“We abuse land because we view it as a commodity belonging to us. When we see land as a community to which we belong, we may begin to use it with love and respect.”
– Aldo Leopold
The late afternoon light did nothing to lift our spirits. Our first glimpse of the land in early October, made our hearts sink into our toes. Seven months had passed since our last visit, just before the pandemic brought any kind of travel to a screeching halt.
A sea of long, dry grass looked like a tsunami about to engulf our olive trees, while suckers sprouted in an unruly fashion from the base of each tree. The land has returned to a feral state in our absence.
The piles and piles of olive cuttings we didn’t know what to do with in March, and left in clumps and rows, at first appeared like they miraculously vanished, but with closer inspection were just hiding underneath mountains of dry grass. What a mess, we confessed to one another. One we knew we had to deal with before the winter rains turned the bottom piece of land into a swamp. We felt slightly overwhelmed, and decided to first turn our attention to the most important tasks. The land could wait a little bit longer.
Luckily for Michael, he left me with the task of dealing with the overgrown olive grove. Before we could even think of where to start, I had to find the black plastic pipe still hiding amidst the grass like a giant snake, roll it up, and store it in the barn. At least my sister was still around, as otherwise it would have been a massive struggle on my own.
With the first task out the way, Michael and I debated the next step. We wondered if we should plow the land one last time. Neither one of us liked the idea, as the ‘no till approach’ not only appeals to us, but forms a vital part of the process of building up the quality of the soil. Eventually it was decided to get someone with a chain flail mower to come and deal with the mess as best he can.
It was on a bitterly cold morning that Tim arrived to erase the result of months of neglect. The chains of the flail mower, twirling around in a fearsome dance, made quick work of the long grass and piles of olive cuttings.
The timing was perfect, as by the time he left, rain spittled from the low hanging clouds, and over the next two days erased any possibility of getting a tractor to enter that part of the land for the next couple of months.
At the bottom of the olive grove, we’ve been protecting the new suckers sprouting from a tree that got struck by lightning at some point and died. Well, seemingly died. Olive trees are remarkably resilient. Once the big mess was dealt with, I could start to focus on the bits of work I can manage on my own. Removing the long grass revealed many suckers that could become potential new trees in the future.
I removed all the suckers from the trees, before I tackled the fiddly bits by the wall. I still have a way to go, but by removing the dead grass and thistles, and other unwelcome plants, swathes of mint and wild asparagus now has space to flourish.
With our olive grove nice and tidy, we are ready to harvest our olives . . .
Written by: Jolandi
Wow! That’s looking so good now! What good timing that was, getting Tim to cut the grass and deal with the cuttings before the rain came! And you now have a number of potential olive saplings to grow on. Good luck with the harvest!
Thanks, Clare. We did the harvest this morning, and promise my next post will be all about that. Michael and I are both quite excited about all the potential olive saplings which are growing from the burned out trunk. I love how this tree is determined to keep on living. Almost like a phoenix rising from its own ashes. – Jolandi
I’ve been looking back at old photos of the olive grove and it has definitely gone through some cycles. Do they have snakes in Portugal? Having the area slashed should give you some peace of mind on that score.
Oh my goodness, YES. I think they are at least not poisonous, Gwen, but there are snakes around. Hopefully they will be more scared of me, but we’ve seen some hiding in the stone walls, and hollows of the olive trees.
You are right in that the olive grove has been through a good couple of cycles since we’ve bought the land. I should actually try to compile a post about it, as it would be interesting to see it all in one place. Thank you for planting that idea. – Jolandi
I might have been paralyzed at the sight of all that outdoor clean-up! I am a cleaning maven indoors – give me some supplies and I’ll scrub and scour until my fingers are raw, straighten and organize until every surface is in order. But outdoor messes overwhelm me, maybe because they are so much bigger! Your accumulated brush made me nervous just looking at it, and when you told me of your close call in getting it all done before the rains, I breathed a sigh of relief as if this were my own problem! I enjoyed seeing what you are up against outside, but please take me back indoors now! Especially if you are ready to peel off that blue plastic … 🙂
Oh, Lexie, you have no idea how much I’m itching to peel the blue plastic off! I’ve been promised that the last inside work will be done this week, so fingers crossed it will be soon.
Like you, an outdoor mess overwhelms me too, but I must admit that I’m enjoying working outdoors far more than spending time in the house. I’m also learning that even small amounts of work at a time over a longer period of time can make an enormous difference. One just needs to have patience. Michael likes to say ‘diesel is my friend’, and I have to agree, as that is the quickest way to make a big difference. Now it just needs to be maintained. It will be interesting to see how quickly the grass will grow with the winter rain, and when I will have to give Tim a call again. Jolandi
That sounds like a lot of productive work; I said it before, I’ll say it again, I’m envious.
Will you be making oil from your grove?
Yes, we will be making oil from our harvest, Fabrizio. We harvested this morning, but have to press with someone else, as we only have about 150 kg of olives, and one needs 500 kg for a single press. I promise to write all about it in the next post. Come visit, and I’ll give you some oil. 😉 – Jolandi
Dear Jolandi what a great challenge-and you managed it!How many acres are there? I admire your stubborn go ahead !It look stunning. You will be very happy there❤️
Lots of love🙏
Thank you, Christina. I also think we will be very happy here, and I suspect the only way to survive on the land is to stubbornly forging forward. Something I’m sure you know about too well, as you’ve had to also do that on Lamu.
It is about 2.47 acres where the olive grove is, Christina. We have another 5 acres which is mostly ’empty’ land, with a couple of cork and stone oaks. We’ve done quite a bit of cleaning there before (removing a lot of brambles and broom), and luckily it is still looking very good. Sending you a big hug. – Jolandi
In ALbania you just see fires as they burn everything under the olive trees before they harvest. I have seen these fires take off and burn the trees..
Oh, wow. That seems rather extreme, Lisa. I wonder why they take that approach.
I hope that at some point we will be able to buy a chipper and deal with the olive cuttings that way, while just moving the grass whenever it is necessary and leave it in situ, so that we can build up the quality of the soil in that way. At least that’s the plan. It will be interesting to see what we learn and how we will adjust our plans or approach. For us it is definitely about regeneration and acting as guardians of the land. – Jolandi
Not knowing anything about olive groves, I wonder why the grass is a bad thing. In my mind, it helps prevent the soil from eroding and provides food and habitat for countless critters, most of whom are probably beneficial. It also looks beautiful.
Grass in itself is not a bad thing, Tanja. That is why we want to follow the ‘no till’ approach for exactly what you point out – it will prevent the soil from eroding, but also more importantly help to build soil quality. One needs to regularly cut it though, not just like you’ve discovered to facilitate an easy olive harvest, but to encourage new growth and a continuation of a healthy cycle. The grass was literally waste high! – Jolandi
Just in time, wow. What a huge undertaking, great you got help that speeded up the process. Makes total sense. Exciting.
Peta
It makes such a difference to my emotional well-being when I now look out the window, Peta. The thing with owning land like this is to keep one’s finger on nature not to allow it to get out of control. Luckily the grass doesn’t grow quite the same on the other 2 hectares of land, as it does in the olive grove, and although there is work to be done there, it is something I can manage on my own for now. – Jolandi