olives

[hedgerow pete]

has the uk weather become mild enough now to consider planting olive trees for a crop. In one regaurds me personaly at the allotment two trees fairly well sheltered but also as a commercial crop .

say we plant up half an acre now , give it ten years to become established and some what productive and then another 100 years to run with it,

hedgerow pete, olive tycoon and beekeeper video star.

well is it, whats the general opinion, i think it is.

 

[Cazza]

Hi HP
Not round here it isn't. I have an olive grown in a pot on a sheltered south facing wall. It gets hammered by frost every year, last year it nearly didn't make it. I'd have to fleece it over winter to prevent damage.

Maybe in Cornwall?? Not in porky scratching country. (Yum yum.)
Cazza

 

[MuswellMetro]

My neighbour harvest about 10lbs of green olives each year from a 25 years old tree ( North London)

 

[hedgerow pete]

wow 25 lb of green olives, are they properly developed or like figs do they need two years

 

[Baggyone]

If you get the tree to maturity I would say you would get a harvest. Its just the nursing through to then.....

Father in Laws got truly slaughtered in the last two winters and it was just about getting going.

Shame.

Baggy

 

[alanf]

I recall someone was planting a supposedly commercial crop in Cornwall. Ornamental ones in tubs survive OK round here but they hate getting wet frozen roots in winter. The fancier garden centres have older examples in tubs, uprooted from sunnier climes but they don't produce a great crop. That may be down to choosing for looks not production. Right variety, right soil, right end of the country and you might get a worthwhile crop.

One of the longer term considerations is that a lot of the wine growers in Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and no doubt elsewhere have diversified into olives. There might be a market for local olives, but worldwide there's a lot of production already planted. It could be worth a try but making a lot of money is a long shot.

 

[psafloyd]

has the uk weather become mild enough now to consider planting olive trees for a crop. In one regaurds me personaly at the allotment two trees fairly well sheltered but also as a commercial crop .

say we plant up half an acre now , give it ten years to become established and some what productive and then another 100 years to run with it,

hedgerow pete, olive tycoon and beekeeper video star.

well is it, whats the general opinion, i think it is.

My mate has two small trees and he got a reasonable crop, but not sustainable.
You'd be better off growing figs on a south facing wall, as they are never less than 30p each, often 50p in that London.

 

[Erichalfbee]

You'd be better off growing figs on a south facing wall, as they are never less than 30p each, often 50p in that London.

I used to live in Teddington and walked the dogs daily in Bushy park.
Just opposite one entrance is a house with a mediterranean size old fig tree. It fruits well every year and every year the posh nobs in the house let the fruit drop to the floor to be swept away by road sweepers and eaten by wasps. Phillistines! Nobs not wasps.

 

[dpearce4]

check these people out in chichester sussex.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/f...s-sell-English-olives-Italians-like-them.html

also the trees should be frost hardy if planted in the ground. southern europe has colder winters than we do, but also much hotter summers which i think is the big difference.

 

[hedgerow pete]

they said we could never produce a great wne and we do, the general idea was reading an articule a few days ago, it basicly said as the world wrms up etc etc the temp in say france is going to raise up to england as the bit in the middle , equator spreads, so in 2,000 years time we will all be going to norway for our summer holidays and the whole of england will be fat a lazy and government supported on rediculus wages and very very greek, lol

so the idea of someone finding the south faceing hill etc etc and then covering it with olives might work.
i must admit i do need two, to keep up with the gin requirements of the summer and food cooking wise

 

[Beeforest]

Olives would be one of the last things I would try to grow in any number. Money pit

 

[Hivemaker.]

Olives would be one of the last things I would try to grow in any number. Money pit

Better off growing spring onions,they seem to sell quite well in the supermarkets ect,just a few bound together with an elastic band...wonder how many bunches a hundred acres would provide.

 

[chris_richmond]

I would say that birmingham is still to far north for an olive grove to be sustainble, the trees will grow ok but you will get poor fruit set a evenworse fruit development.

I live in morecambe lancashire and have a 100+ year old olive tree in my back yard it flowers well set some fruit and hardly any develop into fully grown olives.
If you want omething a bit exotic then why not go for some type of nut such as almond which will row better in our milder climate.

Or you could always move down south..

Cheers Chris

 

[hedgerow pete]

no i am not ging to rush out and plant hundreds of olive trees, but i do like the ideas of growing med trees in the uk

 

[AnotherNewBee]

the whole of england will be fat a lazy and government supported on rediculus wages and very very greek, lol

That probably explains why I can't stay awake around mid-day. I'm getting into pr.actice for a daily siesta.

 

[REDWOOD]

I had an orange tree that my Nan grew from a pip it was 45 years old and died last year in the frost. I have also tried tea but fizzles away every winter, stick to our local flora for better results

 

[dpearce4]

commercial tea plantation in cornwall @tregrothan