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Olive tree
dpatel2130
Posts: 201
in Plants
Long summer, very hot weather and recent high temperatures than average in autumn are the main factors for this supermarket bought 10 years old olive tree fruiting and ripening. It is not in very big pot and about 5 feet tall, trunk is very thin so need support. Do you think it will get any thicker than this? Last 4-5 years not given much of attention but it happily fruited but vanished prematurely since I got it but this year is real mature olive pleasure. 
1
Posts
Plan what shape you want it to end up and prune a framework towards that. You can be drastic. But best to do it in the spring. You might lose a year's fruit.
"Have nothing in your garden that you don't know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful."
"Have nothing in your garden that you don't know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful."
https://forum.gardenersworld.com/discussion/1049044/olive-tree-pruning
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
"Have nothing in your garden that you don't know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful."
I have looked up preserving olives online and it is not straight forward so I have never bothered. This is the first year my fruit has been big enough to do anything with, previously they were not much bigger peas so must have been all stone and skin. My olive tree has fruited every year for a long time but I have treated it as a novelty.
My daughter is a microbiologist in the food industry and she has dared me to try and preserve any fruit or veg. in oil. It can be very dangerous.
I've just thought: Kilner jar explosion from an unvented build-up of CO2.
"Have nothing in your garden that you don't know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful."
I preserve some of my olives 2 ways. One using a chemical to take the bitterness out of the olive and only takes a couple of days and the second way can take up to six months in a brine that is constantly changed, but the taste of the olive is far superior this way. My second lot are in a pottery crock - they've been there now for 2 months and only slightly bitter. They are changing in colour and are now greeny/light black. So I am crossing my fingers that they could be ready for Christmas drinkie time!!
My olives were gi-normous this year, as were every olive grower in the northern clime. Due to the weather. Really meaty!!