Olive oil from The Olive Farm
Up to three tons of extra-virgin oil, from four hundred trees
Every year we produce anything up to three tons of unfiltered, cold-pressed, extra-virgin olive oil from our four hundred trees. We farm regeneratively as much as possible, feeding the soil and building the soil microbiome is our mission, and the trees seem grateful for it.
The oil comes back from the local press a deep, rich green colour, with flavours of hay and fruits and flowers - every year is different, so hard to describe accurately.
Because olive oil is an internationally traded commodity, the price varies daily - let us know where you are and how much you want, and we will get you an accurate quote.
Unfortunately we have not been able to find a cost-effective way of sending small batches yet, so you will probably want to order at least fifty kilos.
Staying with us? Ask about buying oil to take home. It travels well in a suitcase if you pack it properly, and we will tell you how.
Stone terraces, and trees of every age
Most of our trees were planted in the 1950s, when growing wheat and barley became uneconomic. The fertile terraces thus became olive groves, and the few ancient, huge olive trees suddenly had competition from young upstarts, now into their 70s and at prime production age. The land borders ancient mixed forest, which benefits our trees with wind-pollinated strength from their “wild” cousins.
From tree to tin
Starting in March, a light pruning of all the trees is carried out - this is to allow air movement through the tree to encourage pollination by wind, reduce overshadowing (branches in shade never develop fruit), and reduce pest damage by removing any safe haven of cool, shady thickets inside the tree. The rule of thumb is that a swallow should be able to fly between the branches, or alternatively the pruner should be able to climb into the tree without knocking off their hat.
In April the flowers form, and May is the vital month where the flowers open, the fruit sets, and the weather can make or break the harvest. We want no rain, so the flowers can set, but we urgently need rain to water the trees - always a conundrum, and you get what you are given.
Over the summer the trees grow on their own, with no help from us other than keeping the weeds in control and the ground clear.
October is preparation for the harvest - clear the ground to make sure we can spread nets easily, remove any recalcitrant suckers from around the trunks, and get all the equipment serviced and ready.
November: “Let the wild rumpus start!” Huge sheets spread under trees, and the chainsaw madness begins: essentially, any branch full of olives is cut off - there is more to it than that, but more than half the canopy can be removed on a very full tree. Olives are knocked off the branches by machine, by hand, with a stick - anything that works. All the olives end up on the sheets, which are then gathered in, olives poured into sacks, sheets spread under the next tree, and the process begins again. And again, and again.
Every evening the day’s haul is taken to the local press, where the olives are crushed, mashed, and the resulting porridge stirred to encourage microscopic oil globules to combine until big enough to be separated. One 50kg sack may contain seven and a half to eight kilos of cold-pressed, extra-virgin olive oil. Green gold. We pick our olives early, for better quality, vivid-green oil with aromas of hay, and flowers, and fruit. Every year is different.
After the harvest, we have to clear up the mess. Larger branches are cut up for “free” firewood for the house, and the rest chipped to go back into the earth as part of our soil regeneration programme. If all has gone to plan, by February this has been finished, so we are ready once again to prune the trees and train the new shoots in readiness for their eventual harvest the year after next. Hopefully the tree will still have some of its last year’s growth, which will grow the olives for the new season, as olives bear fruit on the second year’s growth.
