ORCUTT RANCH OPENS ORCHARDS; CITRUS TREES REMINDER OF OLD VALLEY.Byline: Amy Collins Daily News Staff Writer The trip to pick oranges at the Orcutt Ranch orchards Sunday was something of a trip back in time for Joe and Betty Hodge, residents of the San Fernando Valley San Fernando Valley Valley, southern California, U.S. Northwest of central Los Angeles, the valley is bounded by the San Gabriel, Santa Susana, and Santa Monica mountains and the Simi Hills. for 27 years. They remember a time when the Valley was lush with citrus orchards, cornstalks and strawberry fields. ``They were all over. It was beautiful. This whole Valley was orchards and ranches. Warner Center was all orchards,'' said Joe Hodge, a resident of Canoga Park. ``It was a lot different back then,'' he said. ``You come in here, and it's the way it used to be.'' The 24-acre Orcutt Ranch Horticultural Center was once the vacation home Vacation Home A home separate from an individual's primary residence that is used for recreational purposes and may also be rented out at unused times. Notes: For tax purposes, those who rent their vacation homes may result in a lower amount of allowable expense of Union Oil Co. Executive William Orcutt and his wife, Mary. The Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. Recreation and Parks Department has operated the property since 1966 and opens the fields normally once a year for people to pick the citrus. ``We are one of the last orchards existing in the Valley,'' said Ricky Gilmore, park superintendent. Other citrus orchards remain at the Sepulveda basin, the veterans hospital and Cal State Northridge, Gilmore said. A San Fernando San Fernando, city, Argentina San Fernando (săn fərnăn`dō), city (1991 pop. 144,761), Buenos Aires prov., E Argentina. It is a district administrative center in the Greater Buenos Aires area. resident who has worked for the city for more than 20 years, he said it's a shame that this is one of the last remnants of old Valley living. ``They all got wiped out with homes,'' he said of the orchards. Normally the rows of trees are open for public picking only once a year, but the crop was so good this year, Gilmore opted to add an extra day. ``We have a bumper crop In agriculture, a bumper crop refers to a particularly good harvest yielded for a particular crop. Example: "With all the rain we've had over the last few months, we are expecting a bumper crop this year. and so many left over,'' he said. At $2 a bag, the pickers found quite a bargain Sunday. But the deal came with some sacrifice. ``It's very good exercise,'' said Nianhui Zhang, who came from West Los Angeles
``I got a stiff neck stiff neck stiff n → torticolis m ,'' Betty Hodge said. All the money the city reaps from the picking will be rolled directly back into the park, Gilmore said. In July, the weekend picking netted $1,010. The additional picking this year will also improve the crop for next year, Gilmore said. About 50 ill trees were removed from the crop of 700 earlier this year and will be replaced with more Valencia oranges and pink grapefruit grapefruit, pomelo (pŏm`əlō), or pummelo (pum`məlō), citrus fruit (Citrus paradisi) of the family Rutaceae (orange family). , which seem to be the most popular, he said. CAPTION(S): 3 Photos PHOTO (1 -- 2) Betty Hodge, left, uses a pole to pick oranges Sunday at Orcutt Ranch in West Hills. Above, Lisa Wong holds a bag to collect Nianhui Zhang's citrus pickings during the orchards' second open picking day of the year. (3) Danny Lozano bites into a tree-fresh orange while picking with his family Sunday. Hans Gutknecht/Daily News |
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