On our farm we have 7 varieties of olive trees

Southern Climate Great for Olives

As a historical early start circa 1700-1800's US the Olive Tree was being cultivated here in the south including Georgia before the interest of Thomas Jefferson http://www.hydrangea.com/media/Jefferson_Letter_re_Olive.pdf . It was considered the longer growing season and humidity contributed to the quality of the oil. In fact may be superior to that seen in Italy and growing season far more suitable than in France. The obstacle at the time is the colonist preferred a bacon stomach (lard) and cooking with butter versus the Mediterranean diet influence of olive oil. You may follow along with this historical information here: The Emigrant's Guide to the Western and Southwestern States and Territories https://books.google.com/books… De Bow's Commercial Review of the South & West https://books.google.com/books… & more info here https://books.google.com/books…
On our farm we have 7 varieties of olive trees from parts of the globe.
Check out our olive tree varieties in the following image files.

Olives Around the World

The olive has always played a key role in the development of commerce in the Mediterranean cultures. Today it is a crop of major economic importance in many countries throughout the world.

The olive tree is grown around the world. Olive trees originated from a dry, subtropical climate but are well-suited to extreme environmental conditions such as drought and high temperatures. Although the olive requires aerated soil, it can adapt itself to a wide range of different soil types and temperatures. The map above shows the climatic range of where the olive tree is grown.

Over 1 billion olive trees grow on 6 of 7 continents in 20 countries around the world.
AFRICA: Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, and Tunisia
MIDDLE EAST: Cyprus, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, and Turkey
ASIA: China
AUSTRALIA
EUROPE: Spain, Greece, Italy, Portugal, France, and Yugoslavia
NORTH AMERICA: United States (California, Arizona, Georgia and Texas), and Mexico
SOUTH AMERICA: Argentina, Peru, and Chile
Over 15 million acres of olives are planted worldwide. Ninety percent of those border the Mediterranean.
The annual olive harvest is nearly 10 million tons. Over 1 million tons are processed as table olives, and the balance is pressed for olive oil.

United States

California produces nearly all the olives in the United States; over 26,000 acres.
Manzanilla olives represent over 70% of the olives grown here. Other varieties are Sevillano, Mission, Ascolano, and Barouni. Most olives become California black ripe olives.
Georgia Olive groves in 2019 grows mostly three varietals: arbequina, koroneiki, and arbosana with a quickly growing acreage market.

Spain

Spain is the world's largest exporter of table olives. The majority of its exports are the Spanish-style pimento-stuffed green olives.
The varieties grown in Spain are Manzanilla, Hojiblanca, and Gordal. Manzanillas produce the best-tasting table olive, while Hojiblancas are used primarily for olive oil production and make marginal quality table olives. Gordals are known as Queen olives.

Greece

Greece grows more than 1,500,000 acres of olives.
Greek olives include Konservolia, Halkidiki, and Kalamata. Kalamata olives are allowed to ripen on the tree until their skin turns purple-black.

Morocco

The olive is the predominant fruit tree in Morocco.
Morocco grows Picholine Marocaine and Zitoun olives, and they are used in both table olives and olive oil.

Trees at our Farm

Additional Information

New Trees Arrive! In Addition to our Arbequina, Picaul and Tosca trees have the following varieties:

The Salonenque, carrying the name of Salon-de-Provence, is a cultivar of olives grown primarily in Provence. Though it is used for producing oil, and gives a good yield, it is valued primarily as a table olive. It is produced as a so-called cracked olive, which means that the fruit is cracked to speed up the curing process.

The Tanche, probably the best known French olive cultivar,[1] is grown primarily in the Drôme and Vaucluse regions of southern France. It is often referred to as a perle noire, the "Black Pearl of Provence". The Tanche is said to have been introduced to France by the Greeks of Massilia, around the fourth century BC.

The Lucca Olive Tree is a high yielding tree, which is used for high amounts of olive oil. The Lucca Olive itself was developed at the University of California, Davis by Professor Hartman.

The Barouni olive variety is grown almost exclusively in Tunisia, and primarily for table olives. We are fortunate to have access to some trees that were brought to Northern California forty years ago. We know of one other premium olive oil producer that uses Barouni as a major component in its production in the US, but we love it for its exotic overtones and rich pungency. This oil reminds us of the old style olive oil produced in southern Italy half a century ago. Use Barouni to add lustiness.

The Barouni’s unique character makes it ideal for vinaigrettes with balsamic vinegar, roasts of lamb and beef, and dressing grilled veggies, especially red peppers, zucchini, and eggplant.