Hi,

One of my  hobbies is curing Mediterranean-style olives, something that goes back some generations in my family.

I was thinking that since I am cuttings-poor but olives-rich [well, at least at the beginning of the autumn curing season], I'd contemplate offering to trade home-cured olives for cuttings [next spring].

I cure both green and black olives....green olives in a salt brine [no lye] and black olives in rock salt [which draws out moisture..shriveling the olives and  concentrating the flavor]. It's a labor-intensive yet gratifying process to change something from inedible to delicious.

As a first choice, I would consider swaps in the greater Albuquerque, NM area [where I live], and the greater San Diego, CA area [where I am from and return fairly frequently]....because it would avoid mailing costs [a jar of olives weighs at least as much as a brick].

Your olives look delish! I want to get some olive trees and try my hand at curing them. I'm thinking of getting Nicoise and Kalamata to start. Any other suggestions?

I have lots of cuttings (Preto, Willow St, a few others) still in the refer if you want to start now...

Sue

I'll be interested. Do you have any now?

Sue and Bass, thanks for the responses...I just sent you private messages.

Sue, I love Niçoise olives. Since they are small, I am not sure how they are cured [not using my 'split' method], but I'll try to search for some information.

Have you ever had Lucques olives? Almost buttery tasting, I think they're incredible.

I found a seller of olive trees that stocks Lucques and Niçoise [also called Cailletier] trees

http://www.santacruzolive.com/varietals.asp?v=luques

http://www.santacruzolive.com/varietals.asp?v=cailletier

I think Santa Cruz Olive may be wholesale as there are 20-40 tree minimums and they are geared for orchard production. I emailed them...

I found a couple places too:

http://groworganic.com/browse_382_Olive_Trees.html
http://www.olivetreegrowers.com/varieties.php

They have the Nicois and Kalamata but neither has the Lucques. Their stock should be available in Sept.

Sue

Those of you with olive trees might be interested to know that the leaves are a powerful immune system booster. Supposed to be better than echinacea.

Little John,

Do you process your own olive leaves, or do you get olive leaf extract?

Vivian

OH, NOOOOOO, I just saw where you live, so you can't have olive trees there.  Sorry.  :)

Vivian, It's still a good question.

Little John, how do you process the leaves for their beneficial ingredients?

Sue

Thanks, svanessa.

There is a nutrient that olive leaf extract will inhibit in our bodies, so you need to make sure you get that if it's a supplement, as well, but evidently the OLE is good for us.  I need to google it and find out what it is.  My friend told me this.

Vivian

I make tinctures of a variety of plants. If I were to get my hands on some olive leaves I would do like the others. Dice the plant material and put it in a jar (I like mason jars). I add enough plant material to fill the jar with about a 1 in. headspace. Then I pour 100 proof vodka in the jar (80 proof is ok) just enough to cover plant material. Make sure air bubbles come out, add more vodka if necessary and put the lid on with the date/ contents labelled. After 6 weeks strain out the vodka and use medicinally. This is the same thing that the big extract companies do but on a larger scale. Some use glycerin. You'll be amazed at the color of your home made extract...hint - it won't be clear vodka anymore. Thats a sign that you've extracted medicine. Dosage depends on the plant you tincture, size of the person, etc. My suggestion is to do your homework somewhere else or take matters into your own hands and start with low doses, like just a few drops from an eye dropper. You can always gradually up your dose.

Hope this is helpful!
Little John
http://www.moonwiseherbs.com

Sanda Cruz nursery is indeed a commercial nursery but it sounds like they will sell to the public but in $200 minimum purchases (20 4" trees @ $10 ea, etc). I emailed them back for clarification and for shipping charges.

Excellent Sue. Unfortunately all the people we knew who grew olives in the SD area have passed on. I remember people saying that Picholine is another great olive...excellent for both oil and eating.

I found some info about another grower, I see Kalamata, but I didn't see Niçoise or Lucques listed.

http://www.growquest.com/

They do sell to the public. Shipping is another $50.00. I was going to order Lucques, Kalamata, Callietier (nicoise) and Pendoline (for cross fertilization) but I don't need 20 trees! This is their reply:

Sue,

If you come to Pomona in Sept. I'm still open to trading for brooms. I'd be interested in taking a couple olive trees off your hands too. I'm thinking the olives would be ok in my green house here in WI.

-Little John

I do have a small olive (peace) tree.
Grown as a (pretend - homeland sake) semi-bonsai.
As with my similar carob-tree, I do not expect any fruit.

Try burning some green/dry olive leaves, and observe the [rather] sweet-pleasant smell..

Little John,

When will you be in Pomona? I've a lot of duplicate fig trees. I'll make a list for you to choose from. I won't have the olives until at least next year when the Kalamatas are available unless I get those elsewhere and opt for another variety. Otherwise sometime in the Fall when the Luques are available.

Sue

Sue, I sent you an email. paulandirene I sent you a private message a day or 2 ago, did you get it? I haven't heard back from you.

Hi Folks,

Some family emergencies have pulled my time and focus away from this forum, but I hope to return again soon. I was able to send one person some olives and will be sending them to one other person too. Wish I had more olives and time available to accommodate everyone

However, this autumn I will be getting another batch of olives to cure, and will be up for swaps in the spring!

Little John, I have a rather large olive tree here in Pennsylvania, sentimental from old country, I do not sell rooted plants, but do branches. If you would like, please send me a private email, I prune it back in the fall, I would be glad to talk with you more about it, if you would like olive leaves.  Ciao 

Maggie, I'll keep that in mind. I'll be in CA for the whole month of Sept. and I suspect I'll find an olive tree there. I do appreciate your offer and will contact you in Oct. if the need arises.

Thanks, Little John

I have a curious question to those of you growing olives for fruit.
I actually have 9 trees 4 Picholine, 2 Kalamata, and one of each  Manzanallio,  Leccino and Maurino. all were planted around 1998, and every year lost the crop due to olive fruit fly .
I would love to hear what others are doing if you have had an encounter with this pest.
as far as tree sources I agree with you sue. grow organic always has a good selection early in the season. though I have not purchased olive trees from them, I purchased from them many different items and their service and shipping costs are fair.
I actually used the olive source when I purchased my tree from a grower listed there though its been so long I can't remember the growers name.
http://www.oliveoilsource.com/companies-profiles/growers

Maverick, I'd suggest you vist the Fruit and Orchards forum at Garden Web. They'll have an answer for you. Other wise other forums that might be helpful are...

Home Orchard Society (HOS)
or
Cloud forest cafe

Just google them and you'll be pleasantly surprised.

Good Luck, Little John

Thanks Little John for the info.
I shell pose this question on those forums.

Hi Folks
I put together a youtube clip on olive curing, but it's really just a bunch of MS Powerpoint slides.  I havn't have the time [due to family issues] to go through and analyze how long to display each screen, and will have to get back to that later. However, it might be helpful

Pau