Pruning the olive trees

Sunday 7th Jan
Approaching an unpruned tree is daunting - banches keep you at bay, then cut and slap at you as your approach. Loads of water spouts emerge from the base of the tree, and at all angles from the tree. These sap the energy destined for flowers and olives. Below are a couple of photos of the shoots, an unpruned tree, and the final tree with all cut from within.
Our neighbour and master pruner Paul, has given me a few tips: open the centre of the tree, cut anything growing down, or crossing over an other branch, or is dead, and leave the base of the tree clear. So here is the result in these photos above. These trees haven't been pruned since they were planted (8 years ago) so I am giving them their first cut. they havent been watered in two, so they are in dire straights. In taking so much out I wonder if I am not damaging the tree or at least putting them into deep shock. However, as olive trees have lasted for centuries, through wars and and famines and still produce, I figure I will be learning something. I am amazed by how much comes off a tree to give it a chance. Olive grown on the previous years new growth, and nows the time. So far few of the trees have any flowers. Mostly you are meant to prune after the olives are picked (June, Queens birthday weekend), so timing is not ideal this year. We'll see the results in the next two. Here's a pic of David taking a load of cuttings in my truck!

1st January 2007

The beginning of the new year. Wet, and the weather station says its 11 degrees outside. Just as well, my hands are aching from the last few days of pruning olive trees, tying up 70 vines, mowing several acres of overgrown grass between the vines, and trees and in the front of the shearers quarters and barn and it looks great, but even my thumbs ache.

Here's a pic of new years day lunch. Yesterday, experimenting with pear conserve was my main thing. Two years ago, we stayed in Villandry in Le Chat Noir on the Loire, a great little gite, and Madame served glistening clear pear conserve on fresh warm baguettes with cafe au lait, divine, and since then, I have wanted to find out how I might re-create this moment. I tried two varieties, one crystal clear, and some with fruit to give extra texture. This is so great with blue cheese, yumm.... and then some which is creamy opaque with some of the fruit strained through it. This was great with lamb fillets last night, and then on crunchy hot toast this am. We planted a conference pear tree the weekend we paid our deposit, and hopefully that will be our pear supply in the future.