Above: Down in this forest, under the oak trees, lie several dozen olive tree sprouts ranging from 4 to 40 inches in height. They must have sprouted from olive seeds that birds or squirrels dropped from the branches overhead. Why this phenomenon has started only in the last couple of years, we don't know -- though the olive seeds themselves surely came from the one enormous olive tree that lies a hundred yards out of sight, to the right.
Above: Two hours of work netted this little olive tree nursery. First, I dug up the smallest olive tree seedlings I could find out in the forest, then I transplanted them into these red pots. The sprouts, the plastic pots and the (mint condition) pallets were all 100% free. The two bags of potting mix cost me $16.00. 19 seedlings transplanted today, probably 16 to go. I'll try to fit all of them onto these 3 pallets in this sunny, fenced space that is safe from hungry deer. They will be watered regularly.
In a few weeks, if they all look healthy, I'll give them some plant food. Then, in a year or two, when they are healthy and much larger, I will transplant them again, this time into the sunny meadow that will eventually contain the entire olive grove. With real soil, direct sunlight, regular pruning and watering, the grove should be highly productive.
P.S. The larger olive tree seedlings will be transplanted directly from the forest into the olive grove meadow, skipping the potting process entirely. They are already too big for pots. I will put chicken-wire rings around them, and feed them plant food and water, and hopefully these measures, along with direct sunlight, will promote their growth exponentially.
In a few weeks, if they all look healthy, I'll give them some plant food. Then, in a year or two, when they are healthy and much larger, I will transplant them again, this time into the sunny meadow that will eventually contain the entire olive grove. With real soil, direct sunlight, regular pruning and watering, the grove should be highly productive.
P.S. The larger olive tree seedlings will be transplanted directly from the forest into the olive grove meadow, skipping the potting process entirely. They are already too big for pots. I will put chicken-wire rings around them, and feed them plant food and water, and hopefully these measures, along with direct sunlight, will promote their growth exponentially.
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