Years with plenty of sunshine and rain are perfect for olive blossom, as long as excellent expert care is added to ensure that the olive trees achieve optimum blossom.
The Mediterranean dresses in white with the olive blossom, between the months of April and May each year, announcing the olive harvest, when the rapa sprouts in small bunches with between ten to forty small white flowers with yellow and a percentage of these bunches turn into fruit with optimum ripeness, as in the olive trees of La Espluga Calva.
Curiosities during flowering
The flowering of the olive tree attracts the attention of a variety of birds and can be observed from miles away for a week or more, because the wind blows the pollen from the rapas and spreads it in the air, then the wind carries it away so that the pollination of the olive tree can take place.
It is a process organised by the magic of nature, with perfect and divine timing, necessary to obtain extra virgin olive oil. Around the time of sowing, flowering can affect the olive tree with allergies, which are common due to the enormous concentrations of pollen, and it is recommended that those who are prone to this type of allergy should not visit the olive groves during this period.
Why blossoming influences fruit quality
The olive blossom is born in May and the flowering period begins, and then the exquisite olive fruit develops between June and January. Its quality depends on determining factors at the moment of blossoming of the olive tree, related to the climate and geographical aspects. When the flowers form, pollen fertilises or pollinates them and the petals fall and the fruit grows.
Once the fruit ripens, it begins its winter rest, where the olive tree becomes fertile and allows more fruit to be obtained and the olives to be harvested from October to February.
When the fruits are ready
After flowering, small fruits grow little by little and it is necessary to wait until the right season to harvest them in order to obtain the expected result and bring the best extra virgin olive oil to the table.
The time of harvesting is when the oil changes its fruitiness and is ready for consumption, like those of the Olivos de La Espluga Calba, with Premium quality, carefully selected from each tree when they reach their perfect ripeness.
In this sense, it can be said that good flowering favours good fruit fertilisation and when the olives are perfectly set and the stone hardens properly, excellent fruit is harvested around the month of July to prepare good olive oil.
If a complete process is followed from the flowering of the olive tree, excellent results are obtained and the best olives can be harvested only at the right moment of ripening, in order to obtain high quality arbequina olive oil.
Crop care steps
Fertilise the soil of the olive grove early, preferably with sustainable methods, so that nutrients are available and the plants grow healthy, with fruit that sprouts properly. Pruning unnecessary branches ensures greater strength to the olive tree by providing more nutrients for flowering and the best Arbequina olive oil.
According to agricultural technicians, phytosanitary control before flowering, preferably at the end of May, controls the nutrients in the stem of the olive tree and ensures its growth. Experts say that the more the olive tree is trained, the more olives it will develop.
Permanent weed control is necessary to prevent the nutrients needed by the olive tree crop from being consumed, as in any other crop, it is necessary to keep the sowing free of weeds.
The olive trees are harvested preferably between October, November and December, as this gives the olive grove more time to replenish itself and absorb more nutrients from the soil. In addition, it prepares for the next flowering and harvests with more strength and obtains higher quality fruits and Premium extra virgin olive oils, in its wide variety.
