Greengages

recovering_spendaholic

I absolutely love greengages and up until last year, every time they were in season Sainsburys always sold them loose. Last year they didn't get them because the manager said they weren't a popular line. I was wondering if you can grow them?- I looked in my local nursery and they only had regular plum trees. For this year though do any of you know where I might get them as I think they are in season now?

Debt_Free_Chick

Oh yes .... there's a Greengage tree in the field at the end of my garden and my neighbour lets us take what we want

We just place a large sheet at the base of the trunk, shake the tree and they just fall off :j

Brogdale Horticultural Trust hosts the National Fruit Collection so that would be a good place to start research. They can supply rootstock too - mostly old fashioned heritage varieties. The Greengages are on page 8 of this catalogue and cost £15 each. They are classed as a type of plum and you can buy them online here.

The online shop seems to have more Gage varieties than those listed in the catalogue. If you give them a call you'll find them very helpful - they are the Country's fruit experts, after all

twink

yuor best bet would be a local greengrocer i would think and yes you can grow them i am in ne scotland and a big house that we went to for cooking apples grew lovely greengages

Debt_Free_Chick

recovering_spendaholic wrote:

For this year though do any of you know where I might get them as I think they are in season now?

Where abouts are you? A farm shop would be your best bet.

recovering_spendaholic

Debt_Free_Chick wrote:

Where abouts are you? A farm shop would be your best bet.

I'm in Crosby, about half way between Liverpool and Southport.

tawnyowls

Absolutely. I have 5 at the moment, 2 of which are groaning under the weight of rapidly swelling greengages. Morrison's sell young trees for under a fiver - usually in a box just inside the door with the other plant stuff. May be called something like 'gage plum'. Will take a couple of years to fruit, as they're quite young. Otherwise, any decent-sized garden centre will sell trees.

troll35

I've never been able to understand why greengages are not more popular. When (and if ) you can get them they are by far and away the tastiest plums that supermarkets have to offer. In fact the only plums that rival greengages (in my own humble opinion) are those off my SIL's victoria plum trees and that will be because we pick them ripe as opposed to the need for supermarket fruit being picked early.

thriftlady_2

This might be of help for the long term future

http://www.keepers-nursery.co.uk/

I can usually get greengages and all sorts of other plums from local farmshops here in Worcestershire.

newleaf

We got our Greengage tree delivered from a mail order company, sorry can't remember which one but there are loads if you Google or look in the back of a Gardeners World magazine. Autumn is the right time to plant them too. Ours has fruited this year for the first time (it's a couple of years since we put it in).

Dobie

I've had greengages in my organic fruit box today & I've never had them before so I'm not certain what to do with them?
Are they only for pies & fruit fool type things? Do they need cooking or can you eat them as they are? Will I need to sweeten them?
That's how ingnorant I am about them so any help will be much appreciated. Thanks very much
Dobie

newleaf

They are sweet plums. Try one and see.;)