The Finance and Future of the Groves
Trigono groves website has now been operating for over a year and a half; visitor numbers are steadily increasing. Searches show an interest in buying land, travel and Greek design, as well as an interest in olive oil production.
Autumn-Spring trip costs (€)
- Flights (rtn) 150
- Trains UK 50
- Buses-Greece 50
- Hotels(10 days) 400
- Meals(10 days) 150
- Drinks/snacks 150
- Labour 300
- Gifts, misc 150
- Total 1,400
Annual Running Costs(€)
- Tilling 300
- Clearing 400
- Building maintenance 100
- Fertilising 100
- Pruning 300
- Transport 100
- Harvesting half crop
- Total 1,300+
Plan and log for 2008-09
Updated July 31 2008
- Triangle Access - Access made but blocked, official papers approved by kalamata Department - awaiting action.
- Clearing planned for September - concerns that lack of maintence may have led to loss of plants
- clear & fertilise Olive grove including wild areas - completed - cost in excess of €1300
- Winter 2008-09 olive crop expected
- paint interior of Ithaki - on hold
- Clear borders of Upper land - completed with track access - cost €1,000
- Till Lemon Grove - no crop or work this year - compensation applied for re loss of trees. No action so far
- Clear Lemon Grove borders - no action
- Clear Triangle - paid but not completed
- planted additional shubs at Triangle - check survival in September 2008
- Clear cntre of upper land, retaining some trees and shrubs - outstanding
- Maintain and improve website - ongoing into 2nd year
Summary of 2007-08
November 2007
- Establish Triangle Access - Access made but blocked, official papers now lodged with kalamata Department - awaiting action.
- Harvest & fertilise Lamda olives - moderate crop 143.4 litres olive oil
- clear & fertilise lemon trees - no action
- experiment with vines at lemon grove - wild vines allowed to grow through dead lemon trees
- paint interior of Ithaki - no action - exterior painted
- Clear 0.33 upper land - completed
- Till groves - completed
- Clear top Lemon Grove border - no action
- Clear one Triangle border - completed
- Clear stream border at Lamda grove - no action
- Clear Upper Land borders - North border completed
- Maintain and improve website - ongoing
Photo by Romano Pedetti
RSS feeds bring regularly updated content to this site from other sites, and will hopefully allow this site to spread its' own newsworthy content to people interested in the environment in general and Greece in particular.
Development between Methoni and Foinikounda continues and village properties are as likely to be snapped up as any other since they offer community and ease of living - very attractive in retirement! Development continues on the main road by Lambes Bay and has commenced on the hills opposite the lemon Grove. Foiniki, a snaking drive up from the coast and considered one of the lesser villages in the area, is now popular and a more direct road access through the valley, with water and electricity to follow, is all but inevitable. A road through the valley, following the path of the stream, would give easier access to the Lemon Grove and surrounding plots which are only 1-2 kilometres from the sea at Lambes Bay.
Medium Term Plan
- Establish rolling programme for groves maintenance
- Increase Olive harvest efficiency
- Sell lemon Grove and Upper land
- Expand website
Long Term Plan
- Retain Olive Grove and Triangle
- Enhance wildlife areas
- Purchase alternative to Lemon Grove
Preserving habitiats:
When purchased in late 1999, the Olive grove was quite claustrophobic, especially at the lower end bordering the stream. Although some borders were partially cleared in 2001, the lower borders by the stream consisted of large bushes and trees, bamboo, and brambles and needed more attention. It is not always desirable to clear back to "brown earth" since this alters the nature of the groves and limits wildlife habitats. However, the 2007 clearing has opened up a previously troublesome area, dank and not conducive to good olive crops. A "middle way" of clearing one border per year, should allow both crops and wildlife to flourish in future.
Summary 2006-2007 cycle
- Olive harvest - zero - frosted
- lemon harvest - low - trees recovering
- land clearance - olive grove 0.3, lemon grove 0.2, upper land 0, triangle 0.1
- tilling - lemon grove - 10 strema, Lamda olive grove - 5 strema
- specialist clearance work - 0.5 strema at Lamda grove
- borders - triangle fenced
- summer house (Ithaki) - exterior painting completed
- 2006 Financial(tax) cycle completed
- Visits: Sept 06, Dec 06, Feb 07, May 07
- Website launched and active - Jan 2007
- *New Triangle access made but not completed
- Cleared triangle border with main road