As we all know , olive trees are harvested once a year . Olives are being " collected " every year from November to January. This tradition is very old but still valid . The only difference between then and now is the difficulty in " bunching " the olives. Harvesting the fruit of the olive tree depends on the degree of maturity , as well as the purpose for which the fruit of it would be used.
Theophrastus reports that the day chosen for this job, should not be rainy and plants should not be too wet, otherwise the branches will easily break .
The olive harvest was usually done by hand shaking or hitting the high branches of the tree with pliant rods, so that the fruit would not be damaged. The olives should be collected upon layer of clay, straw or to another substrate, otherwise the fruit should be washed with hot water.
Nowadays, the traditional method of harvest still flourishes, perhaps with the help of some newer tools: the branches are passed to "comb" to detach the fruit with greater ease and speed, while the ground beneath is layered with special cloth or net of synthetic material. Furthermore, thanks to technology development, modernized machines play mayor part in harvesting these days, making it easier enough than the past years.