An update of the project status. I’ve been busy health issues, and been going into a slow mode.
June 2 Updates
I checked the ume on May 27, and this was the ongoing status. The two bleach-treated batches were moldy, and the one that cleaned off better was less moldy. So neither overcame their mold. The fallen fruit batch was basically not moldy. A few days later, some spots of mold appeared on the water, but I changed the water, and the problem was solved (at least until June 2).
I dug a hole and put the moldy fruit and water into there, and buried them. If something comes up, great. I don’t expect anything. It will acidify the soil a lot, though, and that’s a good thing.
The other fruit will be cleaned off and put into bags of perlite, labeled, and refrigerated for three months to stratify and germinate.
We’ve been having the June gloom, so I cannot put the ume out to dry, but once this lifts, it’ll be time to expose the ume to the hot sun to complete ripening.
May 17 Updates
Growing from Seed
I finally got the molded fruit into water. Here’s the status:
Record of Plums
| Batch | Prep, Pressing Vessel | Storage |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | Wash, bag in enamel pot. Molded. | |
| 2nd | Wash, plastic bowl. Several ume molded, but overall OK. | Large jar. |
| 3rd 1 | Wash, remove stems, plastic dish pan. Several ume molded. | Smaller open mouth vase. |
| 3rd 2 | Molded ones cleaned off, and re-pressed with some diluted sake and salt. | Drying |
| 4th 1 | Broken/fallen fruit. Washed, cut, soaked in sake to arrest spoilage. Packed in brown sugar. Pickle jar. | Pickle jar. |
| 4th 2 | Same prep. Smaller ginger bottle. | Ginger bottle. |
| 5th | Small batch, cleaned, washed. Salted and pressed in Tupperware. Low on vinegar, had to add salt and water to cover fruit. | 2 Kimchi bottles. |
| Batch | Description | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Fallen Fruit | Ripe fruit dropped into bucket of water. Starting around May 9. | Soaking |
| Moldy 1 | Moldy salted, but cleaned off after bleach. Starting May 12. | Soaking |
| Moldy 2 | Moldy salted, but didn’t fully clean off after bleach. Starting May 12. | Soaking |
The fallen fruit has been soaking several days, and it’s ripened a lot. The bleached ume were photographed the day after they started soaking on the night of May 15th (today is the morning of the 17th).
Some mold has formed on top of the bucket of fallen fruit.
I’m going to pour off the moldy water into the compost patch, and put in fresh water.
The fruit is soft, and probably ready to be scrubbed clean and refrigerated in vermiculite… but I don’t have any vermiculite.
I’m using these instructions from Brent on BonsaiNut.
Air Layering
I’m also going to try air layering, a technique to induce rooting along a strong branch, and then removing the branch, and planting it in a pot.
Supplies: peat moss, vermiculite (optional), rooting hormone, string, plastic bags.
I’m looking around the web for examples with prunus mume.
Here are some references copied from an air layering article from The Bloomup:
Air Layering Is an Easy Way to Multiply Houseplants—Here’s How
Air Layering: Propagating Difficult-Rooting Plants
Air Layering: Propagating Plants
How to Propagate Houseplants by Air Layering and Simple Layering
Air Layering Makes Propagating Your Favorite Plants a Cinch—Here’s How