A few weeks ago, I came across one of my favourite Native trees: the Tree Fuchsia. Most people in the world that grow house plants know Fuchsia as an elegant producer of flowers. I took my Dutch Cousin to Banks Peninsula, and he simply thought I was taking the micky: how can you have a Fuchsia species that grows up to 12 meters?

The flowers are beautiful and the bark is outstanding – literally. But the seeds are something else again, dark purple, soft and edible.  

Instead of eating these seeds raw or cooking them into a jam, I felt they were miniature purple plums that could be planted to become new Fuchsia seedlings, and that’s what became my new harvesting project.  

These seeds are tricky to germinate, simply because they are so tiny. Soak them in water as soon as they are soft and ripe, try to remove the flesh or pulp, and spread the seeds on a good, wet seed-raising mix in a shady spot.   

When they germinate, put them into a lighter, warm, moist place and keep your fingers crossed.  

And just a few days ago I noticed our Damson Plums were ripening quickly (despite Canterbury’s awful weather this “summer”). The plums were falling off the tree, so I reported this feature to my Gardener Supreme, and decided to harvest them right-away.  

Now, the “normal” way to harvest these beautiful plums is by going up a ladder and grabbing the fruits within reach, chucking them in a bag before going down the ladder and tossing them in a large bucket on the orchard floor, before climbing back up. 

The “Straight shoots” at the top often do not bear fruit – they are a waste of time climbing.  

After grabbing all the plums, way up high, you can start the process of creating one of the best Jams in the World (see recipe at the end). 

As many people know by now, it’s best to prune stonefruit trees soon after harvest – it keeps the tree shorter and easier to manage next year and it opens the damson tree up to wind and space on the inside.  

I thought: “maybe it’s a good idea to prune at the same time as harvesting!” 

Two birds with one stone and not too long on the ladder with arthritis, etc.  

So far, it’s worked pretty well. Heaps of fruit and much quicker retrieval of the ripe fruits.  

Of course, when consulting Lynda Hallinan’s book on Damsons, I discovered that I was certainly not the first one to come up with that idea.  

And you know what? The Jam that Julie chucked into the jars is absolutely amazing! 

Jam Recipe – a Mix of Lynda Hallinan’s recommendations and Julie’s moderations  

For a kilo of Damson plums:  

1. Boil them up in half a cup of water. 
2. Bring to a gentle simmer, until it’s “red and pulpy”. 
3. Add 750 grams of sugar. Stir until dissolved.  
4. Boil for 10 to 15 minutes… keep an eye on it so it doesn’t get burnt. 
5. Take out all the stones with a slotted spoon or tongs (the reason is simple: those stones can break your teeth!!). 
6. Test the mixture for “setting” – not too tough, please!  
7. Chuck them into the sterilised jars.  

Now think about some croissants from Le Panier filled with damson plum jam!  

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