The grove covers more than 5,000 sq metres (5 strema) on the side of hill which slopes
down to a stream.
The mystery of the strange contours of Lamda (a chunk of the hill has been cut away forming a cliff) was solved in December 2008 when a fellow diner at a taverna in Methoni, who grew up in Pidasos Village near Lamda, told of a small house that had existed there until the 1980's.
Projects
Lamda grove needs careful maintenance to ensure that its character remains. Clearance Projects were undertaken in 2007 and 2008. The aim is to leave some mature trees and shrubs, even at the expense of a perfect crop, in order to maintain the habitat for wildlife and remains of history that make Lamda special.
In 2008, we tried manure as
fertiliser for the first time. One of the organic fertilizers
previously used contained chicken manure and on traditional smallholdings, the goats and
chickens would have roamed in the groves and naturally fertilised them. Olives are evergreen
and Olive harvesting includes the removal of leaves and
branches as well as the olive fruit.
There is no natural mulching of the soil under the trees by leaf fall. Branches are often
burnt immediately after harvest when wood is collected for winter fuel but some harvesters
leave the branches for up to 3 months before burning, allowing leaves to fall to the ground.
History
the grove was tilled
and the display of spring flowers improved each year. Olive crop quality and quantity
varies with weather conditions, fertilizer, pruning method and
disease caused mainly by "dacos" the olive fly. Each tree produces a main crop on
alternate years, unless pruned to produce a more consistent crop from half of the tree
each year. Pruning is skilled work and there are different theories and many debates
among growers!
Soil type is another factor and Lamda produces very fine quality oil.
From 2001 to 2003, the use of fertilizer and Olive fly spray was suspended to enable the conversion of the grove to an organic grove - a process that takes 5 years. Organic ferilizer was used in 2002; it consisted of 3 types of fertiliser, applied at different times of the year. it proved not only expensive to It proved expensive in terms of labour and production fell dramatically, as predicted by others who had tried it.
The Olive Grove was purchased between September and December 1999 and the first crop under
new ownership was a superb crop of more than 400 litres. Normal fertilizer had been applied, and the grove tilled
annually but the borders were overgrown, trees very large, and tall, tough grasses grew on
the rich, shaded soil. Brambles and lush, shade loving plants, including "horsetail", grew
on the lower ground and under the trees on the upper part of the hill.
When it was purchased Lamda grove had an air of mystery but lower trees were denied the space
and air they needed. Subsequent work has revealed some of the history but it would be
good to learn more.