Last week had to do a lot with chipping the pruned branches at the olive grove, then a really bad back pain, and some more chipping when I recovered. But the last one was a pretty cool experience. We had precious help unexpectedly and we were on a small trip as well. Work and pleasure!
The olive grove we had to prune is in the center of the island, about two hours from our place and in high altitude. You see, we had to wait for the weather to get warmer to go up there. Where exactly? Well, the locals say that if you cut a cardboard in the shape of Crete and you will try to balance it on a toothpick, that would be the place.
The trees here have to be kept tall, because sheep pass through the field and shouldn't be able to reach and eat the lower branches. Tricky pruning demanding a lot of thought. Also, accepting the fact that olive harvest will never be easy in this place :)
@fotostef is in charge of the chainsaw as usual, and me of tidying up the chaos.
While working, we had a visit. A pleasant one anyway, but this time also proved to be a precious assistant. Our neighbor had just bought this little monster, that looked as a beauty in my eyes! This sweet monster will eat all the brunches in no time. Till then, some preparation is needed.
This is the result of a small trial. Fast and furious.
I decided to make paths with the branches, to make things easier for our friend, but also to have the precious wood chips spread all around the field. Before that, the sheep will take care of the leaves. I am pretty sure they did a pretty good job in exchange of some manure.
Nothing of what we were doing made sense to our canine companion. He spent two days looking at me this way. I laughed every time I looked at him and he was getting even more confused. At the end he took it as a game, a whole arena with hurdles.
There is a beautiful quince tree in the grove that is now blooming.
A huge fig tree, but we had enough of figs in the last post :)
And for the end a beautiful pear tree.
Only trees, no signs of low vegetation. All eaten by the animals. The fresh sprouts of the thorny briers as well - everything comes with pros and cons.
And since this is a bit of a travel garden post, some photos of the landscape. This is one of the most cultivated parts of the island and the scenery is absolutely different from the one I am used to.
Happy gardening everyone!
Great post. Thx. I volunteer in anorganic veggie garden of 1 hectare. The real hard work is not yet starting here in Netherlands.
Wow would love to read about them
I posted some with great pics in the past already
https://peakd.com/homesteading/@goldrooster/tasting-the-seasons-in-organic-garden-update-honest-food
You can also search for goldrosoter and organic garden to find all
Keep growing!
Thank you so much @goldrooster!
Oh wow, one hectare veggies is A LOT of work!!! Very interesting and so many things to learn from such a project. I hope you are enough persons to manage the garden work without extreme effort :)
Thank you @plantpoweronhive :)
Now that's not bad travel and work, hey!!! Sorry your back was sore.. hope it was just due to hard work? Must prune out olives when I get home, no sheep to eat them though. Sorry if I've been missing your posts, still on the road!
Don't be sorry, it is absolutely great that you are still on the road!!! You are my idol 😍
Well, I wish we could skip the sheep part. They can cause so much damage, but we try to focus on the good stuff, manure and no need for mowing, yay!
Travel and work is not bad, but just travel is awesome, so we are getting ready for some "travel only" experience soon!
Have a wonderful time dear @riverflows!
Well done on the pruning! That's a lot of hard work but must have felt rewarding and you made a lot of sheeps happy as well. The confused look on your dog's face is priceless. 😁
Thank you so much @discoveringarni!
Ahahaha! That's sooo true, party time for them!
As for the dog's face, oh my, he was like that ALL the time. Why is she moving the branches all around? What's the point? I think he is wise and knows best 😁
Hahaha, I suddenly had a vision of them partying 😂
🤣
Excellent post! It shows that you are an avid reader and that you have a partner willing to divulge the mysteries of photography... although I think your photography is also intuitive, you have an artistic vision, you see the beauty and that helps so much in framing, choosing the angle and the subject.
Olive orchards are so beautiful, I didn't know they require so much work to care for. I have a question. Why don't you let the sheep clean the branches they reach, because they are still lost (I mean if you shear them they are gone, same if the sheep eat them)? It's probably aesthetic or maybe the sheep cause more damage if they climb the olive tree.
The scenery is gorgeous in this "centerpiece" of the island and photos help a lot.
You are probably on your way to the place where you will celebrate Easter. I wish you a happy and joyful Easter!
What a comment, thank you for your kind words!
Especially for goats, when they eat the leaves and inevitably the edge of a branch as well, then eventually the whole branch will die. It has to do with their saliva.
When sheep eat the edge, this is the productive part of the tree, and the tree will continuously send juices to a place that cannot grow (especially if the sheep are regular visitors at the field) or produce anymore, instead of sending the juice to the healthy parts.
It is a beautiful place. Next time we will take a walk at the village there, it is really nice.
Packing our stuff in a while and ready to go!!!
Thanks for your time, it was very enjoyable and informative. Packing is a less pleasant chore, but you will definitely be rewarded with beautiful days wherever you go. Enjoy your trip!
I urgently need a trip to your place! I don't if a have to pay by feeding the animals or doing farm work. It is very beautiful!! Being surrounded by some many trees and mountains is the paradise for me!
Oh @fanyokami, I would definitely exchange it for a couple of months in your place 😁
I need a trip in Venezuela, I dream of South America for so many years!
Thank you for the lovely comment!
Well you are welcome here anytime you want!! I offer myself to be your trip guide haha!!