The French have specially contrived pliers with a stop which
admits cracking and prevents crushing. Olive seeds in their natural
condition germinate slowly and irregularly. They must be kept moist and
planted about an inch deep in sandy loam, covering with chaff or litter
to prevent drying of the surface. Before experimenting with olive pits,
crack a few to see if they have good plump kernels. Seedling olives must
be grafted, of course, to be sure of getting the variety you want. For
this reason growth from cuttings is almost universal.
Neglected Olive Trees.
I have a lot of olive trees which have grown up around the old stumps.
They are large trees and some of them have six or eight trunks. Should I
cut away all but one trunk or let them alone? There are some of the
trees with small olives; others none.
If the olive trees which were originally planted were trained at first
and still have a good trunk and tree form, the suckers which have
intruded from below should be removed. If, however, the trees have been
allowed to grow many branches from below, so that there is really no
single tree remaining, make a selection of four or five of the best
shoots and grow the trees in large bush form, shortening in the higher
growth so as to bring the fruit within easier reach and reduce the cost
of picking. You can also develop a single shoot into a tree as you
suggest.
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