Then the family must decide which trees will be replaced. A good tree produces fruit for 15 to 20 years. When a stand of trees reaches the end of line, a bulldozer comes in to do the dirty work. Gary then decides whether to replant or let that piece of land rest a year or two. Pencil-thin when they arrive, each tree takes about six years to pay for its upkeep.
Young trees produce less than mature ones.
The trees in Williams orchard produced well this season. Planting varieties that ripen at different intervals keep customers coming from early July through late September. But even when things seem perfect, Gary warns, they never know what's going to happen. On Friday, Aug. 11, as harvest season hit its peak, his father Clint suffered a heart attack. A few days later Clint underwent triple-bypass surgery and must rest through the harvest season while he recovers.