It’s time for another The Garden Share Collective update. A monthly community of like minded garden bloggers who put pen to paper to share their vege patches with all those interested – the trials and tribulations of growing your own! Thanks Lizzie and congrats to you on the birth of Isla.
This weekend has been another harvest for us, but olives this time around not grapes. The weather has been perfect and thanks to our neighbours who turned up in force to help. Bless them. Such a great community out here, I honestly don’t know what we would have done without them. And a massive thanks to my good buddy Tricia who kindly lent us her nets, crates, ladder and her precious time. What a girl!
So all up we have picked about 180kg of olives – not bad for their first harvest. Many trees had little fruit while several were massive croppers … Frog Pond Farm olive oil is on the way.
The weather has been hot and dry and my poor vege garden is looking jaded. I need to get out there today and give it some much needed TLC.
What do I have to do?
Lots actually! Weed gardens, fertilise garlic and brassicas and the red onions which I poked in a bed last week. I have a tendency to overplant but I was good this time around – approx 6 – 8″ between onions and approx 14 ” or so between rows. I need to get the Egyptian walking onions into their new home too – that’s on the agenda for this afternoon. Also, I have to get back into pruning the orchard and now I’ll just add the 50 odd olive trees to that (great!).
Harvest
We are still eating beetroot, spring onions, herbs, sorrel straight from the garden, and now I have added kale to the list as well. Plus loads of chillies which I am drying in the oven, or chopping up and throwing into soy sauce which is delish with Asian tucker.
Bananas are ripening beautifully in the garage and we are still eating feijoas (all the time at the mo) and garlic, spuds, walking and red onions from storage. Plus Ricki our bee man, gave us 4 jars of our very own honey.
Well another hurried post … sorry it has been one of those weekends.
Happy gardening
That’s a fabulous harvest of olives you have! I have just one olive tree, which has rewarded me with a few olives each summer, but I’m always at a loss as to what the best way is to “marinate” them. I’ve read various ideas, from soaking them in fresh water and changing it daily for a couple of weeks, to soaking them in salted water, changing the water every few days, for a number of months! Do you plan on keeping any of yours for eating, or will they all be turned into olive oil?
Hey Joanne … no I suspect that all this lot will go to the olive press! I can’t bear the thought of picking any more and there are some that we missed. LOL Best of luck with your tree!
how wonderful to have your own honey! what a golden trasure that must be.
it’s great to read about your olive harvest. that also sounds like a great adventure you have embarked upon. can’t wait to see pics of your first bottles! growing olives was a big thing here in tasmania a few years ago – i’m not sure if it still is, apple cider seems to be getting all the buzz lately.
good luck with the pruning!
Hi great to hear from you. Yes it is beaut to have our own honey. I pinch myself at times when I think how lucky we are. I can’t wait either to taste the stuff – they are being taken to the press today. Yay! Hmm apple cider you say, with or without alcohol? 🙂
Hello Busy Bee! What an amazing olive harvest you got! You are basically self sufficient with fruit, veg, olive oil, eggs, honey…. I’m hoping my friend will pop a hive on our new garden next year preferably the Wildflower Garden if it comes off. Wouldn’t that honey taste amazing?! 🙂
Hi Sarah .. lovely to hear from you. And yes, we have been super busy. The weekend was exhausting. Hubby has just driven off to get the olives pressed, very happy about that. A hive near the wildflower garden sounds magic! 🙂
Oh I am so glad to have found your blog – how awesome to have so many olives. I was so excited to get my little olive tree in my pot, I might get a handful off of that.
Hey Gillian … thank you! I’m glad you found it too. I love this blogging world. It is so nice sharing and communicating with people from all around. Love it! Good luck with that olive tree of yours. My hubby has just driven off with our haul & is taking it to the press! Yay ..
Wow, that is one glorious olive harvest 🙂 My little tree has it’s first FIVE olive on it LOL I say the nets set up for olives when we were in Italy and have been wondering how they are actually harvested. Do you shake the trees or pick and drop the fruit? Did you collect them all by hand? Do you have a press? Have a great month in the garden Julie.
Hey Kyrstie .. Gosh I remember last year when only a few trees had the odd olive! We had nets under the trees and did most of the picking by hand of with a rake. Big job. Wish we had a press, then we could take our time. Thanks so much for dropping by. I hope you have a great month in the garden too!
Your olive harvest is truly inspiring. I say this because I have just two tiny olive trees in pots, and they have a total of 9 olives on them this year!
Hi Sue … thank you. It has taken a few years trust me and lots of TLC. Good luck with yours .. they might surprise you yet!
Very amazing harvest pictures, that’s really interesting! I love olive oil. And bananas! 😉
Nice to see you! I love olive oil and bananas too 🙂
Hello Julie, your olive harvest photos look a little familiar! Great to hear you had a successful harvest, enjoy that hard earned oil! Your bananas look amazing. Happy gardening to you 🙂
Hey Jane … yes ‘snap’! We are collecting the oil tomorrow – about 22 litres. Can’t wait to sample it. Happy gardening back to you!
The trees look so beautiful…and very exciting indeed to have your own olive oil. I have one little olive tree in a pot – it just about survives the UK winters, but I’m not holding out any hopes of a harvest any time soon!
Thank you! It is so exciting having our own oil. I picked up 22 litres this week. Good luck with your tree 🙂
Such rich beautiful pickings.
We are so very lucky 🙂