The following elements in olive tree care contribute to a successful harvest:
plow - fertilize - cut - irrigate
The tractor plows and loosens the soil, and the trees benefit from the pleasant rain in winter when there are no grasses to snatch the water away.
We mainly use manure from our own animals as biological fertilizer.
It is a nice feeling to feed the tree with a purely natural fertilizer. Thank you dear animals!
The trees have to be trimmed every four years and we receive valuable firewood.
When the trees are pruned into an umbrella shape, they have enough strength to reward us with many olives.
The cut branches feed the picnic fire...
... or are a tasty snack for our goats and sheep.
The particularly strong and healthy early oil (Agoureleo) is made from green olives at the end of October/beginning of November. When the olives are ripe and their color changes from green to black, they make a milder oil.
Room-sized nets are laid out under the trees.
The branches are shaken with a harvesting device so that the olives fall onto the nets.
Nimble hands sort out roughly the leaves and twigs. The olives are put into sacks.
After the work is done, the yield is taken to the mill.
Strong guys empty the sacks into the machines.
Now the remaining leaves are separated from the olives.
Here the olives are washed.
Then the olives are pressed and the oil is separated from the waste. A process that takes about 2 hours.
4.5 kilograms of olives produce about one liter of oil.
The residues are used as fertilizer and to heat the greenhouses.
All spectators experience a moment of happiness when the finished oil flows into the troughs.
Here the liquid is analyzed. In 2022 our oil will reach an acidity of 0.3%. Wonderful!
Finally, the green gold is filled into the containers and handed over to the proud olive farmer.
The olive oil is stored in steel tanks and filtered naturally by slowly settling the small olive parts that cloud the olive oil. This type of filtering preserves the phenolic compounds, which are particularly good for the heart, and the oil has a longer shelf life. Approximately 6 weeks after storage, the oil is clear and ready for bottling.
