Introduction to Olives - Growing Olives in your Garden

Book excerpt: Table of Contents Introduction Growing Olives Olive Propagation Popular Varieties Table and Mill Olives Soil Conditions Soil Moisture Pruning Harvesting of the Fruit Olives for Taste Extracting Olive Oil Conclusion Author Bio Publisher Introduction If you have been reading the ancient holy books, you may find references to the groves of Olives and flourishing olive trees. Olives have long been a part of human social tradition, and they have been cultivated in gardens since time immemorial. It was believed that olives could not flourish in lands, which were 35 miles away from the sea, because they needed a special type of climate. But that is not really true, because you can grow an olive tree, in a place, where there is plenty of water, where the winters are mild and in areas with Mediterranean climates. The native olive tree – Olea europaea – is considered to be a Mediterranean plant, because after all the ancient Romans and the Greeks used olive leaves as an important symbol – especially of peace. Holding out an olive branch meant PAX and not war. Even the gods blessed the olive tree, and allowed it to flourish on their land, making it prosperous through the sale of olives! Archaeological surveys in Jordan on sites going back more than 5000 years have found domesticated olives in abundance. So is it a surprise that a garden without an olive tree would be considered to be incomplete even in those ancient days. Apart from using olives in a diet, olive oil was also used since ancient times for cooking purposes. Apart from that, olive oil was used as a healthy massage oil by Romans, Babylonians, Egyptians, and other ancient civilizations in ancient times.