BECKlog

The hinterland of the Spanish south coast is a Garden of Eden and allowed its abundance of water all year round cultivation and harvesting of fruits and vegetables.

However, even the inattentive observer is striking that hardly any fruit is harvested, either because he tripped over or have to travel by car through fruit through that lie on paths and roads.

The condition is not new. For years, the farmers are paid such low prices that it does not even cover the expenses for the irrigation of fruit trees. Therefore, you usually no longer reaping the trees or leaves equal to the entire Finca unirrigated, the trees are so dry after 2-3 years. Others make their trees in the prime of life unceremoniously and plants instead of avocado trees.

This exotic tree with the somewhat dull, oily fruit has an equally bland-mild flowers smell, and in many parts of the natural phenomenon of orange blossom (Azahar) is already diminished. The indescribable, with nothing to compare scent of orange blossom in the month of April is to convey in a position to receptive natures an olfactory taste of paradise or rather one by smell "Pre-scent". Anyway drives the aroma of orange blossom, especially when it is mixed with still hanging on the tree quite ripe oranges, directly behind the center of the forehead and raises both the mood and the ability to concentrate quite extraordinary.

The avocado tree has proven to be problematic for this area. Although better prices are paid for avocados, but the trees need a lot of fertilizer, swallow a lot of (scarce) water, what its name implies cates agua in Spanish, and only have a lifespan of a few years.

The theoretical life expectancy of the evergreen orange tree, however, is legendary: the first, once imported into Portugal orange tree that bore sweet fruits, is said to have stood still for centuries in Lisbon. As the name apple-sine ("Chinese apple") implies, the Orange eastern origin: She came over and linguistically India, Persia and Arabia in the 15th century to us. The Sanskirit word was naranga to narendsch Persian and Arabic narandsch and Spanish naranja, just the orange.

In its area of ​​origin of the orange tree was well adapted to the cold. Also in southern Spain can prevail freezing temperatures in winter, with which the tree is finished. 4 years ago I remember 2 weeks at minus 13 degrees, the trees groan, but survived. But not the avocado trees that had to be like them all.

The common cliché about a southern Spain with consistently mild temperatures anyway not correspond to reality and is at best for the immediate coastline. In the mountainous hinterland, however it is much colder, and there prevail in summer and winter variations between day and night temperatures of up to 20 degrees.

By nature, the orange tree is a survivor, the heat, cold and very dry can withstand long. He needs neither fertilizer nor any pesticides, only in the summer months you have to help out with a little water, so that the fruit does not become too small. Traditionally, the evergreen leaves are washed only once every few years with a soap solution, so that no black coating deposited on the leaves, which is caused by a mite. Even if you do not, it hurts the trees not: The leaves affected simply fall off and there form new, what ever happens anyway. The orange is actually so inherently "organic".

This year's prices were 15 cents for a kilo of oranges. If you compare this tip for the farmers with the prices in the supermarket, is clear who once presented to the grand prize here. Only the really big growers harvest yet. The ground around the orange trees is not never plowed with them, but sprayed with herbicides and the trees themselves are often fogged with chemistry.

Only a few southern Spanish farmers bring their fruits to the wholesale market, simply because it grieves them to rot the fruit unused. The oranges go mostly in the Fanta / Sprite-production, where they are processed into lemonade along with shell on.

A significant internal market for oranges does not exist in Spain: On the whole south coast tourist makes trouble somewhere to get a freshly squeezed orange juice. Even in good restaurants there are only bottles with juice from concentrate or just lemonade. This is in addition Cola became the favorite drink of Spanish children. Juicers are nowhere in most households. The lack of appreciation for fresh fruit is endemic. It is accompanied by a widespread dislike for the traditional rural life and its duties: Generally you will find on fincas only old and very old men at work. The mean or young generation never sees you, except exceptions there. Even for personal use is not picked. It's "too much work". So rotten in my immediate environment every year tons of fruit, especially citrus fruits, but also apricots, plums and mirabelle. If you drive over land is often a smell of fruit liqueur in the air ...

The middle generation is possibly to be found in the country, to recover on the weekend from work. For the Finca is then transformed, orange trees felled to create car driveways or beer tables, the pruning is burned directly on the spot and the next orange tree burned with equal half.

There is a widespread climate of cruelty and frustration over the orange trees. That its fruits bring anything on the market, they are quasi blamed personally, and for this they are punished every spring with a brutal "poda" (tree trimming).

If my neighbors complain again about the ridiculous prices, I suggest, mantra, a cooperative before and direct marketing as organic fruit. Of this you have heard, but it seems provisionally easier to say, "you can not do anything anyway."

The alienation from the campo (country) took place in southern Spain, mainly due to the easy money of the last real estate boom, the speed of light. Everywhere one finds abandoned fruit fincas, the longstanding nobody cares. The most glaring example offered the family of a farmer who died last year. The man had not been very popular with foreigners in the area and feared as a satyr. One thing was clear, however: He took care of like no other to his country house, always had all kinds of fruits and vegetables and got on top of that watering the entire area. I recently visited the little house in the garden and found a relative of the deceased owner's work: The man secretly arranged the heavy, golden potatoes out of the ground. The owner's son had no interest in this "legacy" of his father, although his mother has to live on a pension of 500 euros. It is hoped to be able to sell the house 60m2 including land yet to TopPrice of yesterday for 480,000 euro despite crisis ...

The orange, it was originally a cross between tangerine and grapefruit, is a small ball of sweetness verwandeltem to sunlight. In shape, color and design, it also reminds of the sun itself: Not only is the cross section of 10-13 "beams", but has also, like the sun, various Cases: The white shell and the outer hard shell, the oil glands contains (almost like sunspots).

The orange is a direct victim of ver-indented values ​​that boom-like speculation in land and soil confused with a healthy and equitable economic growth and have lost touch with reality and each grip. The current economic crisis will certainly revive in Spain appreciation of homes and their generous gifts again and hopefully the insight that the fruit farmers can get a fair price, but only if they decided their treasures market themselves and this especially the crisis of their imagination end.

There is definitely reason to hope for the Orange.

- Advertisement -

Tags: oranges , avocados , Costa del Sol , oranges

This entry was posted on Thursday, April 02, 2009 at 14:09 and is filed under Only Nature stored. Responses to this article can through the RSS 2.0 be pursued feed. It is possible on these products to respond or trackback to send from your own site.

Found a bug? Please let us know: