The Grove before clearance
Lamda Olive Grove comprises 70 mature olive trees, some over 100 years old.
66 trees bear small olives olives which produce high quality olive oil.
There are 4 eating olive trees (kalamata Olives are famous) as well as walnut trees
and wild fig trees.
The grove covers more than 5,000 sq metres (5 strema) on the side of hill which runs down to a stream. By the stream was a wild area, of about 500 sq metres, consisting mainly of brambles. These have been cleared in a €1,300 project in the spring of 2008.
The Grove after clearance
Photos by Selene Konsta
most of the undergrowth cleared was dead and over-run by brambles. It was inpenetrable but the clearance project has opened this dark area od the grove which will benefit the olive tress growing at the base of the grove, while exposing several very beautiful birch trees.
The clearance has also exposed the deeply cut hillside. I assume this was a man-made
excavation some years ago, though the soil in this area is soft, sticky clay and it could have been eroded by weather.
While the riverside area now looks very barren, previous clearance work, tree pruning and late annual tilling (April/May)
of the higher part of the grove has encouraged the growth of small flowering plants
in place of the tough grass that used to predominate. The spring flowers of 2008 are the best I have ever seen at Lamda Grove.
Previous work
During a clearing exercise in 2007, the stone well mentioned in the deeds was
revealed along with a tree stump border which had been completely hidden.
The well would have been dug by hand in the late 19th or early 20th century and is
close to the stream, but has silted up over the years and is now dry.
The olive grove has heavy, fertile, soil and suffers less from drought than from excess water.
An excellent crop is produced in alternate years.