Olive trees are famous for growing at a snail’s pace, but that’s exactly why they can live for hundreds of years! Luckily for us gardeners, young plants actually grow at a pretty normal rate. That means you don’t have to drop a ton of cash on a mature tree at the nursery—you can totally start your own right from a seed.
Olives are actually stone fruits
Just like cherries or plums, olives have a hard pit in the center. Because they are stone fruits with a woody shell around the seed, they need a little extra TLC before they’re ready to sprout. Your first task is to get that pit out of the fruit flesh without nicking or damaging it. Since raw olives are surprisingly tough, even this first step takes a bit of patience!
Prepping your seeds for success
Once you’ve extracted the pit, give it a good scrub in warm water to get rid of any leftover fruit bits. Next up is a crucial step: soaking. Let the pit sit in room-temperature water for at least 24 hours, making sure to change the water a few times during the process. (Pro tip: Do this even if you bought your seeds online instead of harvesting them yourself!) After the soak, tuck the seed about half an inch deep into a pot filled with seed-starting mix, making sure the pointy end is facing up.
Which olives should you use?
If you already have access to an olive tree, you can harvest your own seeds directly. Just keep these tips in mind when picking your fruit:
- Stick with dark, fully ripe olives.
- Make sure they haven’t been processed (no brined or jarred olives from the pantry!).
- Look for fruit with perfect skin—no bruises or bird pecks.
- The fresher and riper the fruit, the better your chances of seeing a sprout.
