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Produce => Edible Plants => Topic started by: MrsKP on October 16, 2006, 22:16:56

Title: olea europea olive tree
Post by: MrsKP on October 16, 2006, 22:16:56
my friend has just been given one and it looks as if it needs repotting.

should she do this now or wait until spring?

any other aftercare, feeding, watering tips gratefully received.

she lives in london.

thankus muchus.
Title: Re: olea europea olive tree
Post by: calendula on October 17, 2006, 12:56:20
either, to be honest - autumn and spring are the best times as they should mean dormancy or about to grow, and we all have a preference

if it is kept outside I think now would be the best time as they quite like a cooler winter and the wet, if and when it comes, will be suitable as long as excellent drainage is given
Title: Re: olea europea olive tree
Post by: weedin project on October 17, 2006, 13:51:12
Mrs KP
I agree with Calendula, but a word of caution would be about my 2 olives that got pot-bound and planted out early last spring.  They didn't flower or fruit at all this year, so maybe planting out now might give a chance for a bit of root growth which might help it get away quicker next spring.
Good luck. :D
Title: Re: olea europea olive tree
Post by: Hyacinth on October 17, 2006, 15:14:27
How envious am I -  Fancy, to be given an olive tree!
Title: Re: olea europea olive tree
Post by: Ceratonia on October 17, 2006, 16:12:40
Dead easy from seed, Lishka!

Got 100% germination with mine and so ended up with 20 odd olive trees - they were about a foot high by autumn. Taken me quite a long time to give them all away  ???

Does anyone get fruit from outdoor olive trees in the uk?

Title: Re: olea europea olive tree
Post by: MrsKP on October 17, 2006, 18:06:44
me too Lish.  I'm going to try and pack it in my holdall when I go and stay in December.  I wonder if she'd notice it was missing  !   :P

How about feeding peeps ??  Normal general 8:8:8 in May ??  (she says, like she knows what she's talking about) lol

Thanks for your help darlinks !
Title: Re: olea europea olive tree
Post by: angle shades on October 17, 2006, 18:59:02

I have one olive fruit, out of two trees/bushes? :P, but thats better than last year when I didn't have one fruit :(.

my trees/bushes ?are now in a cold greenhouse and are sprouting new shoots from the stem at the bottom :o

I've never fed them either.... so in answer to your question Mrs, I don't know ;D/shades x
Title: Re: olea europea olive tree
Post by: weedin project on October 17, 2006, 21:18:41
Ceratonia - yup, not only did I used to get some fruits before this year's distrubance, but a colleague of mine also gets some.  We are thinking of forming a collective of Olive Oil producers and eat bread and drink wine al fresco all the time and call ourselves "Olivio" or something.
The first year I got any fruit (2003) I got 5 olives off two trees; the following year it was 65 olives; the 2005 crop was uncounted, but probably about 200-300. 
Isn't it sad that I counted them ??? 
Isn't it even sadder that I can remember how many it was ??? ???

I've never fed them at all; from what I've seen of them in the "wild" they seem to thrive on poor soil and minimal rainfall.  In pots it's worth doing the usual and replacing the top couple of inches of compost every spring.
Title: Re: olea europea olive tree
Post by: MrsKP on October 17, 2006, 22:14:29
Many thanks folks.  I shall be expecting a sample crop from my mate in the summer.

;D
Title: Re: olea europea olive tree
Post by: calendula on October 18, 2006, 12:47:38
and we expect KP Oil supplies to be available in the shops soon  ;D (extra virgin of course)
Title: Re: olea europea olive tree
Post by: MrsKP on October 18, 2006, 18:27:20
naturally, what do you take me for ?   :P
Title: Re: olea europea olive tree
Post by: angle shades on October 22, 2006, 13:32:48

:)

the one and only olive I have on my tree has gone from green to purple/black in three days, does this mean its ripening?  its very warm here in Lincoln :)/shades x
Title: Re: olea europea olive tree
Post by: triffid on October 22, 2006, 20:49:19
So assuming you have an olive tree...

and it bears olives...

and they've ripened, in this mad summer we've had...

Do you have to process the olives in any way to make them edible?
Title: Re: olea europea olive tree
Post by: Hyacinth on October 22, 2006, 21:45:24
Only with your teeth, Triff? 8)
Title: Re: olea europea olive tree
Post by: Robert_Brenchley on October 22, 2006, 21:59:58
No, and if you have loads and want oil, all you do is squeeze the juice out and float the oil off the gunk.
Title: Re: olea europea olive tree
Post by: triffid on October 23, 2006, 00:40:23
QuoteOnly with your teeth, Triff?



... you have to chew them off the tree??   ;) ;D
Title: Re: olea europea olive tree
Post by: jennym on October 25, 2006, 21:43:00
Quote from: triffid on October 22, 2006, 20:49:19
...Do you have to process the olives in any way to make them edible?

Couldn't resist googling this one (just in case my little tree ever produces fruit  ;D)
and there's a lot on the net about them if you search under processing olives or preserving olives, such as:
http://www.recipecottage.com/preserving/olives05.html
http://www.oliveaustralia.com.au/Pickling_your_Olives/pickling_your_olives.html
http://www.cs.sun.ac.za/~rdodds/Olives/indeks.html
hope this helps.
Title: Re: olea europea olive tree
Post by: MrsKP on October 25, 2006, 22:25:10
my friends thanks everyone for their kind help, (she pops in to read but won't post)  8).  OH has repotted her olive and I suspect put up a barbed wire fence around it so i can't half hinch it in December.

;D