The people who envisioned the orchard decided, in 2001, to quit the urban way of life and moved from the bustling city of Athens to quiet, traditional Amfikleia, aiming to lead a serene, natural life, one attuned to the natural landscape that the mountainous land so graciously offered.
Up until 2014, when they decided to take up farming professionally, they couldn’t’ve imagined that their professional setting would also shift from urban to rural. Nevertheless, their values and principles remain unaltered, guiding them along the way: their love and respect for nature, the willingness to cooperate, their constant thirst for knowledge and evolution and the need to adopt environmentally sustainable practices.
This is why, in our walnut estate, our farming methods are defined by the respect towards both nature and man, full of passion and devotion. We apply environmentally respectful agricultural methods, such as precision farming, no-tillage, weed control without the use of chemical herbicides, underground fertigation, soil and leaf analysis. We’ve invested in an automated, remotely controlled underground drip irrigation system and an agrometeorological station, operating on a software designed to predict diseases and pests, ensuring the best application of natural resources and plant-protective products. We use microorganisms beneficial for the protection of the plants, the nourishment and the composting of organic crop residue and other animal waste, aiming to increase the organic substance and gradually reduce the use of chemical plant-protective substances and fertilizers. This ensures that our products, conventional though they may be, are tasty, of high nutritional value and the smallest possible carbon footprint, as well as compliant in accordance with the proposed maximum residual pesticide levels.
After the harvest, performed via the use of tree shakers, our walnuts get husked and washed on the spot in a specially designed machine, which includes a sorting conveyor for the first manual quality control. Immediately after, they are placed inside state-of-the-art inox driers, where the process of low-temperature drying begins, using air to ensure that none of the nutrients and taste get compromised. The final humidity level check is carried out using a specially designed thermo-scale that ensures the ideal humidity for the safe and long-term preservation of the walnuts. After drying, a second sorting follows, one of quality, as well as size. The end product is stored in controlled conditions. In a certified lab, we carry out tests concerning the levels of pesticide residue, nutritional analysis, as well as tests for microbes and aflatoxins.
Post-harvest procedures (drying process, sorting of size and quality, packaging and storage) take place in a privately owned authorized processing unit that complies with food safety and hygiene standards.
