Written by MGV Cathy Keller
September 16, 2026, was a break from the oppressive, drippy Central Florida heat. In contrast, it was sunny, breezy, and low humidity, so the outdoor visit was a delight! Husband and wife Cambren and Dede Davis own the 4-acre organic OLIVE GROVE with over 300 trees of 9 varieties. This includes Arbequina and Manzanilla (Spanish), Koroneiki (Greek), and Coratina (Italian). The visit began under a huge live oak with bending branches covered by resurrection fern. Cambren recalled how a trip to Tuscany inspired the couple to begin the grove. They educated us on how to grow olive trees, harvest the olives, make olive oil, and begin raising mushrooms.
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Olive Oil Production
Of great interest to all was the explanation of how the oil is made and defined. The olives are harvested between mid-August to mid-September when about half the olives are ripe and half are still green but partially ripe. However, harvesting too early creates a bitter oil. The fruit is raked by hand from each tree, filling buckets with green, reddish and ripest purple olives. Then, the fruit must be processed withing 24-48 hours of harvesting. Once there is at least 200 pounds of fruit, they are ready to get down to business.
Olive Preparation
Harvested olives are separated from any bugs, leaves and twigs, washed and placed into the hopper of the hammer mill. A series of rotating carbide blades force the olives through a heavy grate to pulverize them, pits and all, into a paste, called pomace. The resulting paste is fed into the malaxation chamber where temperature must be ≤86⁰F to be considered “cold pressed” and maintain maximum nutritional value. In the chamber the paste is churned or malaxed for 60 minutes to separate the oil and water from the solids, while blanketed in CO₂ to avoid oxidation (O₂ turns the oil brown).
Olive Oil Extraction
Next the oil is extracted from the pomace and water with a centrifuge (pressing is old hat!). The oil drips out very slowly, “like watching paint dry” says Cambren, into stainless steel containers while the water and sediment fall to the bottom to be drained away, called racking. The oil is bottled and labeled with the harvest date and year. It is best consumed within 2 years of harvest. Leftover pomace and crushed pits are mixed with compost and scattered around the olive trees. In a new project, the pomace is mixed with oak tree sawdust to make growth medium for the mushroom farm.
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Extra Virgin
The FDA has not agreed upon a definition for Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO), but the growers do. To qualify as Extra Virgin, the oil must contain less than 1% oleic acid, and producers must not use heat or chemicals during production. It must be green gold in color, have a strong green olive aroma, a fresh olive oil taste and a peppery finish. Producers make Virgin Olive Oil by heating and reprocessing the pomace left over from extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) production. They then make Olive Oil by taking the twice-processed pomace and using chemicals and heat to extract the remaining oil. Manufacturers often blend this product with sunflower, safflower, or other vegetable oils to create a blended or refined olive oil product.
Soil is Everything
A key growing point was that after the first few years of great harvests, the yields dwindled. Nevertheless, Cambren tested the soil and found it was fine, checked the pH and found it was also fine, yet he remained puzzled. The next step was tissue sampling via leaves, to discover there was a boron deficiency, even though the amount in the soil was correct. He corrected it with foliar boron spray to improve the yield. The trees are self-pollinating, having both male and perfect flowers. Too little boron results in fewer perfect and more male flowers. Thus, less fruit. Now he knows to test the soil and tissue in both February for the current season and in the Fall to influence the next season’s crop. In addition, he eliminated the need for pesticides by encouraging natural predatory insects and having chickens and ducks roaming the property. He uses no herbicides.
Cambren explained that California wines evolved from being disparaged to becoming highly sought after. Similarly, consumers once overlooked California EVOO in stores, but they now regard it as some of the best available. The olive grove information was so interesting that an hour passed before we realized it was time for the next part of the tour with Dede.
Olive Oil Uses
We sampled and learned how to taste olive oil by first appreciating the bouquet. We then placed a bit on the tongue for 5 seconds before eating a small piece of Dede’s sourdough bread dipped into the oil. Cambren followed this with olive-leaf ginger tea. Subsequently, Dede taught us the 3 ways to infuse olive oil. First, add the herbs/flavor to the fresh olives at the time of oil production. Then heat the herbs with oil in a pan, or add dry herbs to a bottle of oil. Never add fresh herbs to a bottle of oil as the bacteria on the herbs may spoil it.
We all made small jars of infused olive oil with peppercorns, garlic, and oregano to take home. Raw olives are fairly bitter, as those of us willing to taste discovered! Dede had us prepare some fresh olives to brine in a jar. Our last project was to make skin scrubs with olive oil, honey and sugar for the facial and salt for the hand&foot scrub.
… and Mushroom Production
Just before lunch, we toured the mushroom growing building. Temperature and climate are controlled for the mushroom-inoculated compost (soy hulls and sawdust) to mature and grow in clear plastic bags. In a separate room we observed where the mycelium becomes either Lion’s Mane or Blue Oyster mushrooms following a slit in the bag to bring in the oxygen that initiates fruiting.
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We enjoyed a delicious luncheon spread including olive dip, olive-baby kale pasta primavera, and olive chicken salad. Additionally, the staff served olive sourdough bread with assorted cheese and crackers. And to top it all off, tasty olive leaf ginger tea and sangria was served.
Olive Tree Bonsai
Rounding out the visit, we each had an opportunity to make a bonsai tree from a small Arbequina olive tree seedling. We freed the plant from the soil and spread the roots over rocks in a shallow tray. Afterward, we wired the plant into place and trimmed it to a small size. Finally, we immersed the pot in a water bath to remove air bubbles, and topped off with dirt and moss. Our bonsai need to be watered weekly, fertilized weakly every week, and pruned as needed to maintain desired size and shape.
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Olive Oil for Sale?
Lastly, we all visited the Farm Store to purchase oils, flavored vinegars, and other goodies to bring home.
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