some indirectly related things

[temporaryreality]

After reading my earlier post about growing olives and the ways I've thought of using them,methylethyl mentioned the type of oil lamp that can be made out of a glass jar (usually using a metal-wire thingamobob to hold the wick up above the oil's surface) as an option for me, should I ever press my olives for oil. I'm still rather attached to my traditional style pottery oil lamp, though - the one that I said makes me think of doing pottery so I could learn to make such a thing (and really, that interest is not fueled by any other object!). It's a replica of an ancient lamp (maybe Hebrew?) that my mom bought for me at a museum in southern California.

Just because, I thought I'd post a picture of it.





Just for good measure, here are more, found on the internet - so beautiful! - and to me they seem a fitting addition to an altar.



That reminded me that I hadn't updated my olive-using progress. I brined some around December, following one set of instructions, here. This time the mold was not an issue. I changed the salt-brine a few times and while the pits are definitely big, the meat of the olives is tasty.

I'm introducing Athena into my SOP and my olives were placed on the altar as an offering.

And, (like I said, these are "some indirectly related things") here's the latest incarnation of the front yard, yesterday evening.

Comments

[methylethyl]

You're right, those are really neat. And SO MANY FLOWERS!!

[temporaryreality]

:) and so many interesting pollinators, which is really gratifying.

growing olives

[randomactsofkarmasc]

I found this post from a link from JMG's Magic Monday. Are you growing olives in America? May I ask your agricultural zone? I love olives and never even considered they would grow here. What type do you grow?

Re: growing olives

[temporaryreality]

I'm in zone 9a (I think, or maybe just 9?) Anyway, olives are a Mediterranean-climate plant and that's what we've currently got in California (though we may be heading toward desert). I think what they require is the long dry spell of summer. They don't mind our wet, cold winter. Lots of olives are grown here. They even grow them commercially and we sometimes see "volunteer" trees, meaning they're likely naturalizing. I would think they'd be worth trying anywhere in the western US, and into parts of Texas. Once you get subtropical or classically temperate (4-seasons) weather, though, they might not do as well.

Re: growing olives

[randomactsofkarmasc]

Yippee! I'm zone 8, so maybe they would grow here, too! How exciting! Thanks so much!

Re: growing olives

[temporaryreality]

You didn't say where you are, but here's what a quick search showed re: growing olives outside CA:

https://www.shonnards.com/olive-growing/
https://gardeningsolutions.ifas.ufl.edu/plants/edibles/fruits/olives.html
https://agrilifeextension.tamu.edu/solutions/best-olives-to-grow-in-texas/

Re: growing olives

[randomactsofkarmasc]

Thank you so much for the links! I'm in SC (toward the middle). Temperature-wise, it seems we're not too different from parts of CA. Rainfall-wise, I think we are wetter. But our summers can be dry for weeks on end, so maybe we just get more rain in the winter. Anyway, thanks so much for the links. We are restoring an old house with a large lot and I am slowly figuring out what I want to grow (besides the expected tomatoes and peppers and cucumbers and other regular veggies).

Re: growing olives

[temporaryreality]

How very lucky you are to have a large lot! To get some other ideas about what kinds of things you might plant, you might see what permaculturists in the southeast are planting. They tend to like to plant unusual things and you might get some good ideas from their horticultural derring-do. :)

Re: growing olives

[randomactsofkarmasc]

Yup, I have lots to research. We aren't living there yet, so it is just a weekend thing for me right now. (My husband is retired, so he goes there during the week, too.) We have four hugulkultur beds started so far. One did really well this year (with tomatoes). One we tried to use too early, so the tomatoes didn't do quite so well. The other two beds are still getting things piled up in them.

Thanks very much for the ideas and links. :-)