Olive Trees Grow On Mountains
Archeologists who have found olive pits and traces of olive oil in pottery shards estimate we ve been cultivating them for 6 000 to 8 000 years.
Olive trees grow on mountains. Olive trees were even more abundant in biblical times than they are in israel today. The greeks observed that the olive rarely thrives at a distance from the sea which in greece invariably means up mountain slopes. The true north american olive belt the region especially adapted to the growth and production of this fruit includes a portion of mexico proper all of lower california and much of the state of cali fornia exclusive of the mountain tops. In homer s odyssey odysseus crawls beneath two shoots of olive that grow from a single stock and in the iliad xvii 53ff there is a metaphoric description of a lone olive tree in the mountains by a spring.
The garden of gethsemane located at the base of the mount of olives in jerusalem was likely an orchard of olive trees since gethsemane means oil press. Apply a nitrogen based fertilizer to the soil around the olive trees after the first growing season. Most aptly suited to areas which are prone to high heat and plenty of sunshine the olive tree should be planted outside and once established is fairly low maintenance. They re hardy only in usda zones 8 and warmer and start to die when temperatures hit the mid teens.
Olive trees are ancient plants. Think of olive trees and one visualizes the warm sunny mediterranean but olive trees can be grown in north america as well. Olive trees can grow on the plain and in the hills. Apply a 3 inch layer of mulch around the olive trees.
There is another large sec tion of the united states where the olive will grow but which is not. They grow in galilee samaria and judah. A layer of straw or bark chips will help reduce weed growth and promote good drainage. The best area in texas to attempt commercial olive production is in the southwest region north of laredo and southwest of san antonio known as the winter garden.
Many olive varieties have been tried in the state with cold hardiness being the key selection factor. Spread the mulch at least 6 inches from the wood of the olive trees to reduce pest infestations.