Kendall Farms | Olives

Olea Europaea

The Olive is a species of small tree in the family Oleaceae, native to coastal areas of the eastern Mediterranean region, from Lebanon and the maritime parts of Asia Minor and northern Iran at the south end of the Caspian Sea. Its use as a major agricultural product in preclassical Greece led to its wider distribution throughout the western Mediterranean. Olive trees show a marked preference for calcareous soils, flourishing best on limestone slopes and crags, and coastal climate conditions

The olive is one of the earliest plants cited in recorded literature. In Homer's Odyssey, Odysseus crawls beneath two shoots of olive that grow from a single stock. Horace mentions it in reference to his own diet, which he describes as very simple: "Me pascunt olivae, me cichorea, me malvae" ("As for me, olives, endives, and mallows provide sustenance."). Pliny the Elder told of a sacred Greek olive tree that was 1600 years old, while others claim that some of the specimens in the Garden of Gethsemane date back to the time of Jesus. Some Italian olive trees have been credited with an antiquity reaching back to the Roman empire; but the age of such ancient trees is doubtful during growth, and their identity with old descriptions still more difficult to establish. Lord Monboddo comments on the olive in 1779 as one of the foods preferred by the ancients and as one of the most perfect foods.

The olive has been used since ancient times for the making of olive oil and for eating of the fruit, which, being bitter in its natural state, are typically subjected to fermentation or cured with lye or brine to be made more palatable. Green olives and black olives are soaked in a solution of sodium hydroxide and then washed thoroughly in water to remove oleuropein, a naturally bitter carbohydrate.

Then green olives may be allowed to ferment before they are packed in a brine solution. Black olives are not allowed to ferment before packaging, which is why they taste milder than most green olives. Green olives that do not ferment before packing taste as mild as black olives.

It is not known when olives were first cultivated for harvest. Among the earliest evidence for the domestication of olives comes from the Chalcolithic Period archaeological site of Teleilat Ghassul in what is today modern Jordan.

The plant and its products are frequently referred to in the Bible and by the earliest poets. The ancient agriculturists believed that olive trees would not succeed if planted more than a short distance from the sea; Theophrastus gives 300 stadia (55.6 km) as the limit. Modern experience does not always confirm this, and, though showing a preference for the coast, it has long been grown further inland in some areas with suitable climates, particularly in the south-western Mediterranean (Iberia, northwest Africa) where winters are less severe.

Also, olive oil is recommended by Muhammad the Prophet of Islam. "Consume olive oil and anoint it upon your bodies since it is of the blessed tree". He also stated that it cures seventy diseases.

Olives are now cultivated in many regions of the world such as South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Mediterranean Basin and California. Considerable research has been done to support the health benefits of eating olives and olive oil. The olive trees here are:

Olives can be grown in either the ground or a pot.

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Olive - Arbequina

A Spanish variety of fruiting olive, this attractive evergreen tree is self-fertile and begins cropping very early. It is prized for both the olives and the oil. Medium vigour and compact shape makes it ideal for backyards. Performs well in warm climates

Olive - UC13 (our recommended variety)

Named by the University of California where it was first selected this large fruiting type has a small stone that produces heavy crops in hot climates. A spreading tree and good consistent cropper

Olive - Barouni

Produces good sized fruit, one of the best fresh olives. Consistent bearer of good crops. Spreading tree, easy harvesting. Does well in both cold and warmer climates. Mid to late season.

CULTURAL NOTES

The olive tree adapts relatively well to a wide range of soils, but it prefers a balanced or neutral soil, with a pH reading of around 6.5 to 8.0. Even when the olive tree may tolerate saline conditions better than many other crops, extremely salty or sodic soils should be avoided.

Olives have a relatively shallow root system and consequently they only require a 1.0 to 1.5 metre deep soil profile without any serious physical limitation. Olives prefer moderately fine textured soils ranging from sandy to silty clay loamy soils. It is essential that regardless the texture of the soil, it must be well drained and aerated.

If potting (and olives grow particularly well in containers) a premium potting mix (80%) with a 15% addition of sandy loam / soil is ideal-but regardless of planting in either the ground or pot the addition of about 5% of the plant hole or pot should contain blue metal in the mix.

Olives leech the natural minerals from blue metal plus it tends to aid drainage. Seaweed extract (soluble) is their preferred feed.