Olive oil

[arcadianagain]

OK, this has nothing to do with HH but I believe that Foo allows any subject. We live in Tunisia and moved into a new house in September. There is a large garden and we inherited 8 olive trees, we were persuaded by a friend to harvest the olives, well this week a small team of pickers did their job(they take 50% of the oil as payment) and we finished up with 615 kg of olives which were taken to the local commercial press. The olives were tipped into a hopper to be washed and separated from the odd leaf and stalk, after passing through various pipes and chambers two hours later we finished up with 110 litres of extra, extra virgin olive oil. As a con sequence of French rule there are a number of great bakeries, so fresh baguettes( at appx 7 pence) dipped into this oil makes for a great treat. We are now self-sufficient for the next year and even have some to sell or give away to friends.

[PeteC]

I'm amazed at the quantity, 615kg from only 8 trees. Was this before or after the pickers took their 50%? Pete

[barrys]

Sounds great -would olive trees grow here in the Pranburi region?

[Homer]

... we finished up with 110 litres of extra, extra virgin olive oil.

I've read olive growers with small land holdings take the time and effort to select the finest olives from the crop for a separate manual pressing, which is then distributed to their family and close friends. It's superiority to extra, extra virgin is reflected in it's unofficial grade name: per-pubescent.

[Bristolian]

Sounds great -would olive trees grow here in the Pranburi region?

http://www.chaipat.or.th/chaipat_old/jo ... ive_e.html
Not sure how the project developed but reportedly there was a Croatian Olive Cultivation Project, at the Phetchaburi Horticulture Experiment Station

This followed an initiative from the King
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2008/01 ... 061579.php
From this 2008 report in The Nation,
“About 15 years ago, Thailand, under an initiative of His Majesty the King, also took its first tentative steps into olive growing. Luchetti himself, at the invitation of His Majesty, helped launch the programme, and today olive groves can be found in areas between Phetchabun and Chiang Mai.”

[arcadianagain]

I'm amazed at the quantity, 615kg from only 8 trees. Was this before or after the pickers took their 50%? Pete

615kg was the total crop. I`m no expert but I`m told that the trees need dry conditions with very little watering so maybe Thailand`s rainy season would not suit them.

[lindosfan1]

Arcadian you are right they grow a lot in Rhodes where it does not rain in the growing season.

[PeteC]

The Hua Hin/Cha-Am area would seem a reasonable choice. Rain is usually scarce during most years. Pete

EDIT: Is it considered the driest place in Thailand? I can't think of anywhere more dry.

[hhfarang]

^ It was before this last rainy season... I'm not sure anymore.

[STEVE G]

Is it considered the driest place in Thailand? I can't think of anywhere more dry.

It seems so from this website, an average of 999mm a year compared with a national average of 1628mm.
http://www.thailand.climatemps.com/