History
In 1896, Raffaele Costa, the eldest of three brothers, from Genoa, arrived in South Africa, with the intention of establishing a nursery in Newlands, Cape Town, where he purchased a 4 hectare plot, which soon became profitable.
Grading Table Olives
The way olives are measured, is to count the amount of olives that goes into one kilogram. When packed for sale, processed olives should be of a uniform size. Size sorting is done by rough grading by hand or a mechanical sorter.
Fun Facts
A perfectly preserved carved olive-stone boat was crafted by artist Ch’en Tsu-chang during China’s Ch’ing dynasty. It was carved in 1737 and is a mere 3.4 cm (1.34 inches) in length and 1.6 cm (0.63 inches) tall
When to Harvest
All olives are initially green and turn black as they ripen, all of the almost 2000 different cultivars. Green olives yield high quality oil but a low quantity of between 5 and 10%. Fully matured black fruit yield a high quantity of between 15 and 30% but the oil is of a inferior quality.
Collecting and Planting
When collecting your trees personally from the nursery, always make sure that a covered vehicle is used (or shade netting is available to cover them completely) trees will suffer from windburn if exposed. The fast growing tips are soft plant tissue and must be cared for.
From The Tree To The Table
Be our guest on the exciting journey of olives from the lush green groves to the tables of vagabonds, kings and connoisseurs. We reveal the ancient secrets of the mysterious olive fruit. The journey of olives always start at the ancient, mythical Olive tree.
The Importance of Choosing the Correct Cultivar
It is of critical importance to decide on the correct cultivar before planting. If the incorrect cultivar is planted it can lead to thousands of rands worth of damage