Discover how an olive harvest in Montalcinello turned into an epic tale of effort, irony, and pride: the oil, a true heroic act.
There are two perspectives in life: the one when you enter a supermarket, look at a bottle of oil for 12 euros and mutter “Are they crazy?”, and the one when you produce that oil yourself.
Then you realize it's not a price, it's a heroic act.
Sunday, October 19th, under a generous sun, we harvested the olives from a plot of about twenty trees in the locality of Campaione, a setting so scenic that Montalcinello looked like a movie set (come live with us!). Some started in the morning, reinforcements arrived in the afternoon, and the four of us did everything we could (and the impossible).
25-meter nets embracing several trees, two electric olive shakers, and a lot of goodwill: 195 kilos of olives that at the oil mill Pagliaia di Radicondoli turned into 21.5 kilos of oil. Yield of 11%.
At the oil mill they tell me: “Some got 13%.” I smile. Because, in reality, every olive grove is a story of its own, and every olive grower, even an improvised one like me, fights different battles.
I, for example, come from total ignorance. This year I was wandering among the trees convinced I could harvest “the old-fashioned way”, with hand rakes and a 4x8 tarp.
I got everything wrong!
However, I learned, and here I leave you the key points (brains in your head) for an organized and efficient harvest.
1. Don’t let them grow too tall (the olive trees).
Vertical branches do give olives, yes, but also a good dose of frustration. If the olive shaker can't reach them, the only way is to cut them. Better to keep them within reach.
2. Forget the Amish.
Hand-picking is only poetic until you actually do it.
The truth? It's agricultural self-harm. The process drags on and the olives, if they don't go straight to the mill, start to deteriorate. Moral: electric olive shakers all the way, preferably with the battery in a backpack.
3. Clean the ground.
Brambles, tall grass, shrubs: they are the invisible enemies of the nets.
Take a round first with the brushcutter or mower: it will save you hours and a lot of cursing.
4. Olive fruit fly: not optional.
I put a trap every two trees, but it's never enough. They cost little and make a difference. Better to overdo it, because this year the fly was there—oh yes, it was there, as you can see from the photos below.
5. Long and smooth nets.
The striped ones, which cover at least two or three trees at a time, are the key to moving quickly.
6. Motivated team, full stomach.
No harvest without food and proper pay. Good oil is also born from mutual respect, not from exploiting acquaintances and friends.
7. Listen to the olives, not the dogmas.
Some say “before,” some say “after.” I learned to look at them: when they are half green and half purple, that's the right time to pick them.
In the end, more than a job, the harvest is a little ritual. Behind every bottle of oil there is an immense physical effort to experience and a lot of pride.
