My plums are smaller this year

I hate to brag but I’ve got big ones! Lots of them too, which was surprising as there didn’t seem to be much blossom and it didn’t last 5 minutes. Our plums won’t be ripe for at least a couple of weeks though.

I've gone by the book this year and thinned the clumps of plums on my 3 year old plum tree.
Instructions say to do that so what's left can grow bigger.
I wish I hadn't done that now as I've had to snip off loads and I've not got all that many left now. The branches were drooping and I was afraid they would break. That's what happened to another Victoria plum tree I had. I took it out in the end.
Some of the leaves this year have rust? I Googled the problem. Some posts say to spray it in the Spring and some say to leave it as it does no harm to the tree.
Does anyone have any advice please?
I'm beginning to think it's more bother than what it's worth.

MawBe

I hope nobody is growing melons ?

No plums or pears this year, as the late frosts destroyed the blossom. We do have some crab apples though.

We now have about 16kg of plums and they’re not all picked yet.
Latest cull this am.

Laughed my head off at that!

Mawbe i have melons in the greenhouse!

I was inundated with pears last year I have three on my tree this year I think the high winds in late spring blew all the blossom off

Slugs gobble courgettes I think Jane

I have had a plum tree for years and always understood that you got a good crop every second year, Last year there were so many heavy plums that a couple of branches were torn off during a storm. This year much smaller crop but I expect a bumper crop next year. Fortunately I have a friend whose tree is on a different 2 year cycle so she gets some of my excess (for jam and chutney) one year and repays the favour the next year.

Interesting that you've posted this today, my roofer admired my plums yesterday!

Good point that they are poisonous for dogs, my dog ate some grapes by accident earlier this year and was extremely poorly.

Lol,i wish mine were!.

and something has gobbled up all of our courgettes. I thought it might be our rather fat, resident hedgehogs but it seems more likely to be rabbits

yes, ours are like the children's lunchbox ones too

JaneJudge Our pears are never really big so there doesn’t seem to be much difference this year. They remind me of the ‘children’s packs’ in Asda. They aren’t ripe yet, so there’s time.

our pears are tiny as well

Mollygo

I never thought of plums a different way. ??
There’s no shortage of fruit, just that this pic shows the big ones. Lots of them are like big grapes and they’re already falling off.

Ah Mollygo - to the pure all things are pure! ?

The plums.

I never thought of plums a different way. ??
There’s no shortage of fruit, just that this pic shows the big ones. Lots of them are like big grapes and they’re already falling off.

My mind drifted into that area too

Bumper crop last year and absolutely none this year.. very strange

I hope nobody is growing melons ?

Our apples are tiny. Only a very few of the wild blackberries have developed this year.

We had absolutely none last year.
There’s a good crop this year but they haven’t ripened. They are usually ripe by the end of July. ?

Excuse me laughing OP but I must have a one track mind too!
?????

We no longer have fruit trees or dogs sadly. When we did have, fortunately the dogs ignored any fallen fruit, surprising for greedy labradors.

I saw a video once of badgers completely drunk after eating fermented plums- they love them.

I have a lovely painting here entitled 'The Plum Badgers' which I love.