Greek agriculture - and diet - was based on cereals (sitos, though usually translated as wheat, could, in fact, designate any type of cereal grain). In reality, 90% of cereal production was barley.

the Greek land was well suited for olive trees, which provided olive oil. The growing of olive trees dates   Grapes also do well in the rocky soil, vegetable gardens (cabbage, onion, garlic, lentils, chick pea, beans) and herb gardens (sage, mint, thyme, savory, oregano). Orchards included those of fig, almond, apple, and pear trees.  Oilseed plants such as linseed, sesame, and poppy were also grown

 Goats and sheep quickly became the most common livestock; less difficult to raise and providers of meat, wool, and milk (usually in the form of cheese). Pork and poultry (chicken and geese) were also raised. Oxen were rare and normally used as a work animal,

animal husbandry; poultry or small animals grazing on waste land or fed kitchen scraps. Combined farm/livestock operations also existed, as well as those specializing in livestock

the owner of 220 head of cattle and horses and at least 1000 sheep and goats. Flocks of sheep were herded between the valley in winter and the mountains in summer

 The Greek forests located in the highlands 

Beekeeping provided honey, the only source of sugar known to the Greeks. It also was used in medicines and in the production of mead. . The Hymettus region of Attica was known for the quality of honey produced there.  Wax was also produced, used in the lost wax process to produce bronze statues as well as in medicines.  Bronze was used for farm tools

The Ancient Greeks  Oil was preserved in terra cotta vases for use later. This was also the time for pruning of trees and vines and harvesting of legumes.

Spring was the rainy season; farmers took advantage of this to bring fallow ground back into production. They practiced biennial crop rotation, alternating from year to year between fallow and cultivated. Attempts to introduce triennial crop rotation with legumes in the third year ran into problems due to the poor Greek soil, lack of power, and absence of mechanization. The Greeks did not use animal manure, possibly due to the low number of cattleIn June, they harvested with sickles, Wheat was threshed with animal power; it was trampled by oxen, donkeys or mules, and the grain stored. Women ground it and made bread.

 

In early autumn, they collected deadfall and prepared supplies of firewood; while winters were mild on the coast they could be brutal in the highlands. Farmers also had to break the hard crust that had formed over the summer on grain fields. To do this required three passes since the ard was wooden (metal shares were rare) and only scratched the uppermost subsoil without inverting it. A hoe and mallet were also used to break clumps of earth. The fallow land for next year was sown by hand. This was the time of the grape harvest: the grapes were crushed by foot in large vats, then the wine was left to ferment in jugs.

After that process, people could drink the ambrosial wine and enjoy it.

agriculture. Tools remained mediocre and there were no inventions to lighten the work of either man or animal. It was not until the rise of Romans that the water mill came into wide use, employing hydraulic power to augment muscle power. It took until the Middle Ages for true plows which turned the earth to be widely adopted. Neither irrigation, nor soil improvements, nor animal husbandry saw notable advances. Only the very richest of land, such as that of Messinia was capable of supporting two crops per year-

Categories: Economy of ancient Greece Agriculture in Greece History of agriculture