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Throughout the time that we’ve know each other, I’ve written lots about virgin olive oil: its properties, how to eat it, and other interesting facts. Nevertheless, I’ve told you little about the plant they come from: the olive tree. The truth is that nowadays we don’t know much about the raw material of most of the products that we consume. That’s why I thought it was important to pass on this knowledge and tell you how olives grow.
HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE AN OLIVE TREE TO BEAR FRUIT?
The first think that you to need to know is that it is a mistake to talk about the olive tree in general. Another time I told you about the different types of olive tree that there are: how each one has adapted to a specific ecosystem and how this changes its growth and the fruit that it produces. Therefore,each variety of olive tree takes a different amount of time to bear its fruit.
In order to talk about, how olives grow it is therefore essential to talk about the different varieties. The only problem is that there are so many varieties that I could spend days telling you about the different growth times. That’s why I’ve decided just to tell you about the olives that are used in the best extra virgin olive oil: our very own, Carapelli oils.
HOW THE FINEST OLIVES GROW
The Arbequinaolive has an early flowering time compared with other varieties of olive tree. It takes around three years to produce its first fruit. Once the first olives appear, the olive tree’s productivity increases considerably. It produces fruit constantly, meaning that it is a very fertile variety. This variety offers a delicate and fruity oil.
The Coratina olive varietyis an Italian variety that flowers after approximately five years, although it can take longer. How do Coratina olives grow? They grow to a large size, in fact the olive is characterized by this, as well as its oval and asymmetrical shape. It is harvested when it has turned maroon. The oil from this variety has a strong, bitter, sometimes spicy taste.
The Hojiblanca oliveflowers medium-late. It is used as a black table olive and for olive oil. This variety produces an extra virgin olive oil that delights the palate: it is smooth and sweet at the start, but we soon get a bitter and spicy taste. It produces very pleasant sensations that change in the mouth.
The Picual oliveis notable for being one of the most harvested in Spain. This variety flowers early and its fruit starts to emerge three years after being planted. It is aromatically different from the rest, and its flavor leaves a bitter and spicy taste in the mouth.
Now you know how olives grow that are used in the most select olive oils. I recommend that you try them, find out which best suits your palate and pair them with different foods to find the combination that you like the best.
It takes around three years to produce its first fruit. Once the first olives appear, the olive tree's productivity increases considerably. It produces fruit constantly, meaning that it is a very fertile variety. This variety offers a delicate and fruity oil.
If your Olive Tree isn't fruiting, it might just need some more time! Your Olive Tree needs enough water to stay moist, but shouldn't constantly be soaking. Water your Olive Tree when 25% of the soil volume has dried. Always check the soil before watering.
POLLINATION. Many olive trees are self-fertile and require no pollinator, however some varieties are not. While many olives are self-fertile, generally a pollination partner will increase the size and quality of the harvest.
Frantoio trees are fast-growing and have been proven to crop well in many parts of the world ranging from the cold of Tuscany, Italy to warmer regions.
Remember that olive trees are slow-growing, and it may take a few years before you see significant fruit production. With proper care, your potted olive tree can thrive and even produce olives for you to enjoy.
Young olive trees may require fertilizing after planting, depending on the time of the year (see below). Established olive trees require fertilizer to stay healthy and produce every year. They need a balanced fertilizer with a 16-16-16 nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium ratio or similar.
Look for wilted leaves, discolored foliage, or stunted growth. A mushy trunk or soggy roots suggest overwatering, while dry, brittle leaves might indicate dehydration or death.
PROLIFIC – The olive tree starts bearing fruit at around 5 years of age. A tree in Croatia that is radiocarbon-dated to be 1,600 years old still produces abundant fruit today.
Most olive trees are self-fertile, producing both male and female flowers on the same tree. However, you'll often increase fruit yields by planting a tree of another variety nearby and allow them to cross pollinate.
Olive trees require a Mediterranean-like climate to survive. They need a long, hot summer and a cool, not frigid, winter. A mature tree can survive temperatures down to 15 degrees Fahrenheit for a limited amount of time; sustained cold below 15 degrees can be fatal.
If you've provided your olive tree with a happy home, it will begin to bear fruit when it's around five years old. Bear in mind, however, that it's perfectly normal for olive trees to produce fruit only every other year, or to produce alternating heavy and light crops from year to year.
It can take up to two hundred years for some species of Baobab tree to bear fruit and each tree is different, producing fruits on its own time schedule. Once a Baobab tree produces fruits, the pods will ripen and hang on the tree until they are blown off by strong winds or harvested by humans or animals.
Olive trees are low maintenance plants. They are drought tolerant and prefer dry soil and air, regular watering, and six hours of daily sunlight. Their adaptability means that they are cold hardy, yet can handle warmer temperatures as well.
Some varieties, such as Arbequina and Koroneiki might begin fruiting in about 3 years. Other cultivars do not make fruit until they are five to twelve years old. Most olive cultivars will not produce fruit without a pollinator tree of a different cultivar.
Most olive trees are self-fertile, producing both male and female flowers on the same tree. However, you'll often increase fruit yields by planting a tree of another variety nearby and allow them to cross pollinate.
Introduction: My name is Rueben Jacobs, I am a cooperative, beautiful, kind, comfortable, glamorous, open, magnificent person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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