How do steps olives taste …
… we actually don’t know either, because over the last 15 years, since we planted small olive trees in the Namibian soil near Okakarara, we have been eagerly awaiting the first harvest. Well – we actually had an olive harvest this year! But let’s start at the beginning.
The few remaining olive trees from the more than 1,600 planted in 2008, shortly after the foundation of the steps for children foundation, have long since grown up and developed into large, strong trees. Unfortunately, after mistakes in fertilisation and irrigation, most of the saplings had died by 2010. But there are also trees that survived the fertilizer application error and – we hardly dare say it – now bear a few fruits. Amid the field among the vegetables in Ongombombonde, just a few kilometres from Okakarara, the proud trees tower above everything else. Over the last three years, some trees have borne a handful of fruits, which were at best suitable for admiring and eating as individual fruits (provided they had been pickled accordingly), but not for making olive paste or even a whole olive salad.
Now – the times are changing, and last year there were already around 20 olives to be seen on the trees.
And this year?
A total of seven small jars of pickled olives were produced. Together with the garden consultant, who has been promoting organic cultivation alongside project manager Sonja Schneider-Waterberg since the year before last, the olives were tasted at an employee meal with fresh vegetables from the garden in Ongombombonde. Namibian locals mostly described them as “unfamiliar-tasting” – real olive lovers, however, rated them as tasting good. Olives are an acquired taste, after all.
And what is the reason that there are suddenly olives on some of the trees?
The trees stand in the blocks where the soil was prepared organically and where vegetables are intensively planted and cared for. Other tree species were also planted between the trees in order to attract or repel insects.
This is probably also due to the now continuous cultivation of the soil. With the right winter pruning, a portion of horse manure, bark mulch and the right winter preparation, even better harvest results are forecast for next year. We are excited! The olive trees are always good for a surprise!
YOUNG VEGETABLES SAVE LIVES!
Support the vegetable garden in Ongombombonde with €11 – we plant Swiss chard, peppers and tomatoes as well as other vegetables alongside maize and carrots.
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