First and foremost I would like to thank @sirenahippie for the amazing work you are doing. also, I would like to thank @marivic10 that with her post inspired me to write my own entry.
I have not purchased any oil in over 5 years. I grow my own oil and hence I am not sure my post qualifies. I am happy to share it anyway.
-> Dedico un video al final del post para nuestros miembros Hispano hablantes. (I dedicate a video at the end of this post to our Spanish speaking members)
Quality olive oil hardens when temperatures are low. a good indication of its purity. our oil is 0.3 ph in acidity which makes it an Extra Virgin Olive Oil.
The harvest in 2021 was a record in its yield.
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Producing Olive Oil involves a lot of work. in our climate, most of the work is done in winter.
the harvest is usually just before Christmas, often in conditions of cold, rain and wind. it can get fairly miserable, depending on the year.
usually we harvest in groups, this way we have company and it is easier to get to the minimum weight required by the pressing mills. also, it seems easier to be wet and cold in a group ; )
traditionally, here in Portugal, most people prune at the same time. often cutting down branches and then harvesting them on the ground.
personally, I prune separately which allows to finish picking faster and then pruning when the weather is fair.
pruning is done in winter for a reason too.
when cutting a branch, we create a wound. due to the colder temperatures, they are less likely to get infected as there are less bacterias and insects present at that time.
pruning of the Olive trees provide a nice amount of good quality firewood. In average, we get a wheelbarrow of firewood per tree.
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We have 3 varieties of olives.
· Galega, the smallest one is the best for oil both in yield and taste.
· Bical is a medium sized one, also used for oil, but can also be conserved.
· Cordovil (called after "Cordoba" in Spain, it´s place of origin) is a large round olive which is the best to conserve. we use it in our oil too.
Our oil, once pressed, is stored here. out of direct sun light to preserve its quality.
It does not get as cold in here and the oil remains liquid.
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The olive trees suffer from minor health issues like the Olive Tuberculosis (Bacterium savastanoi) that I currently try treating with Lakhovski coil (An Electroculture technic).
the farm is managed as a biological / organic farm. hence there are no chemicals being used, no till, no burn. all material pruned is left to slowly decay back to soil.
One of the best ways to conserve olives for several years is in big barrels of salty water. in this photo are the Cordovil variety.
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Finally, I have made a video going over all of the above for our Spanish speaking members:
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thank you for stopping by.
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