Traditional olive harvesting

It is this time of year again when everyone around disappears for weeks on end.
in this rural part of Portugal, the olive trees are a very important traditional component of life.
with very little industry anywhere near, this area produces some of the best quality olive oil in the world.
while most traditional orchards are in private hands, intensive orchards slowly creep in covering thousands of hectares that are owned by multinational companies, mostly subsidized by the European Union.

First priority is always the oil. known as one of the best vegetable oils out there and has been around for thousands of years. it is a main component in the mediterranean diet.
first introduced by the Romans, Portugal has some of the oldest trees with some hundreds and even thousands of years old.
on our farm, olives are harvested by hand. the PH is usually 0.3 which places the oil well within the Extra Virgen quality range (up to PH 0.8).

This year we have taken are precious load to a press just across the border in Spain. the press is modern and is considered one of the best in the country for the quality of its processing.
delivery is by appointment and the olives are cold pressed within a few hours. the oil is then ready for collection.

Once the "easy part" is out of the way and oil is secured for the next year or two, then it is time to care for the trees, pruning.

Olive trees are extremely strong and fast growing. they bear hundreds of new branches each season and are completely covered in greenish new growth. these new branches will bear fruit on their second year.
the intense growth of Olive trees create a very dense canopy that is nearly impenetrable for light, air, and farmer.
birds love to nest in them for that very reason.
this density could create problems like fungus that affect the fruit quality and maturing times.

Producing trees need a good pruning every so often to help both light and air find the way in.
normally the center of the tree is cleared for that purpose.
there are no two farmers who prune the same way. it comes down to one´s perception, experience, and style.
other things to bear in mind in this process is not letting main branches branch too far from the central trunk, this way avoiding overweight once fruiting.
even though the Olive wood is hard yet flexible, when fruiting it is been loaded to its limit and can snap in stormy weather.
the hight of the trees is also a parameter as higher trees are way harder to harvest and prune.

The aftermath. I have managed to prune 37 trees this year which is about one third of the total we have. these trees will bear very little fruit next season and this is why some of the trees are always left alone and will possibly be pruned next time around. or the next.
one of our farms motos is no burn and while most years we stash the branches away somewhere, this year for the first time, we will try to use a chipper.
once bigger branches are separated to be used as firewood, the rest is being transported to a point where we will have the chipper stationed for further processing.

our neighbors slowly start reappearing on the streets and local markets again as another harvest season comes to an end and before we know it, it will be upon us again..

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