History Of Peach Trees, Prunus Persica

Peach trees, Prunus persica, are originally believed to have come from China to the Mideast through the trade routes known to extend to Turkey and Iran (Persia). The peach seeds could be used to plant and grow trees throughout North Africa and Europe and finally were introduced to America in the mid 1500’s. The first appearance of peaches in China may date back to 2000 BC.

Historians believe that peach trees were first introduced into the colonial settlements of the United States by the French explorers in 1562 at territories along the Gulf coastal region near Mobile, Alabama, then by the Spaniards who established Saint Augustine, Florida in 1565 on the Atlantic seaboard. The peach trees were planted from peach seed imported from Europe in an effort to establish a self sustaining, agricultural. fruit tree product to feed the colonists. American Indians spread the planting of the peach trees throughout vast territories by transporting the peach seed to other tribes that lived in the interior regions. This new crop of fruit was fast growing, producing a delicious peach two or three years from planting. The trees were so productive and vigorous that sometimes, widespread impenetrable thickets became established from the peach seeds that fell to the ground from fruit unharvested. The illusion was formed by settlers after 1600 that the peach trees were native to the United States, since they were so widely spread and grew so vigorously everywhere.

Captain John Smith wrote about peach trees that were growing in Jamestown, Virginia in 1629. William Penn recorded in 1683 that dense, native thickets of wild peach trees were full of fruit just north of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

The first plant nursery to become established in the United States was the Prince Nursery of Flushing, New York, in 1774 that sold grafted cultivars of peach trees to customers. General George Washington visited this nursery and had previously purchased fruit from them. An extensive group of grafted peach trees was sent to the Thomas Jefferson fruit tree orchards from Prince Nursery. President Thomas Jefferson was instrumental in the importation of many new agricultural products from Europe through his influence as Minister to France before the American Revolution. The aggressiveness and monumental fruit production of peach trees impressed him to establish a “living fence,” that encircled his expansive gardens at his home at Monticello, Virginia, in 1794. Jefferson found many other uses for peach trees such as the brewing of brandy in 1782. Jefferson wrote to his granddaughter, Martha, in 1818 that a slave “is busy drying peaches for you.” These sun-dried peaches were called “peach chips” and retained a good quality for eating, even after months of storage. Peaches were juiced and mixed with tea to form a delicious drink. In December of 1795, Jefferson planted 1151, peach trees after he had experimented with planting in 1807, the “black plumb peach of Georgia,” (Indian Blood Cling Peach). This naturalized peach wonder had been planted throughout the State of Georgia by the Indians and was a dark-red velvety color with tiger-like striping. This fragrant peach was extremely desirable because of its rich coloring and taste. Also, this peach was a perfect size to peel and pickle into a Southern holiday treat. This aromatic peach was ideal to make into jams, preserves, cobblers, pies, cakes, and ice cream. Jefferson believed that this Indian cling blood peach was a cross between naturalized peach trees and a French cultivar peach, “Sanguinole.”

William Bartram, the famous American botanist and explorer, wrote in his book, Travels, in 1773 several accounts of his observations of ancient peach and plum orchards growing in Georgia, South Carolina, and Alabama. Bartram visited the ruins of a French plantation in 1776 near Mobile, Alabama, and recorded “I came presently to old fields, where I observed ruins of ancient habitations, there being abundance of peach and fig trees loaded with fruit.”

Peach trees are grown primarily as a fruit tree; however, great interest in the non-fruiting, flowering peach tree was shown by President Thomas Jefferson who planted a double flowered tree that spectacularly bloomed at his home in Virginia in 1805.

Flowering peach trees rate high, and desirable new cultivars of ornamental peach trees are available for planting and flowering with colors of white, pink, red, and peppermint (a mixture of red and white flower petals). These flowering peach trees are sterile in fruit production and bloom early in the spring, loaded with large colorful clusters of single or double flowered peach petals.

Peaches are less popular as a fresh fruit than a few years ago, primarily because most commercial peach cultivars (varieties) are tailored by hybridizers to grow and ship as a firm fruit. The firmness of these peaches is important when a grower considers shipping the peach fruit long distances, but not enough attention has been given by plant hybridizers to saving the ancient qualities of aroma, juiciness, flavor, and seed separation from the pulp. Another problem damaging fresh peach sales is that the labor hired to pick the fruit from the tree is not properly trained nor personally concerned in the ultimate ripening of the peach fruit into a juicy, soft, delicious, tasty peach. The peaches are simply picked too soon and too firm to provide a fruit product that compared to a backyard orchard, tree-ripened delicacy that our older citizens often experienced in their grandfather’s back yard garden.

Most of the peaches grown by commercial orchards today are fruits that are harvested while too firm with a seed that clings to the pulp called a “clingstone” peach. The best flavored peaches ripen soft and the seed easily separates from the edible portion, and these are called “freestone” peaches.

Peach trees grown in the United States differ greatly from the aggressive, disease resistant, tasty, aromatic fruits grown by the early Americans. Over the centuries, the immune qualities of the peach trees to insects and diseases have been bred out by hybridizers, and these qualities have been replaced by inferior genes that make it difficult to buy a good flavorful peach at the store. The alternative to this problem is to buy tree ripened soft fruit at a fruit stand, pick-your-own orchard, or to grown your own backyard garden peaches concentrating on planting and growing old cultivars of the non-commercial home garden types.

Peach trees in American have steadily declined in vigor in the past 300 years, to the point that the life expectancy is only 15-20 years or less. This factor has been explained by some fruit tree observers as due to an array of incremental factors, such as disease and insect weakening of the tree and leaves, nematodes, and improper soils and drainage; however, these problems pre-existed in the environment, when peach trees were introduced into America. The likely explanation of peach tree decline is more probably connected to the weak gene immunity that has appeared in peach tree hybridization focused toward commercial tree production that ends with an early, firm peach, clingstone, with shipping advantages to distant markets.

The peach tree grows into a handsome canopy of dark-green rich foliage to a height of 6 to 10 feet. Most peach trees available in the United States are adapted and grown successfully in over 30 states. The grafted semi-dwarf peach trees are self pollinated, even before the flowers fully open, and the tree is cold hardy to negative 20 degrees Fahrenheit; however, the red to pink delicate flowers can be damaged by temperatures below 28 degrees Fahrenheit. Some orchardists like light frosts that will thin the bloom set, producing larger fruit. If extremely heavy flowering occurs, the excess flowers can be removed to 6 inch intervals, or by a chemical thinning that results in a much more marketable crop of fruit.

A developing peach can grow in various sizes of individual fruits on the same tree that requires considerable grading before marketing. The peach is covered with a characteristic fuzz that some growers prefer to reduce or removed mechanically before sales. A nectarine is nothing more than a fuzzless peach, even though certain distinct cultivars of nectarines are offered. In his classic 12 volume book of botanical insight in 1921, Luther Burbank in Fruit Improvement believed that the peach had evolved from a nectarine-like ancestor with the fuzz developing as a shield of protection, unlike the fuzzless nectarine. He theorized that the fuzz shielded the fruit from sunshine, moisture, wind, insect, and disease damage. The nectarine, he felt, was repressed by evolutionary restraints, because the nectarine lacked fuzz as a protective armor. The cousin of the nectarine, the almond, was crossed by Burbank in order to create a nectarine fruit with an edible almond pit, thus two crops from one hybridization, a fruit and an edible nut. Burbank also performed many interspecific crosses of peach with nectarine. The peach is quite fragile and subject to bruising if handled roughly.

Peach trees require a certain number of chilling hours in order to break dormancy properly and set a good crop of fruit. During a season most States will experience 500 chill hours in the winter; however, in many states, like central and southern Florida, the trees will not fruit properly unless cultivars are planted to fulfill low chilling requirements. It is very important to plant and grow peach trees on well drained soils. The fruit tastes better if trees are planted in the full sun, so that the early morning light will dry the dew on the peach leaves and fruit. Peach trees should be planted 12-15 feet apart in rows and will benefit by the application of lime and phosphate fertilizers around the ground beneath the branches. Weeds will be prevented in backyard orchards by heavily mulching, but otherwise the weeds should be mowed or sprayed with herbicides. Several kinds of peach varieties are usually planted to extend the availability and ripening of the fruit on the trees. Many cultivars are recommended for planting, such as: the Belle of Georgia, Elberta, Hale Haven, Harvester, Indian Blood Cling, Red Haven, Reliance, Gala, May Gold, Southern Pearl, Suwanee, Florida King, Florida Dawn, and many other low chill Florida fruiting cultivars.

Peaches contain antioxidants that are important health considerations in maintaining healthy bodies. Many websites that recommend eating pits of peaches or apricots to prevent cancer should be urged to research the fact that the seeds contain a poison organic chemical, cyanogen, which produces fatal cyanide poisoning that has caused sudden death for many people, including Steve McQueen, a famous movie actor of the last century.

Peach fruit has been demonstrated to contain healthy portions of Vitamin A, Vitamin B1, Vitamin B2, and Niacin. Peaches also contain the minerals Calcium, Phosphorus, Iron, and Potassium.

Peach trees may be planted in various semi-dwarf sizes and ages for backyard fruit gardens and occasionally larger trees will grow fruit the first year of planting, but small trees usually begin bearing in the third year.

Apricot Trees

Apricot trees have a long history of cultivation. Apricots seemed to have originated in China and from there they were spread throughout central Asia. From there the Romans spread them into Europe. Apricot fruit is very tasty and they are now widely grown and consumed in the United States. Apricot trees flowers are white or pink and the trees produce a stone-fruit with soft flesh. It ripens to an orange-yellow color. Apricots contain good amounts of vitamin A and kalium. It is also an excellent source of minerals like calcium, phosphorus, iron and traces of sodium, sulphur. Manganese, cobalt and bromine. Apricots do not store well and so they are eaten fresh, dried, or frozen. Apricots are a staple of the jam industry.

 Apricot tree need well drained soils for optimum health and production. The soil should be moderately fertile. It is best to thin the fruit early in the season to maximize size and quality. Thin the fruits enough so each individual fruit has about 3 to 5 inches of room. Apricot trees are quite handsome trees in the summer displaying the furrowed bark and heart shaped glossy leaves. A number of apricot-plum hybrids, such as plum-cot, Pluot, and Aprium, have been developed and are gaining popularity. These apricots trees are all orchard quality trees.

How To Save Your Fruit Tree Blossoms From A Spring Freeze.

In most parts of the country it's still dead of Winter. However, in a few spots like here in the Desert Southwest, the warming weather starts to play tricks on Spring budding trees and plants. They think it's time to wake up when it's really not quite safe to.

In my own garden, I have an old Peach Tree that produces the most wonderful almost softball size peaches. And up until a few years ago, I rarely got the opportunity to see one make it past the blossom stage.

As sure as the first warm days would wake the old tree up in a display of absolute pink, so surely would a Springtime freeze bring it to an end.

But then one day a few Springs back..... I had a great idea.

It was a little overdue but still quite fortunate that I picked those first warm Spring days to take down and put up the Christmas lights. Because as I held those lights in my hands and looked over at that beautiful pink tree just coming into its glory, a light bulb turned on in my head.

Hmmm....., are you thinking what I’m thinking? I'm sure you are and it does work.
From then on I've been able to get the majority of my blossoms to the point of battling birds and June bugs. However, battling the birds and June bugs will be another article altogether.

While I am more comfortable to grow more fruit trees now, I find that this method still works well for me because I do only have a  few trees. I'm not sure how practical, cost effective, or easy it would be to string Christmas lights through more than a few trees.
If you do ever use this method, use the old fashioned base type bulbs and not the little twinkling lights. They put off more heat. Also, if you live in an area where the climate is harsher than here in the desert, it may be helpful to place a sheet of plastic or tarp over the trees in addition to the lights.

While there are other ways of protecting your trees and plants from a freeze, I just thought I would share this with you.


 

Grow Kiwi Fruit From Seeds

Did you know that kiwifruit is more than 700 years old? Kiwifruit history began in the Yang-tse river valley in China, where it was called "Yangtao." The Yangtao was considered a delicacy by the court of the great Khans who cherished its delicious flavor and emerald-green color. The small, brown, fuzzy "Yangtao" fruit grew wild on vines that wrapped around trees. Between 1800 and 1900 knowledge of the fruit spread to other countries, and samples of the fruit and seeds were sent to England. In 1904 plant cuttings were brought to the United States (1999 Produce Availability and Merchandising Guide, The Packer. 1999). Seeds were sent to New Zealand in 1906, and the fruit was renamed the "Chinese Gooseberry" (Wellness Encyclopedia of Food and Nutrition, 1992). New Zealand's "Chinese Gooseberry" variety was first shipped to the United States in 1962, where it was re-named Kiwifruit after New Zealand's national bird the "kiwi." In the 1970s it was grown in California and available for the first time in supermarkets throughout the United States. Most kiwifruit imported to the United States comes from Chile and New Zealand. Kiwifruit is available year-round

How to grow kiwi fruit from seeds:

Remove the kiwifruit seeds, wash them under running water to remove any traces of sugar and lay them on a paper towel to dry for two days.

Add moist perlite to a sandwich bag until it is one quarter full. Push the kiwi seeds into the perlite, seal the bag and place it in the refrigerator where it should remain for four months.

Remove the seeds from the perlite and plant them in a nursery pot filled with moist, sterile potting soil. Push them 1/8 inch into the soil. Cover the pot with plastic wrap and place it in an area with bright, indirect sun.

Remove the plastic wrap when the kiwifruit seeds germinate and cover the surface of the soil with a 1/8-inch layer of sand. Keep the soil slightly moist.

Transplant each seedling into its own planting pot, filled with moist, sterile potting mix, when it has four sets of leaves. Keep the pots in a bright area and maintain moist soil.

Transplant the seedlings into the garden when they are 6 inches or taller and all danger of frost has passed.

Amend the soil in the planting area by adding 3 inches of compost and mixing it to a depth of 10 inches.

Plant the kiwifruit vines 10 feet apart. Choose the strongest cane on each one and tie it to the support post so that it will grow straight up. Do not allow it to twist around the support post.

Fertilize the kiwifruit in the spring of its second year in the garden. Use 2 oz. of 10-10-10 fertilizer scattered around each kiwifruit plant. Add 2 oz. to this amount in each subsequent year until you are giving them the maximum, 8 oz.

Pruning Peach Trees

Early spring is the best time, shortly before fruit begins to appear. On average, peach trees should be pruned by February, as they begin to bloom in early March. A more specific sign is to wait just long enough that the last of the spring frosts are over and then prune, as blooming will soon follow. If you only have a few peach trees, it's possible to wait until pink buds first begin to appear.
Vigorous upright growths are called water sprouts. Any fruit grown here is often poorer quality. They tend to shade lower branches, which is a problem because sunlight is crucial to fruit color. Also, if left unchecked, they will lead to fruit growing higher and higher out of arm’s reach.
Most, if not all, of the water sprouts can be pruned away.

Wood that is brittle, grayish in appearance and/or dried out is already dead or dying, and needs to be removed. These are usually weak enough to be broken off by hand. Be sure to remove any fruit remaining from the year prior if necessary.

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Pruning crossing limbs, especially near the trunk of the tree, is necessary for many reasons. It promotes good airflow, which deters against infestations and allows proper application of pesticides. It allows other growing branches to get more sunlight, which is crucial for proper fruit growth and color. Also, branches stuck in the shade one year are more likely to be deadwood the next. Fruit growing on the cross branches often rubs up against other fruit and branches, which could cause disease problems later.


It is common for smaller twigs and branches to break off from wind or the weight of the fruit. If this happens, it needs to be pruned at least past the breaking point, and preferably back to where the twig meets the branch. Even if it is still alive, this break is an attractive place for bugs to start eating into your tree.

Any branches, twigs or fruit left around your tree could be a cause for disease later on.

Don’t be afraid to cut too much from your tree. Many people are afraid to cut too much off, but in reality you’ll end up trimming as much as 40% of your peach tree.

History Of Pomegranates

Because of the many seeds found in pomegranate fruits, they were regarded as a symbol of fertility by the ancient cultures of Egypt, Greece, and Rome. The Greek writer, Homer, wrote about pomegranates growing at Syracuse, on the island of Sicily. The Bible of the Hebrews records many references to the pomegranate, and the image of the fruit was used extensively in molding and stone sculptures found in Solomon’s temple at Jerusalem, Israel.

Pomegranates, ‘Punica granatum,’ are native shrubs and trees found growing throughout much of the Middle East, and much of Europe. The pomegranates appear to be the dominant landscape trees growing along roadsides of Albania, Montenegro, Bulgaria, and many parts of Turkey. The pomegranate trees appeared in Spain around 800AD by the Moors. Granada, Spain, on the coast of the Mediterranean, got its name from the Latin name of the pomegranate, ‘Punica granatum.’ The French named the new explosive weapon, hand grenade, after the Latinized ‘Punica granatum,’ pomegranate, because the impact from the explosion of the weapon scattered the numerous small pieces of metal like the many seeds of the pomegranate fruit.
Cultivated extensively in Spain, pomegranates moved with the missionaries into Mexico, California, and Arizona in the 16th century. In America pomegranate trees were introduced into California by Spanish missionaries in the mid 1700’s.

Pomegranate fruits are ruby-red fruits about 2 to 5 inches in diameter. They resemble small apples, and derive their name from the French word, ‘Pome,’ meaning apple. Fruits have numerous seeds are each surrounded by a pink to purplish-red, juicy pulp which is the edible portion. The pulp is somewhat puckery to the taste.

Pomegranates, ‘Punica granatum,’ are dense, bushy shrubs 6 to 12 feet tall with thorny, slender branches that may be trained into small trees. Orange-red flowers appear on new growth in the spring and summer and are bell-shaped and vase-shaped. The vase-shaped flowers are normally sterile, so they will not develop into fruit. The fruit contains numerous seeds surrounded by sweet, pink, juicy, tasty pulp covered with leathery-brown to red, bitter skin, which is easily peeled. Pomegranate juice stains can be difficult to remove from clothing. This juice was used by the ancients as an ink or dye, because of its persistence in staining permanently. The thick skin surrounding the pomegranate is high in tannins, and the ancients dried the skins and made leather-like products; the thick skin gives the fruit a long shelf life, lasting up to two months when cooled.

When trained as a tree, pomegranates grow toward a bushy habit with many suckers arising from the root and crown area. Tree-type plants can be produced by allowing only one trunk to develop. Additionally suckers can be removed frequently around the main trunk.

Pomegranate trees pollinate themselves. Severe fruit drop during the plant's juvenile period (2-3 years) is not uncommon. Fruit drop is increased by practices favoring leafy growth such as over-fertilization and over watering. Avoid putting young plants under stressful conditions. Mature trees set and hold fruit better than younger trees.

Mature pomegranate trees develop a thick bark, which is cold hardy to temperatures tested in Georgia and have withstood the zero degrees Fahrenheit experienced in January of 1984. Younger shrubs and trees of pomegranate have thin bark that do not show a high survival rate in lower temperatures, but the plant may be regenerated from the roots in the spring. Light annual pruning of established trees encourages the development of good quality fruit. Excessive or late applications of fertilizer tends to delay fruit maturity and will reduce color and quality.

The commercial orchard production of pomegranates is mostly concentrated in California, and the fruit begins to appear in Eastern markets in mid-October, just in time for the Thanksgiving and Christmas seasons.

Like picking wild scuppernongs from a childhood vineyard, this is an experience that children always remember--the fun and the fulfillment of the happy days during childhood preserved in the memories of growing up. A century ago every farmer had a pomegranate plant in his yard that he had grown from a seed. Some of these plants developed into bushes and some grew into trees.

The fruit is strange looking in appearance and when opened with a knife appears even stranger inside looking like hundreds of juicy red, individual pulpy fruits, each with a removable seed

Pomegranate juice is one of nature’s most powerful antioxidants. Pom Wonderful Pomegranate juice has more naturally occurring antioxidant power than any other drink, more than red wine, green tea, blueberry juice and cranberry juice. Antioxidants help your body guard against free radicals; molecules that can cause premature aging, heart disease Alzheimer’s, even cancer. Drink a glass today! Researchers have shown that people who drink 2 oz, of pomegranate juice each day for one week increased their body antioxidant activity by 9% in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition
Another study (Nov. 2003) showed that pomegranate extract will fight skin cancer at an American Association for Cancer Research conference.

The pomegranate harvest in 2006 is expected to be the largest ever, because of the hype and excitement generated by the news of the spectacular health improvement, that can be expected by drinking only 2oz. of pomegranate juice each day, according to the Pomegranate Council, based in San Francisco, California.

Additional health benefits offered by the pomegranate fruit results from the minerals: Calcium, Iron, Potassium, Phosphorus, and the Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Vitamin B1, Vitamin B2, and niacin.

 

History Of Olive Trees

Olive trees, ‘Olea europaea,’ are the oldest fruit trees and certainly are one of the most important fruit trees in history. Olive tree culture has been closely connected to the rise and fall of Mediterranean empires and other advanced civilizations throughout the ages. Because olive trees offered wealth and future food supplies to established civilizations, the agricultural nations became stable societies, resulting from a secure expectation from past experience of an uninterrupted food and olive oil supply. This factor was a necessary requirement for population growth and increase. Dependable fruit production and olive oil production means that olive trees must exist in a stable society and a peaceful environment. That stability must extend for many years, since most ancient seedling olive trees required eight or more years before ever producing the first crop of fruit. Productive orchards of olive trees meant that a foundation of the great empires of Greece and Rome had arisen and developed into complex economic and political forces. It is interesting to note that the historical decline of these empires corresponded to the destruction of their olive tree orchards that reduced the available supplies of olives, olive oil, olive wood, and olive soap. In connection with the destruction of olive orchards, it is interesting to note that in the Israeli wars with Palestine, 50,000 olive trees were destroyed by Israeli bulldozers. That act of agricultural destruction resulted in considerable anger and unrest along the Gaza strip and the West Bank, because the economic livelihood of many Palestinian farmers depended on their products from the uprooted olive trees. Additionally, the olive tree was historically a ‘peace and goodwill’ symbol, and when the olive trees were leveled near the city of Bethlehem, the birthplace of Jesus and the “Cradle of Biblical History,” that elimination of olive trees seemed like a deliberate provocation to end the ‘peace’ with the Palestinian settlers and farmers.

The Greeks recognized that in their vast empire they must avoid hostilities and war during the period that the Olympic Games were being conducted, and they declared a worldwide armistice so that their complete attention could be directed toward their athletic events and games.

Medical properties of olive oil were reported by many ancient Greek writers and philosophers, their importance in creating nutritional benefits and wealth for Greek citizens continues abundantly today--some Greek olive tree orchards containing a million or more trees. Aristotle wrote extensively about the accepted methods of successfully growing olive trees.

Greek mythology records that Athena, the Goddess of wisdom and peace, struck her magic spear into the Earth, and it turned into an olive tree, thus, the location where the olive tree appeared and grew was named Athens, Greece, in honor of the Goddess, Athena. Local legend tells us that the original olive tree still stands growing after many centuries at the ancient sacred site. Citizens still claim that all Greek olive trees originated from rooted cuttings that were grown from that original olive tree. Homer claimed in his writings that the ancient olive tree growing in Athens was already 10,000 years old. Homer stated that Greek courts sentenced people to death if they destroyed an olive tree. In 775 BC Olympia, Greece, at the site of the ancient Olympic stadium, athletes competed and trained, and winners were triumphantly acclaimed and crowned with a wreath made of olive twigs. Ancient gold coins that were minted in Athens depicted the face of the Goddess, Athena, wearing an olive leaf wreath on her helmet holding a clay vessel of olive oil. The Greeks began olive cultivation in 700 BC. The sacred lamp that was used in ancient Greek culture for lighting dark rooms at night was fueled by olive oil. Aged olive oil was also used in sacred anointing rituals of the church at weddings and at baptisms. Herodotus wrote in 500 BC, that the growing and exporting of olives and olive oil were so sacred that only virgins and eunuchs were allowed to cultivate orchards of olive trees. The first documented plantings of olive trees may have occurred during the Minoan civilization on the island of Crete and are believed to have been growing around 3500 BC. That civilization predates the discovered Mycenae olive fossils from 1600 BC and later in the Greek empire. Sturt Manning, an archeologist from Cornell University, reported in Live Science Magazine (Apr 28, 2005) that the most devastating volcano in 10,000 years occurred on the Greek Island of Thera, after which the city of Akrotiri was totally buried by the falling ash. The finding of olive wood and olive seed fossils buried near the site has shown through carbon dating that the volcanic eruption occurred between 1660 and 1600 BC and may have contributed to the total destruction of the advanced Minoan civilization (Atlantis) on the isle of Crete and may have led to the formation of the Sahara desert in North Africa after vaporizing the native forests there.

In the Old Testament of the Hebrew Bible (Gen 8:11), Noah was given an olive branch by a dove after the great flood as a symbol of peace and love of God, which it remains today. In the book of Exodus, Moses explains that God expected olive oil to be used in various rituals that were performed by priests of Israel. Olive oil was used as an anointing oil to be poured over the heads of Kings and priests that acknowledged their authority as an agent of God. Many other references to olives are given in the Bible. Psalms 52:8 “But I am like the green olive tree in the house of God, I trust in the steadfast love of God forever and ever.” Finally, Jesus was to spend his last day praying at the mount of olives garden of Gethsemane, in Jerusalem before his crucifixion. Jesus was arrested there, tried, convicted, crucified and later ascended to heaven, after his resurrection from the tomb.

Impressionist artists were stunned by the antique age and beauty of olive trees and their productiveness that resulted in masterpiece paintings by Van Gogh, Cezanne, Renoir, and Matisse. The world’s great Biblical reporters, literary writers, and poets immortalized the olive tree, such people as Jesus, Milton, Shakespeare, and Lord Byron.

Thomas Jefferson wrote “The olive tree is the richest gift of heaven.” The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has reported “Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson, who traveled abroad, brought plant material such as olive trees and rice back to the U.S. to develop United States agricultural production.” Thomas Jefferson was the U.S. ambassador to France during the Revolutionary War, and he began to import olive trees and seeds into the southern U.S. The excessive humidity of South Carolina and Georgia did not allow profitable olive tree orchards to develop properly in those areas. Jefferson wrote “The greatest service which can be rendered to any country is to add a useful plant to its culture.” He ranked his introduction of the olive tree and dry rice into South Carolina as two of his top lifetime achievements. Thomas Jefferson wrote to James Ronaldson on January 13, 1813, “it is now twenty-five years since I sent them (southern planters) two shipments of about 500 plants of the olive tree of Aix, the finest olive trees in the world.”

The fragrant flowers of olive trees are small and creamy white, hidden within the thick leaves. Some cultivars will self pollinate, but others will not. The blossoms usually begin appearing in April and can continue for many months. A wild, seedling olive tree normally begins to flower and produce fruit at the age of 8 years. The fruit of the olive tree is a purplish-black when completely ripe, but a few cultivars are green when ripe and some olives turn a color of copper-brown. The size of the olive fruit is variable, even on the same tree, and the shape ranges from round to oval with pointed ends. Some olives can be eaten fresh after sun-drying and the taste is sweet, but most olive cultivars are bitter and must be treated by various chemical solutions before developing into edible olives. If the olives are thinned on the limbs of the trees to 2 or 3 per twig, the ultimate size of the olives will be much larger. The fruit is gathered in mid October and should be processed as soon as possible to prevent fermentation and a decline in quality.

The leaves of olive trees are gray-green and are replaced at 2-3 year intervals during the spring after new growth appears. Pruning yearly and severely is very important to insure continued production. The trees have the unproductive limbs removed, “so that it will be more fruitful” John 15:2. An olive tree can grow to 50 feet with a limb spread of 30 feet, but most growers will keep the tree pruned to 20 feet to assure maximum production. New sprouts and trees will emerge from the olive tree stump roots, even if the trees are cut down. Some olive trees are believed to be over a thousand years old, and most will live to the ripe old age of 500 years.

Olives generally are beaten off trees with poles, harvested mechanically or by shaking the fruit from the trees onto canvas. Most ripening olives are removed from the trees after the majority of the fruit begins to change in color. It is important to squeeze out the olive oil within a day after harvesting or else fermentation or decline in flavor and quality will occur. The olive oil can be consumed or used in cooking immediately after its collection from the press. Olive oils are unique and distinct, each brand of olive oil having its own character, as determined by many factors, like those unique flavor differences found in fine wines. Prepared commercial olive oils can vary greatly in aroma, fruit flavor; whether the taste is, flowery, nutty, delicate, or mild, and the coloring of olive oil is quite variable.

Olive oil produces many health benefits when used in cooking or when poured over salads. The use of olive oil can improve digestion and can benefit heart metabolism through its low content of cholesterol. Experts claim that olive oil consumption will cause a person to grow shiny hair, prevent dandruff, prevent wrinkles, prevent dry skin and acne, strengthen nails, stop muscle aching, lower blood pressure and cancel out the effects of alcohol.

Olive trees can survive droughts and strong winds, and they grow well on well drained soils up to a pH of 8.5 and the trees can tolerate salt water conditions. In Europe, olive trees are normally fertilized every other year with an organic fertilizer. Alternate bearing can be avoided by heavy pruning and generally the trees respond to this very quickly and favorably.

Olive trees should be purchased that have been vegetatively propagated or grafted, because the seed grown trees will revert to a wild type that yields small olives with an insipid taste. Olive trees are more resistant to diseases and insects than any other fruit tree and, therefore, are sprayed less than any other crop.

The Romans conquered Greece in 146 BC, and the victors took olive secrets to Rome, but since then Greece has remained the greatest exporter of olive oil during the centuries. The olive tree seems to be perfectly adapted for growing in the mild climate of the Mediterranean countries. The trees grow well in dry areas with mild winters and long hot summers, even enduring drought conditions or high winds. The European area of the Mediterranean produces 98% of the world olive oil supply. Olive seed are believed to have been brought to California in 1769 to grow into trees hardy to 12 degrees Fahrenheit. Those olive trees were cultivated in the Franciscan Spanish monasteries.

Even though commercial production of olives in the United States is only 2% of the world market, great interest in growing olives throughout the South has been stimulated by the recent introduction of promising cold hardy olive trees from European hybridizers. Many European immigrants to the United States grow their own olive trees in large pots, that can be moved in and out of the house during seasonal changes.