Journal April 10, 2013

As it does not appear that the Trilye olives from Turkey are going to be in my olive grove, I used the refund to purchase a different variety from a nursery in Oregon, Forest Farm. There is room for twelve plants, and with today's addition I now have eleven.

The new plant, seen on the left, is a variety called Oblonga, and, as I understand it, the unusual name refers to the shape of the fruit.  The plant on the right is a cutting from the top of the plant.

There seems to be conflicting information regarding this variety online, so I am not sure who to believe.  The variety seems to have been developed from a volunteer found in an orchard  near Corning, California around 1940.  The USDA claims to have performed a DNA analysis, and claims that Oblonga and Frontoio are really one and the same.  Others claim that Oblongo is related to Picholine, and still others think it is a separate variety altogether.  

As far as I can tell it seems mostly used for a rootstock, as it has excellent resistance to root rot.  Having said that, it does have a decent sized olive, and will also produce a decent tasting oil, so as far as I am concerned it meets my criteria for being a table olive and a source of oil.