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<pre>Hello to all
I have had an enquiry as to whether pulp fresh from pressing can be used as
mulch. I remember reading somewhere that it has toxins in it and needs to be
left to dry but I can't see where the toxins come from if the olives are pressed
within 24 hours of harvesting.

Any comments from anyone with expert knowledge???????

David Wilson


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<pre>Hello everybody.

I'm a newcomer to this list so am just picking up the threads.

I operate two Olio Mio centrifugal presses and produced about 24 tonnes of waste
paste last season.

When the paste is fresh it varies in consistency depending largely on the amount
of vegetable water contained. It can be very liquid or quite dry.
In each case it is quite acidic; enough to cause a minor burning sensation on
bare arms.
Initially there is a fermentation process but weathering gradually stops this
and it breaks down to compost on its own, taking about 9 months to reach the
stage where worms become active in the material. I understand that if mixed with
soil and bark it will break down more quickly and produce a useful organic
material which can be spread around the trees.

Last season two drums fell from the back of the tractor while in transit and
rather than move it I ran the rotary slasher through it to flatten and spread
it. It totally suppressed all grass growth over that area for six months and
recently I have noted that a patch of red clover now covers the area. This is
strange as there is no other clover in the vicinity. I watch with interest!

We have also tested the fresh paste as a stock food on cows, pigs and emus with
very limited success. I think it could be used for stock if added as a
supplement in small amounts to their main feed stock. I understand that hens may
be partial to the raw paste and this is understandable judging from the birds
and mice I have seen digging around in it from when it is first dumped.

Tony Johnston
Redwood Olives
Nelson, New Zealand


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<pre>From: "Tony Johnston" <ja.johnston@netaccess.co.nz>
Date: Sun, 11 Feb 2001 21:24:10 +1300

Last season two drums fell from the back of the tractor while in transit
and rather than move it I ran the rotary slasher through it to flatten and
spread it. It totally suppressed all grass growth over that area for six
months and recently I have noted that a patch of red clover now covers the
area. This is strange as there is no other clover in the vicinity. I watch
with interest!

One of my favorite gardening books is "Designing and Maintaining Your
Edible Landscape Naturally" by Robert Kourik. Don't be fooled by the
title, there is tons of information packed into this book.

Kourik has a chart of soil indicators. This means if you have an usual
amount of a certain plant, it will give you information about how your soil
in that place differs from the rest of the land around you.

Red clover (trifolium protense) is an indicator of high potasium. I'll
list the other clovers too just in case your "red clover" is really another
species.

Clovers in general (Trifolium Sp.): Low nitrogen.
Hop Clover (Medicago lupulina): Alkaline.
Rabbit foot clover (no latin name given): Dry, high phosphorus, acid.
White clover (trifolium repens): Dry, uncultivated/neglected.

Note that red clover is a "dynamic accumulator" of both nitrogen and
phosphorus. In other words, it's working to balance out your soil after
dropping the olive waste.

The grass dieoff could be from pH or other things in the olive waste or it
could simply be from lack of sun after being smothered. I often kill grass
on purpose with a thick mulch.

Cyndi
__________________________________________________ _____________________________
Oakland, California Zone 9 USDA; Zone 16 Sunset Western Garden Guide
Chemically sensitive/disabled - Organic Gardening only by choice and neccessity
__________________________________________________ _____________________________
"There's nothing wrong with me. Maybe there's Cyndi Norman
something wrong with the universe." (ST:TNG) cyndi@consultclarity.com
http://www.tikvah.com/
_________________ Owner of the Immune Website & Lists http://www.immuneweb.org/
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<pre>In my field research, a number of farmers mentioned to me that the
pressing wastes were spread as fertilizer back into the olive orchards.
Pressing wastes from the modern (centrifugal) mills was much drier than
that from traditional (rollers) mills. No one mentioned having to let the
the wastes dry before spreading it, however, one was not supposed to put
the waste around the tree too thick, as it would heat up and injure the
roots.

I did get a number of people who mentioned the "herbicidal" qualities of
the waste, that it would keep down grass and other ground cover. Over
the past year I have suggested that this aspect of the waste should be
investigated more thoroughly.

Use as animal feed was also suggested, though it is a low priority use.
Most of the research I've seen and the comments I heard indicated that
limited amounts of waste mixed with other types of feed works best.

Traditionally, and commercially (at least in Jordan), the main use of
pressing wastes is as a fuel source. Households and pottery kilns use the
waste for heat and fuel. Commercially sold charcoal (the best selling
brands, and even exported) is also made from the pressing wastes.



Peter Warnock

Peter Warnock
Dept. of Anthropology
Swallow Hall
University of Missouri
Columbia, MO 65211
(573) 443-4203
(573) 884-5450 (fax)
pjwd29@mizzou.edu
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