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Owning an Italian home with olive trees is one of life’s greatest pleasures. The harvest season brings fresh air, physical activity, and the simple joy of producing your own olive oil. Many Realpoint clients tell us that olive picking becomes a treasured autumn ritual—one that brings friends and family together and makes you feel truly connected to your land.
If you dream of a lifestyle rooted in the land, you may also enjoy our curated selection of properties with vineyards and wineries currently available across Italy.
Below is a practical, experience-based guide to help you get started with olive harvesting—whether your trees are newly inherited or long-established.
Preparing the Land and Laying the Nets
Before the first olives fall, farmers prepare the ground. Rolling or lightly ploughing keeps weeds from growing through your collection nets and makes gathering olives far easier.
For larger, older trees—especially those allowed to grow tall—hand-picking can be difficult. Instead, locals often lay nets beneath the canopy and simply wait for the olives to drop.
You can buy nets and large plastic crates at agricultural supply shops. Lay each net beneath the “drop zone” of the tree and weigh down the edges with stones (or anything heavy enough to stop them blowing across your land on windy days).
As olives accumulate, lift the nets and pour them into your containers. Replace the nets and continue. For the best oil, take the olives to the press as soon as possible—freshly fallen fruit produces higher-quality oil, while olives left on the nets for several days are typically used only for cooking oil.
Step 2: Removing Leaves and Debris (“The Tictac”)
Olives rarely fall alone—leaves and small twigs drop with them. Most small farms use a simple hand-operated separator with metal grills. You shake the device back and forth (hence the Italian nickname “tictac”), which lets olives fall through to the container below while leaves remain on top.
It’s quick, effective, and surprisingly satisfying.
Step 3: Traditional Ground Sweeping
Some older Italians still use the classic “sweep and separate” method. They clear the soil around each tree, remove stones, roll the ground flat, and—once the olives fall—sweep them into piles using a stiff broom.
These olives are considered lower grade because they touch the soil and can remain on the ground for days or weeks. Some presses won’t accept them, and those that do may offer a lower price. If you choose this approach, make sure you receive oil from your own olives, not a mix with inferior batches.
Step 4: Hand-Picking Smaller Trees
For younger or smaller trees, hand-picking produces top-quality olives.
Place nets on either side of the tree and use small plastic hand rakes to comb the branches downward. Ripe olives fall instantly. Unripe ones will cling to the branch—which is a good sign you should wait a little longer.
To reach high branches, many people tape the rake to a broom handle or use an extendable pole. Others climb ladders or even the tree itself. Lightweight gardening gloves help protect your hands during the process.
Once finished, gather the net, funnel the olives into a crate, move to the next tree, and repeat.
Before you start, check that your local press is open for the season (typically late October through January). Prices and conditions differ, so it’s worth asking neighbours which mill offers the best rates.
Taking Your Olives to the Press
Most smallholders bring olives in plastic bins or crates. In many rural areas, a typical day’s picking for two people—ideally from 9am to 3pm—fills around eight or nine bins.
Presses weigh olives either loose or by weighing your car loaded and then unloaded. Prices are usually calculated per quintale (100 kg). One quintale typically produces around 13 litres of olive oil.
If you’re pressing for personal use, bring a stainless-steel churn (about 50 litres). To fill it, expect to harvest 300–400 kg of olives.
What qualifies as Extra Virgin?
According to EU regulations:
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil must have less than 0.8% acidity
- Virgin Olive Oil ranges from 0.8% to 2% acidity
- Cold extraction (no heat added during pressing) preserves flavour and nutrients
Alternative Harvesting Methods
Many small farms now hire professionals with specialised equipment:
- Vibrating rakes on long poles
- Vacuum collectors for olives on the ground
- Tree-shaking machines that drop olives into large nets shaped like an umbrella
These speed up harvesting significantly but may require tree trunks of a certain thickness.
Ploughing Your Grove
Some owners invest in a small tractor with a shallow plough to avoid damaging tree roots. Others hire a local farmer with larger machinery to prepare the land quickly. On very small plots, a push-along rotovator is often enough.
Olive Wood for Heating
One hidden bonus of olive farming is the firewood. Pruned branches and windfall limbs provide excellent fuel for wood-burning stoves. Olive wood burns slower than pine and is ideal for heating during winter—just let it dry for at least a year.
Pruning: Essential for Healthy Trees
Italian farmers prune their olive trees in a cycle—never the entire grove at once—to allow light and air into the centre of the tree and reduce disease risk. Heavy pruning means fewer olives the next year, so most landowners prune a portion of their grove annually.
Pruning also makes it easier for tractors to pass beneath the canopy and for hand-pickers to reach the fruit.
Full-time residents may even qualify for EU subsidies that help cover pruning and ploughing costs.
Space, Privacy, and the Joy of Olive Land
Owning land with olive trees brings more than just oil. It adds privacy, space for outdoor living, and the pleasure of walking your own land among wildflowers, birds, and centuries-old trees. Pets love it, too—and many owners describe their olive grove as the soul of their Italian home.
If you dream of a property offering both agricultural charm and personal space, explore our hand-picked portfolio of properties with vineyards and small wineries—perfect for buyers who want the full Italian countryside experience, from olive oil to wine.
