We are busy cleaning bins, collecting tarps and mowing, in order to be ready for the Olive Harvest Party next weekend. We hope to see some of you here.
Saturday, October 21st will be set-up and music. Come camp-out and enjoy the fun.
Sunday, October 22nd we will be harvesting all day.
The olives have to be processed into oil within 24 hours. Here’s how we do it: we lay down tarps under a row of trees, and using small hand rakes, we pull the olives down off the trees onto the tarps. Gathered around the trees, people are talking and sharing stories. It’s a good time to catch up with your friends.
When the trees are bare, we gather up the tarps and pour the olives into small totes. (We have gotten smarter and now have light weight tarps. 😉 The totes then get carried and dumped into the big bins on a trailer. Everyone sits down together for a potluck lunch midday. At the end of the day, the olives are driven down to the mill and processed into oil. We are fortunate to be able to take our olives to Seka Hills Olive Mill, just a few miles down the road.
Speaking of Seka Hills, there will be an Olive Crush festival happening at the Seka Hills Tasting Room on the same day as our harvest. Elvira will be there from 12-2pm, sharing Why We Farm.
It should be a beautiful autumn weekend up in Capay Valley.
Elvira Di’Brigit is the farmer’s wife and cat-herder at The Gettleshtetl Gardens, where they grow organic olives, walnuts, and much more. She has been a resident of the Capay Valley for over 15 years. Becoming familiar with the valley’s landscapes and people is what inspired her to write Why We Farm.