The philosophy of Casa Julia that we try to carry out is not focused on productivity, on the liters of oil to take home every year but on its quality, to be obtained only thanks to healthy and luxuriant plants because they are inserted in a fertile and rich in biodiversity soil.
This is a path that will take years to come with slow improvements to the entire “olive grove ecosystem”.

In this first year of total learning we have moved using products that support the single plant to help it manage the attacks of bacteria, fungi and various parasites.
Like Basalt Flour, a rock powder which, in addition to giving a covering effect on leaves and fruits, guarantees the supply of nutrients throughout the vegetative period.
In the summer months when the attack of the olive fly is stronger, we used Kaolin another product of mineral origin which, covering the entire foliage and in particular the olives, confuses the fly which is no longer able to identify its target. Another important effect of Kaolin is protection from sunlight and heat.
This allowed the olive trees to suffer less from the drought of this summer and to limit the loss of fruit already jeopardized by the spring weather trend.
Another choice that has been made is to keep the whole olive grove covered with grass. No tillage of the land but only the cutting of spontaneous herbs in late spring.
Herbs that have been left on the ground together with the remains of pruning to reduce the evaporation of the water as much as possible, lower its temperature and decrease its erosion in case of rain (Casa Julia is located in the hills and its land is sometimes steep).

In the new year, which has already begun, we are already experimenting with a new product (always totally harmless, indeed beneficial!) Which should be effective in the invigorating activity and in general in improving the resistance of plants to biotic stresses (induced by another living organism). and abiotic (induced by a deficiency or excess of an environmental factor). We will explore the topic when tangible results are available.
Another activity that we will try to implement is green manure, that is the autumn sowing of some categories of plants (legumes, grasses, brassicas) which will then be cut in spring.
This practice has numerous advantages that are closely linked to the philosophy of Casa Julia: it is a natural fertilization, it moves the soil deeply, increases the water reserves, promotes biodiversity, improves and protects the soil in all its aspects.

If all these initiatives take place and are successful, we will return a better micro-ecosystem than the one we have found, thus demonstrating our respect for the territory that hosts us.