts