North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

[Mike Levine <mlevine@umich.edu>]

Once again, I have a bumper crop of ume plums on my tree.  I've never eaten
any because they won't ripen to sweetness and it took me a few years to
realize that.  Does anyone know how to tell when they are ready for picking
to make pickled umeboshi plums?  One reference I found said the 2nd half of
June, but I'm not sure what climate that was in.  .  Any advice, recipes,
ideas would be appreciated.  I wouldn't mind making something sweet out of
them too.  From the looks of it, I'm going to have A LOT of plums.

Thanks,
Mike Levine
Ann Arbor, MI
Zone 5b (USDA changed us to 6, but I'm not convinced)