Hello friends grateful for this great initiative of @sirknight to share this great challenge #celestialchallenge on this Saturday of agriculture I will talk a little about the cultivation of olive trees
Today, olives are grown commercially or for personal use throughout the world. Although an olive tree can live more than 1000 years, like many plants, certain conditions must be met for the tree to thrive.
Olives crops thrive in climates with mild winters and long, dry summers. Frosts will kill many olive trees if care is not taken. Temperatures that reach -6 ° C (22 ° F) can damage small branches, while longer branches and even whole trees can die if the temperature drops to -9 ° C (15 ° F). However, olive trees need a certain amount of cold. The proper development of flowers depends on whether the climate reaches 7 ° C (45 ° F) or less, although this number alternates with olive varieties. Check the pH of the soil and adapt it if necessary. Many farmers believe that the ideal number is 6.5. Look for areas with good drainage. Observe how water affects the soil in the area where you want to grow. Olive trees thrive in areas that have good drainage. Plant the olive trees in the spring. Water the olive trees moderately or as needed. The frequency with which you water the tree can be determined based on the product you want to obtain: fruit or oil. If you are going to cultivate to obtain fruit, water the trees more frequently (from a week to every two or three weeks). If you are going to cultivate to obtain oil, water the trees less frequently. This will help to concentrate the flavor of the oil. Prune the trees regularly. You do not prune the young trees very often. For the first four years, only remove the lateral branches that grow below 91 cm (3 feet). As the trees mature, they will take their full form and you can eliminate weak or unwanted branches. However, early pruning should be as minimal as possible to avoid delaying the growth of a tree.
Wait several years until the trees begin to bear fruit. Well watered trees will start to bear fruit 2 or 3 times faster than dry race trees. Although some cultivars begin to bear fruit as soon as after 2 or 3 years if properly maintained, many trees will not begin to bear fruit until they reach 10 years. Decide when to collect. The olive trees will begin to take on a greenish color and over time they will become purple as they mature. The olives that are harvested when they are still green have a spicy, pasty or more herbaceous flavor, while the olives that are harvested when they acquire a darker color have a lighter and buttery flavor. Many oils are a mixture of green and ripe olives that are harvested just when they are changing color. Decide the type of olive you want and wait until they have that color to collect them.
Keep in mind that you can not eat olives directly from a tree. Most of them must be salted, which means that they must be soaked in salt water, before they can be available for consumption.
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Note: @sirknight started a contest and its daily theme's are:
Sunday-Light
Monday-Darkness
Tuesday-AnimalKingdom
Wednesday-Structures
Thursday-ForcesinNature
Friday-LoveBeautyFreedom
Saturday-Agriculture
