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Author Topic: Is anyone else seeing low stone fruit yields this year?  (Read 3862 times)

Piggerswiggers

  • Joined Jul 2015
Is anyone else seeing low stone fruit yields this year?
« on: July 15, 2016, 11:32:50 am »
I've just been mooching about my cherries, plums, gages and damsons and it looks like an appalling yield this year. All the trees look hale and hearty but next to no fruit. There were lots of cherries forming but the ground around them is now covered by under developed, unripe cherries that have fallen off and I think this is due to lack of pollination, certainly the couple I broke open this am don't have stones in them.

This makes me think that maybe there was a shortage of pollination insects doing their thing during the wet and windy Spring we had here.

Strawberries, raspberries, black currants, blue berries and gooseberries are great and apples look to be doing OK so far but nothing with a stone. As far as I can remember there were plenty of flowers on the trees, l do think I'd have noticed an absence of flower anyway.

I'd be interested to hear whether anyone else has a similar picture this year.

Fleecewife

  • Joined May 2010
  • South Lanarkshire
    • ScotHebs
Re: Is anyone else seeing low stone fruit yields this year?
« Reply #1 on: July 15, 2016, 11:42:34 am »
Yep - hardly any plums, golden gage, damsons, cherries, although the wild cherries in the hedge are not bad.  The golden gage are a surprise as the tree is usually bowed down with fruit. All were covered with blossom in spring, but we did have some frosts which I had been hoping hadn't damaged the blossom.
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Q

  • Joined Apr 2013
Re: Is anyone else seeing low stone fruit yields this year?
« Reply #2 on: July 15, 2016, 05:50:20 pm »
I have just been eating the first few ripe cherries but I agree - hardly anything on the cherries and plums compared to last year.
Now thinking the year before that was quite poor so I may have been spoilt by a bumper year last year.
If you cant beat 'em then at least bugger 'em about a bit.

Lesley Silvester

  • Joined Sep 2011
  • Telford
Re: Is anyone else seeing low stone fruit yields this year?
« Reply #3 on: July 16, 2016, 12:54:41 am »
Mine are poor as well. A few plums on one tree. There are cherries but not that many and those are small.

sabrina

  • Joined Nov 2008
Re: Is anyone else seeing low stone fruit yields this year?
« Reply #4 on: July 28, 2016, 10:34:21 am »
I had loads of flowers on my three apple trees but no sign of any apples. I am thinking this is down to the cold May and June we had. Just about everything in my veg plot is way behind. My leeks look as if they are not long planted. Things in the pollytunnel are doing much better. I feel as if all my hard work planting outside has been a waste of time. This is the 2nd year we have had very poor results due to water logged ground and cold weather. No sign of butterflies and very few bees.

Victorian Farmer

  • Guest
Re: Is anyone else seeing low stone fruit yields this year?
« Reply #5 on: July 28, 2016, 11:22:51 am »
This is the fruit crop in France triying to protect the fruit.

Steph Hen

  • Joined Jul 2013
  • Angus Scotland.
Re: Is anyone else seeing low stone fruit yields this year?
« Reply #6 on: July 29, 2016, 04:50:02 pm »
Plum tree is laden for first time in about 5 years and been nibbling the wild cherries. No apples, but that's because goats hammered the saplings!  :goat:

Possum

  • Joined Feb 2012
  • Somerset
Re: Is anyone else seeing low stone fruit yields this year?
« Reply #7 on: July 29, 2016, 09:35:00 pm »
Cherries have been fine, but very few plums. Many that we do have are rotting on the tree. I suspect it is all the damp weather we have been having. Oh for a long hot spell...................................

waterbuffalofarmer

  • Joined Apr 2014
  • Mid Wales
  • Owner of 61 Mediterranean water buffaloes
Re: Is anyone else seeing low stone fruit yields this year?
« Reply #8 on: July 29, 2016, 11:24:39 pm »
Well our damsons, we have tons upon tons every year, I don't know what the situation is like this year, I haven't looked but will soon and report back  :thinking:
« Last Edit: July 30, 2016, 12:27:29 pm by waterbuffalofarmer »
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Lesley Silvester

  • Joined Sep 2011
  • Telford
Re: Is anyone else seeing low stone fruit yields this year?
« Reply #9 on: July 30, 2016, 12:06:36 am »
On the other hand, my jostaberry is a mass of fruit. Also a mass of sparrows tucking in.

devonlady

  • Joined Aug 2014
Re: Is anyone else seeing low stone fruit yields this year?
« Reply #10 on: July 30, 2016, 10:45:44 am »
Go to a toy shop and buy a couple of rubber snakes. Put them on your bushes/canes and move them every night, they will keep birds off your fruit, guaranteed!

Q

  • Joined Apr 2013
Re: Is anyone else seeing low stone fruit yields this year?
« Reply #11 on: July 30, 2016, 03:05:56 pm »
Go to a toy shop and buy a couple of rubber snakes. Put them on your bushes/canes and move them every night, they will keep birds off your fruit, guaranteed!
I will have to try that -  Just a question though - do I warn the OH when she comes to pick the raspberries or do I just film it?   :innocent:
If you cant beat 'em then at least bugger 'em about a bit.

Lesley Silvester

  • Joined Sep 2011
  • Telford
Re: Is anyone else seeing low stone fruit yields this year?
« Reply #12 on: July 31, 2016, 12:04:07 am »
Go to a toy shop and buy a couple of rubber snakes. Put them on your bushes/canes and move them every night, they will keep birds off your fruit, guaranteed!


Now there's an idea.  :idea:



I will have to try that -  Just a question though - do I warn the OH when she comes to pick the raspberries or do I just film it?   :innocent:


Naughty.   ;D

 

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