With the 2012 table olive crop finished harvesting, preparations for the 2013 harvest are well under way!

With the arrival of the colder weather, we’ve started to trim and clean the olive groves on our farm. The pruning of the olive trees is done by hand (using shears) from November to February – this is the period with no vegetative growth.

The trimming process modifies the natural foliage shape, thus obtaining an optimum shadow percentage and consequently a maximum potential productivity of the tree.

When the olive tree is very old, it’s time to renew all or part of the tree. The trimming material is shredded and used as a natural fertilizer (organic material).

With the olive tree pruning, this enables to do a number of different things, including – balance growth and fruiting, lengthening the productive period, obtaining a more efficient use of sunlight and air, and renewing or replacing decaying trees.

The olive fruits will appear in last year’s sprouts, these are very numerous in young branches and rather scarce in old branches. Therefore, we must maintain a balance between growth and fruiting in order to obtain good quality fruit.

So, that’s our update for this year so far! Keep checking back as we’ll be sharing more developments from the olive groves as the weather warms up a little more!

‘Fragata Selection’ is a range of extra large, green Manzanilla olives, stuffed with a smooth anchovy purée from the beautiful, sun drenched Fragata olive groves in Andalucia, Spain. Each olive is freshly picked and lovingly placed, by hand, into its container so it’s looking and tasting its very best when you’re ready to eat it.

All of our olives are hugely versatile and these are no exception. They are especially delicious served chilled as a traditional accompaniment to cocktails, an authentic Spanish tapas dish or used in hundreds of different recipes – just have a look at our recipe book!

Fragata Selection Olives Stuffed with Anchovy are now available in Waitrose stores across the UK and online from www.ocado.com

The region covers just over 15% of Spain and encompasses eight provinces, including Malaga, Grenada and Seville.

Andalucía has a typically Mediterranean climate, boasting hot dry summers and cool winters. Its rich and fertile soils lend themselves perfectly to agriculture which is why the region is famous for both producing some of the world’s finest olives.

For almost 5,000 kilometres, line after line of olive tree dominate Andalucían terrain. On a hot summer’s day, the contrast between the cloudless blue sky and the ancient olive trees is magical. A peaceful place (apart from at harvest time!) the groves are quintessentially Spanish and the perfect place to savour the real flavour of Spain.

Perhaps we’re biased but we think Andalucía is Spain’s most charming and beautiful region. But don’t just take our word for it, come and discover for yourself. See you soon!