My one olive

Congratulations!I'm sure you'll have more next year.

Better than none Kate! And it looks a good size. My Apricot tree couldn’t even produce a bud this year 🙁.

Aw, it needed more sunshine, like us..

Thanks Julia I hope so 🙏
We had none last year, but 3 the year previously. I guess 2022 was the year of the hot, hot summer.

Thank you, Sheila. You're right! I was chuffed to be honest.
I'm sorry to hear about your Apricot :-(
I wonder, would it be connected to our very wet winter and spring?

Janey, you're probably right there!

Better one than none!

Thanks Bernie! You're right, I was chuffed to see it!

Kate, we had over forty olive trees where we used to live and they needed regular pruning to promote flower production and to make the olives a decent size. In Catalunya they were pruned into a canopy shape and not so tall so the olives could be harvested easily. The flowers in the spring were a limey green. The swathes on the hillsides were beautiful with the silvery leaves too.

That sounds incredible Janey ... did you have friends to help with the pruning? It must have been a treat to have your own olive oil!

We did it ourselves to be honest Sheila. Everyone was busy doing their trees at the same time. 😁
Because we had only around forty we waited till there were more olives coming. It was a cooperative in the hill village nearby. There had to be a minimum weight before they started pressing. It was great to have such fresh virgin olive oil though and knowing it was partly from our trees.

The hill village was famed for it's honey with so many types and products available in the local shops and a wonderful Miele shop with a honey fountain and bee hives with a glass fronted screen where you could see the bees coming and going about their daily life.

Kate,

You should consider yourself lucky you only have one olive. Olive trees can produce thousands of olives on one tree and make a huge mess. The trees grow extremely fast, putting on over 6 ft of growth per year (here in San Diego, anyway).

What a fantastic experience Janey … the things we did when we were younger eh?! x And marvellous to be part of a cooperative 🙂. Great memories for you.

Janey, how wonderful!!!! Like your own orchard of Olive trees! Sounds really lovely being able to have your own olive oil produced too! You convey it so well, it must be have been a very picturesque view 🤗

Thanks Andy, I appreciate what you've relayed! It would certainly be overwhelming in my small garden! I would like a few more I have to be honest! But, thousands...crikey, thankfully here, it'll grow at a nice, slow pace. 👍

Kate,

I guess a couple dozen olives would be good. 😊

Down the street from me 8 olive trees were planted two years ago, they were 5 to 6 ft tall and now they are about 20 ft tall.