CITRUS LOVERS PLUCK TO THEIR HEART'S CONTENT : ORCUTT RANCH'S TWO-DAY OPEN HARVEST LETS FOLKS GET THEIR HANDS ON FRESH FRUIT.

Byline: Steven J. Gorman Daily News Staff Writer

In the tangy-sweet air of one of the San Fernando Valley's last functioning citrus groves, 9-year-old Evangelina Piraino on Saturday munched an orange her grandfather had just plucked fresh from a tree.

``They're good,'' said Evangelina, a third-grader from Covina, as she stood Saturday in the dappled shade sampling the fruits of her grandfather's labor and licking sticky fingers.

Evangelina, her grandfather, James Piraino, 70, her grandmother, Elda, 67, and great-aunt, Clementine, 57, all from Highland Park, were among the hundreds of people who turned out for the first day of an annual weekend fruit picking at the Orcutt Ranch Horticulture Center.

For 13 years, the Los Angeles Recreation and Parks Department has invited the public to the 26-acre Spanish-style estate at 23600 Roscoe Blvd. to harvest Valencia oranges and yellow grapefruit for $2 a bag, or $4 a box.

The park's senior gardener, Darin Nakamura, estimated that some 22,000 pounds of fruit would be harvested by the end of the two-day event, which runs today from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Proceeds from the event, expected to produce about $2,000 this year, are used to restore and maintain the orchards.

The pickers bring their own bags and boxes - along with ladders if they are so inclined - and park officials supply picking poles for a $1 deposit.

``This is our second time in two years,'' said Elda Piraino. ``The first time, we came both days and the fruit was very good, so we thought we'd try it again.''

Beneath a nearby tree, 9-year-old Terza Brostoff of West Hills used a picking pole to reach some of the high branches while her mother, Judy Stehr, 48, bagged their harvest between bites of yellow grapefruit.

``Mom, I saw some big ones you can probably pick with your hands,'' Terza called out.

Asked whether she prefers oranges or grapefruits, Terza paused and answered, ``I don't know, they each have their own special quality.''

For Margueritte Wheeler, 89, of Los Angeles, the drive over the hill and the two hours spent getting her hands sticky was well worth the effort.

``This is fresh. It's right off the tree,'' she said. ``It hasn't been standing around. It hasn't been picked green. It's been picked ripe.''

David Bujnovsky, 46, the owner of a pool service company in Reseda, said the pursuit of fresh fruit has become a centerpiece of a healthy, new lifestyle.

``Every ailment known to man can be reversed by going on a diet of fresh, organic, raw fruits and vegetables, anything that's not denatured or devitalized,'' Bujnovsky said.

``I've dropped 50 pounds in one year. I have more energy than when I was 20, and I'm sleeping less and enjoying life more,'' he said. ``I'm a strong advocate of juicing.'

Florencio Mercado, 56, and his wife, Maria, 52, drove out from Van Nuys to load up their truck with seven buckets, a large burlap bag and two grocery bags full of oranges, an impressive haul for two hours of work.

The price they paid: $28.

``I went all the way to the middle (of the orchard),'' Mercado said. ``Every year, I go all the way to the middle. A lot of trees, a lot of oranges.'

Mercado said his family will eat its fill, then after a couple of months, make juice out of the rest.

``When the juice stays in the cooler, oh boy, it's No. 1,'' he said.

The annual fruit picking also promotes a healthier orchard by getting the fruit off the trees, park officials said.

The Orcutt Ranch, established in the early 1900s when much of the Valley was blanketed with orange groves and wheat fields, is one of the last citrus orchards still producing an annual crop in the region, Nakamura said.

``It does bring back some of the history of the San Fernando Valley,'' he said.

The ranch was built by William Orcutt, a geologist and vice president of Union Oil Co. who was instrumental in the discovery of La Brea Tar Pits in Los Angeles. In addition to the citrus trees, the park features flower gardens, nature trails, gazebos and giant, majestic oak trees hundreds of years old.

Fruit picker Steve Kallen, 44, of West Hills took a break with his son, Michael, 11, in the shade of a bamboo grove.

``We're just trying to get enough energy to pick some more,'' Kallen said. ``The price is right and it thins out the trees. Plus, the grapefruits go real well with vodka.''

Near the park entrance, a Santa Monica family loaded eight boxes of oranges and grapefruit into a Toyota Celica, a harvest of more than 300 pounds of fruit that cost $32.

``The juice you make out of these are the best you can buy,'' said Ted Stelmar, 79, of Santa Monica, who came with his wife, Florence, 72, and their daughter, Pam, 36.

``It's fun, it's organic and it's cheap,'' his daughter said.

CAPTION(S):

3 Photos

PHOTO (1) Orcutt Ranch Horticulture Center sells fruit f resh off the tree.

(2) James Piranino and members of his family pluck Valencia oranges from the Orcutt grove.

(3) Christy Beaird, 7, and her sister, Stephanie, 3, carry a bag of oranges they helped pick.

Gus Ruelas/Daily News