Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Here Joe, look at this NZ fella telling us just how identical Hampshire is to NZ when it comes to climate and the similar conditions needed in both places to grow the olives!:-
Hampshire’s Test Valley in Southern England has good soils, well-drained hillsides, long cold winters, hot dry summers, and sometimes it rains unexpectedly for two years straight. It could be New Zealand, particularly the east of this country, well away from white-tipped mountains. The only difference is its pixie-like thatched cottages.
Apparently the only way to tell Hampshire and New Zealand apart is by the thatched cottages! Something you may remember I've noted in the past is just how alike the countryside of both countries is (probably bought on by the fact that they both have the EXACT SAME climate classification).
and I QUOTE:-
Many olive trees in NZ were planted 20+ years ago in a fit of optimism that we were the ‘new’ Italy. Unfortunately we aren’t,but if you are near the sea on a block anywhere north of Christchurch, facing north with good drainage, a daily irrigation set-up and a warm ripening summer, you can produce olives
Right its 10 past 1 in the morning here, time for my beauty sleep, lets leave the last word to a third party shall we? New Zealander Ben:-
and I QUOTE:-
Hampshire’s Test Valley in Southern England has good soils, well-drained hillsides, long cold winters, hot dry summers, and sometimes it rains unexpectedly for two years straight. It could be New Zealand, particularly the east of this country, well away from white-tipped mountains. The only difference is its pixie-like thatched cottages.
The very warmest part of the UK has produced a tiny crop (less than a kilo a tree) 3 out of 11 years. No one would start an article about growing olives in NZ, by saying " shelter is everything".
Quote:
Many olive trees in NZ were planted 20+ years ago in a fit of optimism that we were the ‘new’ Italy. Unfortunately we aren’t,but if you are near the sea on a block anywhere north of Christchurch, facing north with good drainage, a daily irrigation set-up and a warm ripening summer, you can produce olives
Sounds very familiar doesn't it!?
Goodnight / Good afternoon Joe.
No - a warm ripening summer is a given for olives north of Christchurch, where olives always produce.
I've never watered or feed my tree, and it's not facing any particular direction, sees plenty of frost, and can see some serious rainfall, yet never fails to produce every year.... that is not the UK experience.
Just as NZ isn't the new Italy, the UK isn't the new New Zealand - think of olive producing climates as being on a spectrum, that the UK isn't realistically on.
Is this where you start talking about the far northern tip of NZ and then try to claim that its 'the' climate of NZ, then where I respond by talking about the south coast of the UK? Incidentally the south coast of the UK is 320 miles across West to East, how many miles across West to East is the North coast of NZ? FAR more surface area along the cold south coast of NZ isn't there? Bearing this in mind what are we to take as 'the' standard NZ climate? Its more Dunedin than Auckland wouldn't you say!
I'm pretty certain I've never done this - only ever used the Niwa national averages when talking about NZ as a whole, which use 23 stations with a pretty even geographical spread -the South Island has 13 of the selected stations, despite being only 21% of the population
I use Metoffice UK stats for the UK when quoting figures for the UK - not sure about whether the stations are chosen for geographical spread or just the average of all stations, which favour well populated areas.
Only references I make for NZ's far north, are in the context of discussing things like commercial pineapple or banana production.
The very warmest part of the UK has produced a tiny crop (less than a kilo a tree) 3 out of 11 years. No one would start an article about growing olives in NZ, by saying " shelter is everything".
No - a warm ripening summer is a given for olives north of Christchurch, where olives always produce.
I've never watered or feed my tree, and it's not facing any particular direction, sees plenty of frost, and can see some serious rainfall, yet never fails to produce every year.... that is not the UK experience.
Just as NZ isn't the new Italy, the UK isn't the new New Zealand - think of olive producing climates as being on a spectrum, that the UK isn't realistically on.
Obviously I am going to trust Ben on this, not somebody who has spent the last few years trying to convince the world that NZ is some kind of Tropical paradise! lol.
As Ben will tell you NZ and the UK share the EXACT SAME climate classification, they are both cfb Oceanic:-
Which is why, as Ben points out, the EXACT same geographical conditions need to be met in BOTH countries for the production of olives...................which grow in BOTH countries!
When in my late teens I once broke down on Bodmin Moor, I had been surfing and had been camping in Newquay and ended up having to pitch a tent on the moor while the car was being fixed, luckily I was with a mate, its a beautiful but desolate place, there is very little shelter up there and we got burnt to a cinder, on the first evening there we decided to walk and find a pub, we walked for hours and only made it to the pub an hour or so before they wanted to close, they felt pity on us and gave us a 'lock in', much to the delight of some of the locals, nobody volunteered to drive us back to our tent though! We didn't get back until the sun was up! Our tent was surrounded by rabbits, I've never seen so many rabbits on one place as I saw there. Didn't encounter the Beast of Bodmin though!........luckily I guess!
Obviously I am going to trust Ben on this, not somebody who has spent the last few years trying to convince the world that NZ is some kind of Tropical paradise! lol.
As Ben will tell you NZ and the UK share the EXACT SAME climate classification, they are both cfb Oceanic:-
Ben is talking about a garden enclosed behind a wall - hence the "shelter is everything" statement - the wall is three metres high is made of old brick and flint
He then says "you'd be amazed at what can grow behind this sheltered sun-washed great wall of Hampshire" - interesting, the techniques used .... huge walls and olive trees in pots.
Then "with a southerly aspect and a wall like this, the gardeners have produced the odd lemon in the past, although the manager ruefully admitted looking after citrus would be a full time job, so they had to give up" -citrus are actually super easy to care for in the right climate, but obviously not in the UK.
Ben has just pointed out that the secret to getting "the odd lemon" in the warmest part of the UK, is a totally enclosed garden with a three metre high wall, and to grow stuff in pots.
Quote:
Which is why, as Ben points out, the EXACT same geographical conditions need to be met in BOTH countries for the production of olives...................which grow in BOTH countries!
Ben doesn't say this at all - he mentions north of Christchurch for producing olives, so they grow over much more of NZ than they do in the UK..... although Ben forgot to mention the olive growing region 300km south of Christchurch
There is no mention of walls for NZ and with about 7000 acres of olives, imagine the cost of enclosing everything behind a three metre high brick and flint topped wall.. LOL!
He has pointed out a major difference between growing olives in NZ, and attempting to grow them in the UK
There is a time & place for everything, & this is not the thread to discuss the merits of olive trees & climates. I think we have a city vs city forum & also one on Weather, both of which would be a better place to take this disagreement.
Poor Bob & his holiday ( which was the original thread)
There is a time & place for everything, & this is not the thread to discuss the merits of olive trees & climates. I think we have a city vs city forum & also one on Weather, both of which would be a better place to take this disagreement.
Poor Bob & his holiday ( which was the original thread)
I can understand your sentiment, but there is never a time and place for spreading false information on forums - and a certain poster who has no qualms about providing readers with false information, should expect a bit of pushback.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
