Growers and Producers of Premium Organic Table Olives, Tapenades and Preserves

Newsletter - Spring 1999 Well, it's been a frantic few months for Figtree Retreat Olives. The label was officially launched by Peter Howard (Good Morning Australia) at the Regional Food Classes held at Huntington Winery in Mudgee in May. The reaction to the tastings was outstanding, with the VERDALE and MANZANILLA (picked green) the leading lights. Credit must go to Olives Australia for their wonderful non-chemical recipe. Vogue Entertaining and Travel Magazine did a story on us which is featured in their September 1999 issue. Next came the Mudgee Small Farm Field Days where all available stock was sold out on the first day and almost 1,000 people tasted the olives. Many different reactions were noted with a lot of people being confused by our au-naturale method (no-additives). A lot of people expected marinated olives. We will have to start publishing recipe sheets!! Most of the stock is now safely bottled using the method recommended in the U.C.L.A. olive manual. The rest is sitting in an 8% brine in cold storage as the temperature starts to rise in Mudgee. Speaking of the weather, we will return to the Grove. There was a heavy frost on May 17th which hit some of the Kalamatas, burning some of the tender new growth. The Manzanillas were fine, though growth lower down was slightly burnt. Kangaroos and rabbits continue to be a problem. Tree guards must be regularly checked and as for the kangaroos, well... all I can say is that we're organic and I'm not sure of the chemical status of gunpowder! (Just joking!) We planted broad beans and Russian garlic around the trees. Broad beans to fix nitrogen and the garlic as a natural insecticide and soil disinfectant. Hardly any irrigation was needed over Winter as there always seemed to be an inch of rain every two weeks. Even now in the critical Spring flowering stage we are getting an inch a week. The flower buds are forming and hopefully pollination will occur between the Kalamata, Manzanillo and Sevillano, leading to fruit. If we don't get enough fruit again this year we will have to look to buying in fruit. Well that's all for now. We'll probably update again in January when we know more about how much fruit is on.

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