What It Takes to Start an Olive Grove in the Karoo — What We Learned

We put the first trees into the ground in 2007. Nearly twenty years on, here’s what we’d tell anyone thinking of starting an olive grove in the Karoo — with the benefit of having done it.

Climate is Your Partner (or Your Problem)

Olive trees want warm, dry summers and cool — but not hard — winters. The Karoo delivers exactly this. What it also delivers is wind, occasional late frost, and extended drought. Water security matters enormously: our grove relies on borehole water, and that infrastructure was one of the first investments we made. Without reliable water in the establishment years, trees struggle to root properly.

Choose Cultivars for Your Conditions, Not the Catalogue

We grow Mission, Frantoio, Coratina and Leccino — four cultivars chosen because they suit each other in the press and suit the Karoo in the ground. Mission is robust and adaptable; Frantoio is productive and aromatic; Coratina is vigorous and polyphenol-rich; Leccino provides balance. Research what grows well in your specific microclimate before committing, because these trees will outlive your planning horizon.

Spacing, Pruning, and Patience

Plant trees with enough space for air circulation — overcrowded groves retain humidity and invite disease. Regular pruning, typically in late winter, maintains tree health and opens the canopy to light. And then: patience. Olive trees take years to reach productive maturity. The early seasons are about establishment, not yield.

Harvest by Hand or Compromise Quality

Mechanical harvesting is faster. It is also harder on the fruit and on old trees. We harvest by hand with rakes and matts, and we’d make the same choice again. Bruised olives begin oxidising before they reach the press; hand-harvesting keeps the fruit intact and the acidity low.

Process Immediately

Whatever harvesting method you choose, get the olives to the press as quickly as possible. Hours, not days. Fermentation begins the moment the fruit is off the tree, and acidity rises with it. Extra virgin classification depends on low free fatty acid content — which depends on speed.