Are my damsons ripe I have discovered that the tree on my allotment which I tried to identify on this site a while ago is a damson tree

They are delicious when ripe. Are you quite sure it's not a sloe rather than a damson?

I always thought they were ready to eat in September. they need to be dark purple when ripe. none of my sloes are ripe yet either. but I'm in East Yorks.

Thanks for the advice so far. Yes snoopdog that was the photo of the tree. I'm sure they're not sloes as they do seem quite large.

Sloes aren't buckthorn, they're blackthorn. The difference is what they'll do to your stomach if you choose the wrong one! Blackthorn is a plum. Buckthorns come from different genera (rhamnus and frangula). One is of a purging nature, and if you use the berries (they are very small) in gin it'll hurry the body processes alarmingly!

I live in the South and the damsons on my trees are not ripe yet. They are usually ready for picking in mid to late September, but this year I think it will be towards the end of September.

its easy to tell damsons from blackthorn. blackthorn have spines up to 2" long in some cases. so if there are no thorns it isn't blackthorn.

Gosh Bilbo I always assumed you were a fella! (Sorry to send you all off on the sloe track - it was just a thought)