Gourmet olive oil does not happen by hazard, it is the product of careful management of the olive groves and even more careful processing. This article will look at the growing process of olives that will make it into the best gourmet olive oil.
The most extreme weather elements are no obstacle for the olive tree. They can withstand intense sun, long days with hot summers, as well as little water during the mild winters. The olive tree will actually control its growing in order to adjust to drought or excessively humid weather elements. Oddly enough, poor soil conditions as well as enriched soil conditions can actually make for higher quality products such as gourmet olive oil. These trees are low maintenance and they need little irrigation, fertilization, or pruning. The olive tree grows best in the northern and southern hemispheres somewhere between latitudes 30 and 45.
Frigid conditions, such as near freezing temperatures, are no problem for this hardy crop. However, this is only true if the conditions persist no more than a few days. Freezing temperatures that go on and on for days can have a major negative impact. These temperatures can damage a crop to the point of immediate failure. The recovery time can take many years since olive trees don’t typically bear fruit quickly. In 1985, a major frost in Tuscany destroyed olive grower’s crops and those crops are just now making a comeback.
The wind can also be an enemy of the olive tree. If the wind is too strong, it can knock off the buds of the tiny white flowers that become its fruits. This will obviously reduce what is yielded from the crop.
The most desirable weather conditions for an olive tree are strong sunlight and lots of it. Every part of the tree needs the sun to bear more abundantly.
The trees do need to be pruned and pruned in such a way that they will bear fruit in clusters rather than spread out randomly. This “cluster pruning” style of pruning results in more efficient production as “picking” is far easier this way.
Once picking has begun and the harvest is piled high, the olives are ready for the next phase which is cleaning and processing and then off to your grocer’s shelf.
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