Help! How long will my plums last on the tree?

[ShoeWhore]

Very excited as in its third year my plum tree has a very impressive crop of tiny purple plums! We tried a few tonight and they were just on the firmer side of ripe (we left some on that felt harder as well)

Not sure what to do with them all as we are off on hols on Friday. I will be gutted if I get back and they have all fallen off! Do I need to pick them and do something with them to freeze or will they sit there happily for a couple of weeks?

Watching with interest.
We've just moved into a garden with 3 plum trees laden with fruit. Ours aren't ripe yet though. I've never had plum trees before so have no idea what to expect/do.

Watch them and gently prod daily and the instant they show signs of ripening, get them off.

If you don't, the wasps will. Nothing worse than picking a plum (or gage) and discovering the hole too late to avoid the furious buzzy thing that just came out...

I doubt they will sit happily for a couple of weeks. We have a plum tree and the plums are mainly green, on the way to purple but some have already been attacked by wasps, creepy crawly things and gone rotten. Some have grown in clusters touching each other which seems to rot them even quicker.

Better get picking them then! Will mention it to my neighbour who is feeding the cat but she's not usually keen on picking stuff from the garden for some reason!

Sorry forgot to say thank you!