How would you like to be a proud parent of a budding, baby olive tree?
You can, thanks to Nudo-Italia, an artisan olive oil company founded by Jason Gibb and Cathy Rogers, former TV producers who chucked it all to restore an abandoned 21-acre olive grove in Italy’s Le Marche.
Besides selling wonderful olive oils, they offer a unique program in which anyone around the world can adopt an olive tree for a year. The project is a collaboration between Nudo and small-scale artisan olive oil producers in Le Marche and Abruzzo.
The company’s new spring “adoption box” ($97) includes a personalized adoption certificate and booklet that describes your tree, one 250ml tin of first cold press extra virgin olive oil, three 500ml tins of first cold press extra virgin olive oil from your adopted tree, an invitation to come visit your tree, and a “Grow Your Own Olive Tree in a Tin” with growing instructions. It’s a gift that definitely keeps on giving.
Contest: One lucky Food Gal reader will get a chance to try out their green thumb on their own “Grow Your Own Olive Tree in a Tin” (a $7.49 value). Stick it on a windowsill or kitchen ledge, then water. Who knows — this cute little thing might even bear some fruit.
Entries, limited to those in the continental United States, will be accepted through midnight PST March 31. Winner will be announced April 2.
How to win?
Just tell me about something you’re proud of growing — whether it be a plant, an idea, a relationship or you name it.
Here’s my own answer:
“When I got the call at work many years ago that my Mom had suffered a stroke, a feeling of total helplessness washed over me. I raced to the hospital, but not before stopping at a local flower store to buy a plant for her. I don’t know why I did that. I guess I was just conditioned that when you go to a hospital to see someone who’s ailing, you bring something to hopefully cheer them up. The plant remained by her bedside throughout her stay there, then came home with her. My Mom always had a way with plants. She could grow anything — even tomatoes inside our dining room, whereas I have been known to kill cactus and ivy, which are considered indestructible. Under her care, that little plant flourished and grew green and tall. After she passed away, I took possession of that plant again, hoping against all hope that I could keep it looking as vibrant as she had. It’s now eight years old — still alive and healthy. I’ve killed many a plant in my day. But I am truly proud that this one, which forever reminds me of my late-Mom, continues to thrive against all odds.”