Anyone know anything about olives?

[m5allen]

Pictured is my Kalamata olive tree. You can see that there are 2 trunks that split out from the main trunk. One side (left) is growing great, while the other is just stagnant. The stagnant right side growth is about 3 years old and has not budged. I can't figure out what is going on here. But now my tree is looking really lop-sided.

Figured with all the Italians and Greeks on here, someone should be able to help.

Thanks.

[WillsC]

I know I hate them, does that help?

[Taverna78]

The Greeks or Italians ??🔫🔪😑

[WillsC]

Mike,

Greeks are fine Italians I like even better, olives not so much.

[Taverna78]

😘 olive is pain to grow. Seem like when we do nothing to help them grow the do best.

[m5allen]

Wills, hate is such a strong word. Olives are about the only thing that aren't in your repertoire, right?

[WillsC]

Olives and raisins about it on the hate scale.

[Taverna78]

Leave it be 5M. We have these at house in Italia. They grow in spurts. You will see. Also maybe try bigger pot

[Sarahkt]

I appreciate your dedication to growing olives. I love gourmet olives, am a sucker for the gourmet olive antipasti section in the nice grocery stores, but growing olive trees, while beautiful, seems to be more trouble than it's worth, at least for me.

I used to live on a street where the neighbor's olives would carpet the sidewalk in a nasty sludge that had everyone walking onto the street to avoid it. Unless you have them planted out of the way, don't you find they make a horrible mess that stain the ground every year when it dropped its fruits?

[Chrisk]

Ha, Sarah you like the olives but do not want to do the work huh. A lot of people that have huge fig trees in their yard have the same complaint. Stained sidewalks and driveways and bugs all over the place. Just like every other tree they need to be managed (size) according to your needs and space.unlike Wills , I love olives and grew up eating them almost on a daily basis. We grew our own. Allen I would take Mikes advice and let them be.

[Sarahkt]

Mike, is it just a matter of where you plant the trees? Just avoid planting near walkways? I know large figs can also make a mess once you get to the happy tree size when you have more figs than you and the squirrels/birds/rodents can eat, but that problem hasn't happened for me yet, trees are still too young!

[Taverna78]

Fig and olive tree two different areas. First fig... I have never let a fig fall off tree I always eat right off tree or pick 1 or 2 day before ripe and wash and put in paper bag until ripe so bug and animal not eat. Same in Italia. Although most fig there grow away from street and walk way. They do drop If no one see ripe fruit then animal eat. Most fig tree along street and walk way there people pick as they walk past them. Fig in Italia grow in dry, rocky dust like soil on mountain. There are even some that grow right out of the bridge connections with very little soil at all. Not like we grow here with best soils and supplements.

Olive however common to see olive,fig,cactus pear and evergreen grow right next to each other. Same soils but when olive get to ripe stage or right before we lay down big sheets and attach tree belt. If you remember you parents have work out machine you put belt around you waist and it shake you ? Same machine... Then once we see couple olive fall to ground turn on machine. Shake tree all ripe fall off. We collect olive off sheet and keep repeating until all olive is off. No sheet is hard to collect and make mess. Sheet. No mess. Take harvest to table and spend days drink vino and smash olive with mallet take out pit. Fill 5 gal water jugs with olive then water. Change water every day for 7 day. Then put in ball jar with onion spices and celery with olive oil and small vinegar and sit for about 6 month. Perfecto!

[m5allen]

Dropped fruit only causes a mess if you don't pick it. Which doesn't happen at my house.

But neither of my olives has produced yet. I have a green olive tree as well (not sure which variety though). My trees are abt 4 years old and I have read that it takes about 6 years to produce when grown in a container.

[PawPaw Gene]

Perhaps the left side in the photo is taking all the nutrients. If you prune off the small branch the other will fill out and probably grow straighter and stronger. I love olives, especially home cured like Mike is talking about.
"gene"

[Darkman]

Air layer runt and then have two!

[m5allen]

Gene - I am not sure which small branch you are referring to.

Darkman - I was actually thinking of air layering that runt. Might still do that. No matter what, it seems the left side is compelled to eclipse the right side.

[COGardener]

Does the large side receive more sun? Then shade the smaller side?

[Sarahkt]

Mike, you've got a gift for describing things! That sounds wonderful.

My grandfather grew olives and used to cure his own. He'd send all the kids and grandkids off with a big jar of them every Christmas. It's been over 10 years now but they seemed to taste better than anything you can get from the gourmet olive stands. I never saw how he did it, but I wonder if my parents would know. There's a few different types of olive trees near where I live (no one really tends them, and they create a big, unwelcome mess every year like the one I spoke about earlier). If no one else is using them... It might be nice to try to revive an old family tradition come Christmas-time. As long as I don't accidentally poison the family with mis-cured olives!

[Taverna78]

When they in season you can call your local fresh market and order cases of olives. Spain olive green best for how I describe. Maybe 15$ per 5- 10lb case. Normally in early fall. And I explains thing how we do things no gift just share you ways to do good way

[philos]

I have one olive tree for 3 years now, but it has not come to bear a single olive
It is an Arbequina olive, but it is a beautiful tree!!