Very disappointed to have virtually no olives this year and the few that are on the trees are being taken by the birds.

We have three trees of different varieties but we have only had one good crop from one of the trees last year. I preserved a lot of those and they were really nice.

This year the crop has been almost non-existent but I’m expecting a good crop on at least two of the trees next year. Many varieties seem to crop well every two years, although the two neighbours’ trees have produced very well for the last few years. Some varieties also take a few years to mature and the youngest tree is just coming into production. Hopefully next year we’ll get another bumper crop.

If you go along Maribynong road in Ascot Vale (not far from the Melbourne show grounds) you will notice that all the street trees are olive trees and they produce copious quantites of fruit, which the locals harvest.