Pruning, spraying and irrigationSpring is a wonderful time on an olive grove (and most farms). The harvest is well behind us, the cows have an abundance of grass, the trees are growing and setting buds for next years crops. We have been busy pruning the trees, by far the most time consuming job in the grove. We will finish in mid-October and then prune all of the suckers again in January.
Being an organic grove we are very careful with what we spray. In early September each year we spray the grove with white oil (to suffocate the scale) and organic copper (to prevent fungal diseases). Non-organic farmers will spray insecticides at this time of year, however these chemicals also wipe out all of the beneficial wasps, butterflies, dragon flies, etc. We don't need any space suits on our farm when we spray. I don't even wear a mask. I don't need to!
You'll also notice that many vineyards and groves will spray round-up at this time of year to kill off all of the weeds and reduce the competition for their trees/vines. I don't mind a few weeds under the trees as they add carbon and other nutrients to the soil so I choose to pull out any noxious weeds by hand and leave nature to sort the rest out. As a result we are left with a great mix of native grasses that outcompete the weeds in our Grove (see photo below). We also mulch all of the prunings and leave them between the rows so that carbon is returned to the soil.
Spring is also the time to turn on the irrigation. Every year we start irrigating on the 1st of October, regardless of any recent or predicted rainfall events and will water the trees every second night until mid-April. We give each tree about 25% of the recommended water in a compromise between quality and quantity. The best tasting olive oil is where there has been very low rainfall/irrigation, however the downside is there won't be much olive oil to actually taste.
Want a great way to preserve your fresh herbs? Try chopping them up and placing them into ice cube trays, then fill with Extra Virgin Olive Oil and place in the freezer. This is also how I make "butter" out of EVOO. Just place it in a shallow dish then either refrigerate or freeze it to create a firm block of EVOO that is ready to spread onto toast!
Being an organic grove we are very careful with what we spray. In early September each year we spray the grove with white oil (to suffocate the scale) and organic copper (to prevent fungal diseases). Non-organic farmers will spray insecticides at this time of year, however these chemicals also wipe out all of the beneficial wasps, butterflies, dragon flies, etc. We don't need any space suits on our farm when we spray. I don't even wear a mask. I don't need to!
You'll also notice that many vineyards and groves will spray round-up at this time of year to kill off all of the weeds and reduce the competition for their trees/vines. I don't mind a few weeds under the trees as they add carbon and other nutrients to the soil so I choose to pull out any noxious weeds by hand and leave nature to sort the rest out. As a result we are left with a great mix of native grasses that outcompete the weeds in our Grove (see photo below). We also mulch all of the prunings and leave them between the rows so that carbon is returned to the soil.
Spring is also the time to turn on the irrigation. Every year we start irrigating on the 1st of October, regardless of any recent or predicted rainfall events and will water the trees every second night until mid-April. We give each tree about 25% of the recommended water in a compromise between quality and quantity. The best tasting olive oil is where there has been very low rainfall/irrigation, however the downside is there won't be much olive oil to actually taste.
Want a great way to preserve your fresh herbs? Try chopping them up and placing them into ice cube trays, then fill with Extra Virgin Olive Oil and place in the freezer. This is also how I make "butter" out of EVOO. Just place it in a shallow dish then either refrigerate or freeze it to create a firm block of EVOO that is ready to spread onto toast!
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