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Olive of My Life
I wanted to own a grove.
Thomas DeVere Wolsey
Did you know there are three types of olive oil? Yes, that’s right. Three. Virgin, extra-virgin, and oil with a questionable past[1].
Alright, I promise that is the first and last olive joke I will post. That is likely a lie, of course. In this series, I document my journey to own and run an olive finca in Spain. Though there is a wealth of information available on the logistics of growing and selling olives, the reality (at least my reality) is that the devil is in olive the details.
It is one thing to know that you need to fertilize the olives, but it is quite another to learn where to buy that fertilizer. In Spain, you go to the fertilizer store, if you can find it!
Suppose you want to keep the land cleared so the weeds do not soak up the nutrients and water. Easy, right? Not at all.
All you need is an olive grove, harvest the crop, then you sell it to the highest bidder, correct? Nope again.
My olive grove (or is it an orchard?) is in Catalonia, so we will start exploring how to navigate the olive terrain from that corner of Spain. Along the way, we will also explore some of the great mysteries of the olive, recipes that make use of the olive fruit, and learn a bit of olive vocabulary, too. The next installment will explore what you need to purchase the olive grove in the first place.
Also, a disclaimer is necessary here: What you read here should not be construed as legal or agricultural advice. Every olive journey is unique.
[1] 73+ Olive Jokes That Will Make You Laugh Out Loud (jokojokes.com)
