Cork is an environmentally friendly product, and about half of the worldwide production is in Portugal. The trees are not harvested until they are about 25 years old , and after then only about every 9 years from May to August. The harvesters or "extractors" use a very sharp axe and make one horizontal cut at a height about 2-3 times the circumference of the tree and several vertical cuts. The handle of the axe is inserted into these cuts and they then lever the bark off. These sections are called planks. These are stacked in piles in the forests or factory yards and left to dry.
Cork forests are mostly grassy paddocks with livestock with scattered trees. we only saw one place with trees in regular rows.
Cork forests are mostly grassy paddocks with livestock with scattered trees. we only saw one place with trees in regular rows.
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