September: the grape harvest ends, the olive harvest is prepared

There is one month every year when two things happen together in the field: one harvest closes and another is being prepared. That month is September. On one side the grape harvest ending, on the other the olives starting to turn colour and a countdown of four or five weeks.

It is also the only time of year when you have time to decide calmly. In October there is no deciding: you harvest, and anything missing costs you days.

What closes: the grape harvest tools

Your vineyard shears and tying machine have just finished their work and are about to sit still for ten months. Five minutes now are worth an hour in January:

• blade clean and dry: dried sap is glue, and in December the blade opens badly;
• battery charged to half, never flat: a lithium battery left at zero all winter loses capacity and never comes back to what it was;
• a film of lubricant on the blade and pivots, then the tool in its case, away from damp.

If you have the tying machine, check the beak and the wire spool too: that is where wire ends collect, and it is why the following year it «stops tying».

What begins: the olives

Veraison, the colour turning from green to purple, decides when you start. Harvesting early gives less oil but more quality; waiting gives more yield and a rounder oil that keeps for less. The exact day depends on your goal, on the cultivar and on the area: what does not change is the time you have to get ready, and that time is now.

Why the hurry matters: once harvesting starts, every day of delay is oil losing quality, and olives must reach the mill within 24 hours, in perforated crates, never in sacks. Harvesting fast is not about comfort, it is how you get everything to the mill in the same good moment.

The olive harvester: what it actually does

Carbon tines comb the branch and drop the olives onto the net. Our Falco EVO 42 works at 1400 beats per minute, weighs 2.8 kg and carries a telescopic pole from 240 to 350 cm: the high canopy is reached from the ground, without a ladder.

That last point is what really changes the day. It is not speed on a single branch: it is that the high parts, the ones left behind by hand or done balancing on a ladder, get harvested standing on the ground.

Cable or backpack: the two ways to power it

The motor is the same on both models. What changes is where the power comes from, and it is the only choice you have to make.

	EVO 42	EVO 42 ULTRA
Power supply	15 m cable to the car battery, with inverter	42V backpack battery, no cable
Runtime	8-10 hours	16 hours
Weight	2.8 kg	2.8 kg + 5 kg backpack
When it suits	the car or tractor reaches close to the trees	trees far apart, ground you cannot drive, contract work
Price	€699	€1,299

A note few people know: with a 100 Ah battery the cable-powered EVO 42 runs two harvesters at once. If two of you harvest together, it is the cheapest set-up per person.

The September check, in ten minutes

If you already own the harvester, now is when it should be looked at. After eleven months standing still, almost every call we get in October is about a tool that started without a check.

1. Carbon tines: hold them against the light. Look for cracked ones, not just broken ones: a white line near the base means it will snap on the first thick branch.
2. Tine holders: if the hole has gone oval the tine wobbles, works badly and breaks sooner. They are replaced in pairs.
3. Screws: at 1400 beats per minute they all work loose. Tighten firmly but without forcing, the seats are technical plastic.
4. Pole: pull it out through its full travel and back in. If it grates it is dried soil from last year, a cloth is enough.
5. Cable and inverter: green oxide on the contacts is the number one cause of power loss. Test the inverter with the car running before you go out.
6. Backpack: full charge, a night's rest, then check the level again. If it has dropped on its own the battery has lost capacity, and it is better to find out now.

What you need now and what can wait

To buy before the campaign starts: spare tines and, if the holes have gone oval, the holders. They cost a few euros and save you stopping mid-day.

The spare pole can wait: you only need it if yours is bent or no longer locks. It is not a part that wears, it is a part that breaks.

If you do not own a harvester yet, the sum to do is not on the price of the tool but on the days you spend harvesting today: how many they are, what each one is worth, how many seasons it takes for the cost to come back. Contractors usually find the answer before the first season ends.

In short

• Grape harvest shears get cleaned and put away now, battery at half charge.
• You have four or five weeks before the olives: time to decide, not to chase.
• Cable if the car reaches the trees, backpack if the ground is wide or you work for others.
• The backpack can be added later to an EVO 42 already in use.
• Ten minutes of checking in September are worth a lost day in October.

If you want an opinion on your own case — how many trees, what the ground is like, whether you harvest alone or with someone — write to assistenza@gardenmac.com: a technician answers, and in two minutes we can tell you which set-up makes sense.