The Farm

The farm is located in the foothills of the Sierra Sur of Seville, in the municipality of Morón de la Frontera and is exclusively dedicated to the cultivation of the olive grove.

The farming system is determined by the integrated production regulations. The drip irrigation system allows the olive tree to take advantage of the minimum amount of water that is used. The non-till farming, maintaining vegetation cover, is practiced since 20 years ago. This practice minimizes the loss of soil by runoff and the damage to the roots of olive trees. Thus, a native vegetable surface is preserved.

Pruning is carefully done, depending on the tree needs and leaving the sunlight enters all over the tree. The remains are crushed on the ground creating a more fertile soil. It incorporates part of the phosphorus, potassium, and organic matter of the remains.

The fertilization is made depending on the identified needs of the tree according to the analytics of leaves.

The harvesting is carried out from September to December. Starting with table olives and after with milling olives. According to the stage of ripeness, olives, from different places of the farm are collected. The harvesting is done partly by hand and partly by means of mechanical vibrations. To ensure the freshness and quality of the fruit, the olives collected are taken to the oil mill within 1hour after being harvested.

Varieties

The olive tree (Olea Europaea) family Oleaceae, has its leaves opposite, lanceolate and short-stalked. Its flowers are whitish colour and are called Eskimo. The fruit or olive, is a succulent and very oily drupe 1cm to 3.5 cm long, ovoid and green in the beginning. It turns black-purple colour as it ripen. The olive tree blooms between May and July, and it is harvested between September and December.

Manzanilla olive from Seville:

Growing area: mainly Seville, over an area of 61,000 hectares cultivated. Followed by Extremadura and Huelva.

It is widely used as a table olive due to its fine texture and high pit-to-meat ratio. Ideal to be stuffed. Its rich taste makes it of an optimal quality. Rarely used for oil extraction. High stability oil with more body, high bitter flavour and intense olive flavour.

Gordal or Queen olive:

Growing area: the province of Seville over an area of 10,600 hectares.

Its name is due to its large size with 12.5 g of weight. It is used as olive table for its great presentation. But its handling is delicate.

Hojiblanca olive:

Growing area: Cordoba, Malaga and Seville over an area of 48,600 hectares.

It owes its name to the light colour of the leaf’s back side. It is used both for table olives and for oil production. Its oil is widely appreciated for its balanced composition of fatty acids with slightly bitter flavour and slightly peppery.

Marteña (Picual) olive:

Growing area: mainly Jaen, Cordoba, Granada, etc.

A variety commonly grown for oil production. Medium-high quality oil with a high content in oleic acid and high stability.