Adopt an Olive Tree

Producing Organic, Diversity Ark-certified extra virgin olive oil is a labor of love, and we couldn’t do it without your support.

Adopt a tree from our grove and your gift will help us continue to farm in ways that promote biodiversity, soil health, ecological balance, and the restoration of otherwise abandoned olive groves.

Preserving 800 Years of Tuscan Heritage

Of La Torre alle Tolfe’s 50 hectares of diversified farmland and woodland, 17 hectares are dedicated to organic and certified biodiverse olive groves.

The first records of olive cultivation at La Torre alle Tolfe date back to 1316 – but it’s possible that the ancient Etruscans brought olive cultivation to Tuscany almost two thousand years ago.

For at least 800 years, olive cultivation and olive oil has been a cornerstone of life at La Torre alle Tolfe, and we hope to continue to care for our olive trees in a way that preserves oliviculture for centuries to come.

Our Vision: A Regenerative Future

As we look to the future, a holistically sustainable and regenerative approach is necessary for continued cultivation. Beyond simply sustaining the current health of our soil and trees, we are investing in measurably improving the health of our land over time.

This regenerative approach creates an ecosystem that is more resilient to the effects of climate change, extreme weather, and even disease. Your support helps us farm in ways that promote biodiversity, soil health, and ecological balance.

Our Work in the Groves

While our groves have been certified organic since 2001, we are constantly looking to improve our farming practices and efforts towards regenerating our soil and ecosystem. Here are just a few of the practices your adoption will help us integrate into our olive groves:

Pruning in Partnership

Currently, our team is in the process of rehabilitating many of our formerly abandoned olive groves, reforming our trees by pruning them into the vaso policonico shape. This is a pruning approach championed by the Scuola Potatura Olivo, with whom we partner for olive pruning workshops, certifications, and the ongoing education of our team and others cultivating olive trees across Italy.

Over time, this pruning approach will result in trees with more stable growth and consistent olive production, but requires the sacrifice of 1-2 years of harvests as the tree recovers from the initial reformation pruning.

We hope to complete this ”riforma” pruning project by 2028.

Rational Grazing

We are experimenting with rational grazing amongst our olive trees. By pasturing our horses, geese, sheep (and one cow!) through the groves, we provide the animals with fresh, shaded pasture. In return, the animals supply the trees with nutrient-rich manure while gently clearing away brambles and overgrowth, creating a perfect symbiotic cycle.

In the coming years, we hope to triple our flock, expanding the positive impact on our olive groves.

Biodiversity as Resilience

Since 2023, our olive groves and vineyards have been certified biodiverse by Diversity Ark, a certification that measures the results of our efforts to create a healthy, thriving ecosystem amongst our trees and vines. Diversity Ark takes stock of the native plant, insect, animal, and even microbiological populations of our land and soil, and provides us with recommendations to improve our results and ecosystem over time.

Biodiversity is an essential marker of a healthy ecosystem, as a competitive food web protects against the proliferation of invasive species and species that can be detrimental to our olives and grapes, such as the fungus downy mildew or the olive fruit fly. Microbiological biodiversity in our soils also promotes plant health, allowing our crops and native plants to more readily access vital water and nutrients.

As part of our efforts to further promote biodiversity in our olive groves, we mulch instead of burn olive pruning cuttings (providing a food source for fungi and helping our soils retain moisture and organic matter), roll out hay for our animals that helps seed future groundcover, and use our animals to graze (and fertilize) instead of cutting grass with machinery.

Our Commitment to Quality & Biodiversity

Our groves contain four native Tuscan olive cultivars (Frantoio, Leccino, Pendolino, and Moraiolo), with our oldest trees an estimated 140 years old. We are proud of our commitment to excellence in both oliviculture and olive oil production, which is reflected in our certifications:

Adopt an Olive Tree