What To Do With Olives

If you don't have enough space for a full tree, or if your climate is too cold, you can still have olive trees, as long as you grow them in containers. Bring your container grown olive trees indoors before temperatures fall toward freezing.

If you keep a potted olive tree indoors for the winter, you can move the plant outdoors as summer arrives.Can you really use olive trees as houseplants? They only grow to 6 feet (1.8 m.) tall, and you can also trim these to keep them compact.

Modern Japanese believe that both ingesting and topical application of olive oil are good for the skin and overall health. It has been used as a moisturizer for dry skin or hair. This specification makes for oil with the most favorable flavor profile...

The young olive tree may need to be staked right up against the trunk to assist with stability.Commercial olive tree growers harvest fruit in September or October for canning purposes and small fruit is left until January or February and then pressed...

An olive tree is more vulnerable to frost damage once it is trimmed, which is another argument for waiting until spring. You can prune olive trees in spring or in early summer once the tree begins to open its flower buds.

Infection develops in the spring and early summer and produces galls ½ to 2 inches within 10-14 days.All cultivars of olive are susceptible to olive knot, but only the above portions of the tree are affected.

All olives start out green and then gradually become rosy and finally black. If you are picking for oil, harvest all the olives in this manner and gather up any strays on the ground.

It works well in hedges or as an ornamental specimen, offering fragrant yellow flowers and showy, berry-like fruit. Still, the shrubs grow faster if you give them a drink from time to time in dry weather.If you enjoy pruning and shaping your bushes, you'll...

This is one time when more is better. For this project I used red, green and violet. Dyeing carnations is a great way to introduce them to how plants work, and how important it is to make sure that they have enough moisture.A bunch of white carnations,...

You can also grow living sunflower supports in a circular pattern, and plant beans around them. Create post-harvest shade and privacy by adding a sunflower stalk ceiling to the playhouse.String sunflower stalks together with thin but sturdy wire to make...

Cut it open, remove the seeds, spread them out in a single layer and air dry them. Do not place your face near the chopped peppers and breath in deeply, as the fumes are irritating.

Remove any leaves that will be below water level, so they don't foul up the water. Tulip stems grow another inch or so after you place them in water,, so cutting them after they've grown a bit can perk them up.Because they tend to flip and flop as they...

Or, boil cucumbers to create an aromatic steam that helps to relieve stress and helps people relax. Many possibilities exist with this versatile vegetable.Use cucumbers for cooking, beauty and household applications.Although some cucumber types are specifically...

This article first appeared in the March/April 2007 issue of Hobby Farms magazine . To date, only three varieties have been successfully grown in SHD orchards because of the low-vigor/early-yield requirement.

(You may want to leave a few plants to make seeds to self-sow, and to harvest for cooking. Brown the spices, return the meat to the Dutch oven, add the meat, turn down and simmer for forty minutes.

I?ll admit, lemongrass is one of those herbs that doesn?t exactly grow like wildfire. The most obvious choice is to make a bowl of aromatic Thai soup.To make an easy Tom Ka Gai (coconut chicken soup), heat a little olive oil in the bottom of a pot.Toss...

When you plant basil, you know you are planting an annual and we tend to forget that in the excitement when we pluck off those first fragrant leaves to toss into a salad. If you like your soup creamy, process in batches in a blender, or use an immersion...

They attract pollinators, such as butterflies and bees. Oregano leaves have a very strong flavor, but the flavor of the flowers is more delicate. Oregano is often propagated from cuttings, which are taken while the oregano is blooming.

This can leave you with a lot of dill when the plants get ready to bolt and go to seed, or with a large number of volunteer sprouts the next spring. A lot of people make quiche versions that highlight salmon with the dill and goat cheese, but you can...

Remove this as soon as you can! This layer will prevent water from reaching your soil and will kill your tree. Grow outdoors only.) also known as Tree of a Thousand Stars and Snow Rose.

Many people consider chives the easiest herb to grow. When thinking about chives most people concentrate on the foliage (which look like grass blades).However, every part of the chive plant is edible, and you can use the bulb like a mild onion in a pinch.The...

Parsley is a biannual, which means that in the second year it will bolt and go to seed. However, it is self-seeding, which means if it likes the area where you've planted it, not only will the plant replace itself, but you might get a lot more seedlings...

If you find a nest on the ground, it's possible that it was actually built there. They use their breast to pack down the mud interior of the nest walls. It's also a good time to get to know the differences between your migratory and non-migratory birds.

For general tips on making candles with children—believe me, you want to be prepared— check out my previous Farm Sprouts post . August is the time of year when we extract fresh honey from our hives, and your kids can join in on the fun.

Citrus trees that lack iron in the soil will produce stunted, small and yellowish leaves that weaken the tree due to their lowered capacity for photosynthesis. Nitrogen is a nutrient used in almost every process of life for citrus and fruit trees, from...

After all, it is a member of the mint family. The herb is a "must" in traditional recipes for black bean soup, refried beans and charro beans. Spread the potatoes onto a baking sheet, top with snipped oregano leaves and squeeze on some lemon juice.

Fennel is a beautiful addition to the herb garden, but it does tend to spread if you let it self-seed. So what do you do to keep fennel from becoming a weed in your garden? In France, fennel bulbs are baked, boiled or braised, and are sometimes placed...