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<pre>Edward,
concerning the 5 "s" in italian, Brian Chatterton answered your question
already. Anyway I wouldn't take this saying too serious. As in many sayings
there is always something true, but not everything.
"Sun", yes of course. "Silence", why? They don't have ears. "Siccita' "
(drought), yes and no (see below). "Stones", not really but there is
something right. "Solitude", what does this mean? If it means "not mixed
with other fruits", then it might make sense.
The only thing really worth talking about it is drought and stones. There is
something true with it, but not as simple as that. It is not straightway
true that olive trees need "drought" and "stones", but it is true that a
very humid soil is not good because too much humidity in the air causes
fungine diseases and constantly high humidity in the soil may cause
putrefaction of the roots. This is why the ideal soil should drain well, and
I think this is meant with "stones". Of course not only stony soils drain
well. But often stony soil means also sandy soils and they are quite good.
Olive trees grow also well in mixed clay soils as we have them in Tuscany,
as long as there is not too much constant humidity. The ideal mixture would
be clay soils with a good quantity of sand in it. The fields should be
drained well, if necessary artificially.
Modern olive groves are often watered with automatic systems to lower the
stress in high summer. They grow faster and bear more fruit, because
normally olives fall during stress periods (in italian the falling of the
immature olives is called "cascola"). Watering can be done as long as you
have sufficient water ;-)), but adult trees would need big quantities. A
young tree might need about 60 litres once a week, normally given with a
dripping system with about 4 litres an hour, initially close to the tree,
later more distant. The problem is that often water lacks especially in
those areas that have an ideal climate for olives.
I could not tell the age when the bark starts to become gnarled, perhaps I
am to young ;-) to have followed this process. My trees of ten years don't
have this yet, the older ones of about 50 years have it.
Volker

Message: 3
Date: Tue, 21 Sep 1999 12:38:09 +0100
From: "Edward Faridany" <ekf@lineone.net>
Subject: Re: splits in the bark

Volker, Thank-you for your note. Incidently, at what approximate age does
the olive tree's bark become gnarled and riven, so characteristic of old
trees?
Another point: are olive trees in Italy, say, ever watered -bearing in mind
the five Ss? What do they stand for in Italian?
Edward
----- Original Message -----
From: Volker Piasta <piasta@sirt.pisa.it>
To: maillist olive oil <OliveOil@onelist.com>
Sent: 21 September 1999 11:13
Subject: [OliveOil] splits in the bark
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