Richmond gardens burst with Santa Rosa plums as harvest season begins
June marks the beginning of plum season for admirers of the Santa Rosa plum, which is bountiful in Northern California and in and around Richmond, offering trees heavy with fruit ready for the picking and the possibility of a culinary adventure — or two.
The Santa Rosa plum, named for its city of origin, is an heirloom Japanese plum envisioned by horticulturist Luther Burbank in 1906; it remains a staple of backyard orchards, is abundant in local stores and farmers' markets from June through the end of August, and sometimes longer depending on the harvest.
Famous for its juicy, sweet, and sometimes tart flavor, the Santa Rosa plum makes a fabulous jam, a delightful fruit tart, or a cobbler, and is great to eat right off the tree.
Richmond, with its cold, foggy summers, can feel more like a fall day in Boston or Chicago than a summer day in California, leading some to believe that growing fruit and vegetables here is some kind of feat of amazement. In reality, Richmond, even with the persistent wind and fog, enjoys a mild, Mediterranean climate conducive to growing everything from apples and oranges to tomatoes, onions, artichokes, and more.
Planting a garden sometimes has a reputation for being a time-consuming pursuit, but it doesn't have to be. Seeds can be started in February and March to be transplanted at some point in April or when the threat of frost has passed. After that, quick sprinkles of water each day are the only real requirement.
Situated between USDA Hardiness Zones 9b and 10a, even the winter months in Richmond can produce several varieties of lettuce, broccoli, and even garlic — all of which will thrive easily in your backyard garden with only a little effort.
On a recent sunny Saturday morning, a mere 30 minutes of picking on a twenty-year-old plum tree netted almost half of a bag of fruit in various stages of ripeness. Now what to do with all those plums?
A brief consultation resulted in the decision to make jam from the harvest — a process that may conjure images of a full day spent in a steamy kitchen while furiously boiling plums and jars.
But today's canning methods are improved and much quicker. So much so that the whole process, depending on quantity, takes about an hour and a half, from slicing and boiling the fruit to filling the sanitized jars and processing them.
With several jars of tangy plum happiness cooling on the kitchen counter, another need arose; something to smear with jam. Hot scones, whipped up in less than an hour and served with 2 or 3 cups (who's counting?) of fresh coffee, make for a nice Sunday morning, leaving time to ponder the next garden adventure. What's growing in your garden, readers? Drop us an email and let us know.
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