70lbs of plums from a single 100-year-old tree

For more than 100 years, a plum tree at the Alderson family's south Shropshire farm has produced little more than a few pounds of fruit each harvest.

But now the family is stunned after the tree left them with 70lbs of plums – 23 times more than the 3lbs it delivered last year. Rob Alderson, who farms at Onibury, near Craven Arms, and his partner Jen have been busy transforming the fruit into preserves.

No-one is exactly sure how old the tree is, but the orchard is on maps dating back to 1840.

Livestock farmer Mr Alderson, 51, said this year's bumper harvest of plums and other fruit in his orchard was the most they had ever been left with.

The tree which produced the mammoth crop is believed to be a Santa Rosa variety and was planted in the 19th century when the plot originally had a cottage on it.

Mr Alderson, National Farmers' Union county chairman, said he had early memories of the tree being there but had never known it produce so much fruit.

He said: "Although our focus here is livestock, our orchards and the other fruit bearing areas of the county have had an abundant crop this year which is great news for farmers, growers and county shoppers.

"The fact the tree has produced a staggering 70lbs of plums is mind-boggling as usually it is only manages two or three.

"We've also left a fair amount on the tree for the wildlife as they also appreciate a good harvest."

Mr Alderson, whose family have been at the farm since 1918, has maps dating back to 1840 which shows the orchard and the house next to it.

He added: "This tree is really old and may have been planted by the people that lived in the house in the 19th century or it could have sprung up from that original tree.

"Although there's no evidence in the field now of the house having existed, it's great the trees remain and today we are harvesting and enjoying the fruit in the same way the people who lived there then probably did."

This year's plum crop, harvested a few weeks ago, is thought to have been so exceptional due to a lack of frost and lots of sunshine.

"I think the reason we have had so may plums this year is because we had no later frost. We normally get some in May but this year we didn't," Mr Alderson said.