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Olive dig results

Posted: July 30th, 2017, 10:34 pm
by Matt S
Today the S.A. Bonsai Society held a dig in the Onkaparinga Gorge National Park. We'd been given permission for the day to remove Olives and if the ranger is happy we'll have access for future digs. The dig was well attended, the weather held nicely and there were countless numbers of trees to choose from. The theme of the day was to be really fussy and only take one or two good trees rather than a bootload of mediocre stock. After lugging my tree back up the gorge I was glad I only took one. Here it is:
olive dig 1.jpg
olive dig 2.jpg
olive dig 3.jpg
This tree is at the upper limit of the size I prefer. I'm not sure if I'm going to be able to lift it when it's eventually in a pot, but that's a problem for the future. Right now it's soaking in seasol and tomorrow I'll plant it in something big.

Matt.

Re: Olive dig results

Posted: July 31st, 2017, 12:35 am
by CraigM
Nice tree

Re: Olive dig results

Posted: July 31st, 2017, 5:16 am
by Max
gotta be one happy chappy :tu:

Re: Olive dig results

Posted: July 31st, 2017, 7:52 am
by squizzy
That's a great result Matt

I can see a great tree in that. Well selected.

Squizzy

Re: Olive dig results

Posted: July 31st, 2017, 8:23 am
by Hal
That's a rare gem Matt. Well scored.

Re: Olive dig results

Posted: July 31st, 2017, 8:30 am
by melbrackstone
Looks like a great tree to collect!

Do you mind my asking what sort of conditions you were given? Did you have to clear away all the debris including branches that you cut off? Fill in the holes and cover with leaf mould? Things like that can help the rangers be convinced you're welcome to come back?

#justaskingforafriend. ;)

Re: Olive dig results

Posted: July 31st, 2017, 9:14 am
by Nate.bonsai
Nice. You don't need to take more trees when you get one that nice


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Re: Olive dig results

Posted: July 31st, 2017, 11:30 am
by Matt S
Do you mind my asking what sort of conditions you were given? Did you have to clear away all the debris including branches that you cut off? Fill in the holes and cover with leaf mould? Things like that can help the rangers be convinced you're welcome to come back?
Before the dig we had to meet up and get signatures from all attendees agreeing to the Terms and Conditions.
Spray our boots with metho before entering the park.
Fill in the hole afterwards.
Pile all the leftover branches into common piles for the rangers to dispose of (This is the first time we've been asked to do this, usually we use the branches to cover the hole).
Remove olives only.

Olives are an invasive species so removing them isn't usually a problem, the rangers are more concerned with damage to the park and public liability issues. Once the club was able to talk to the right people we were able to negotiate a deal fairly quickly.

Matt.

Re: Olive dig results

Posted: July 31st, 2017, 11:36 am
by melbrackstone
It's great that you were able to meet up with the right people to get in there to do the dig, well done! I'm sure the rangers would have been over the moon to have responsible people handling the digging too. I suspect they have to take out all the left over branches in case they take root sitting on the ground, would be much safer knowing they've all been disposed of, I guess!

Congrats, great result. :)

Re: Olive dig results

Posted: July 31st, 2017, 2:59 pm
by Grainer
nice tree mate and good work doing the dig with the rangers.

Re: Olive dig results

Posted: August 9th, 2017, 5:55 pm
by Graeme
Except for the metho, they were the conditions I had to comply with over 20 years ago, so it's good to see the system standing up to the passage of time.

Re: Olive dig results

Posted: January 14th, 2018, 5:31 pm
by Matt S
Here's the growth that's occurred since collecting.
olive dig new growth.jpg
Even though I've never had an olive die on me after collection, I'm still relieved to see so many shoots on all the existing branches. My usual strategy is to just let it go for the first summer just to build up the root system. Maybe in Autumn I'll have a good look and choose the ones I want to keep.

Cheers,
Matt.

Re: Olive dig results

Posted: January 14th, 2018, 5:37 pm
by Watto
Good growth, congrats.

Re: Olive dig results

Posted: March 23rd, 2018, 6:40 pm
by The Munt
That is awesome, my yard is a Forrest of potential bonsai, gotta give collecting a go. :yes: