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<pre>Dear posters

Down in Kiama, NSW, an enterprising character has enhanced the urban
streetscape with his choice, olive trees. Kiama is part of the Illawarra
region, a narrow coastal strip with an escarpment on one side and the
sea on the other. The topography induces good rainfall all year, 1200mm+
on average with wild storms & flooding. The terrain is hilly & soils are
red/brown, rocky with good drainage & neutral ph ( I have made some
tests). The street is right next to the ocean, with all those sea
breezes & humidity. He told me he was from Macedonia (there are 25,000
Macedonians in this heavy industrial area) & that he started from wild
olive trees, he saw some seedlings growing somewhere & pulled them out &
replanted them behind the kerb. After a while he grafted a few fruiting
cvs on, he doesnt know their names but was advised by friends they were
good. Then he grafted a few more, now he has many cvs all growing on 4
trees! He showed me his product, all shapes & sizes & very tasty. This
last season he had so many that some were left for the birds. He made
some oil, crushed them with a hammer & pressed using a hydraulic jack &
steel cage. The trees have massive trunks, the biggest 300mm dia
minimum, 10 years old. There was no evidence of disease. When I am next
down I will ask what he is spraying them with for disease but I think I
know the answer.

Roger Farquhar Hunter Valley

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