How are olive trees harvested?
Traditionally, picking olives is done by hand, even in commercial groves. Today, more growers use modern machinery to help them harvest the crop. At the lowest end of the spectrum, this may only mean using a long handled, vibrating tong to shake the olives from the branches and onto nets spread out under the tree.
How do you harvest olives in your yard?
Harvesting. Once the tree is four or five years old, it will start to bear fruit. Harvesting generally takes place from mid-autumn to early winter. For green olives, pick your fruit when it turns from dark green to light green, or you can wait for them to turn black, but still firm, for black olives.
How are olives harvested in South Africa?
Harvesting of Olives Ripe olives fall onto a net under the tree and gathered into bins. Olives can be harvested by hand or by machinery, Hand-harvesting, often associated with less damage to olives and better quality oil, contributes greatly to the production costs – in South Africa, up to 40% of the total cost.
How do you process olives after picking?
The easiest and quickest way to cure olives at home is with water. In this method, the freshly picked olives are sliced or cracked to expose the interior of the fruit, and then immersed in water, which is changed once a day for five to eight days and then soaked in finishing brine with salt and vinegar.
How long does an olive tree produce fruit?
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.
Can you eat olives straight from the tree?
Are olives edible off the branch? While olives are edible straight from the tree, they are intensely bitter. Olives contain oleuropein and phenolic compounds, which must be removed or, at least, reduced to make the olive palatable.