Till'. MONTHLY BULLETIN. 



I .VI 



DEVELOPMENT OF THE FRUIT INDUSTRY IN SAN 

 LUIS OBISPO COUNTY. 



By S. V. Chrbtibbson, County Horticultural Commissioner, San Luis Obispo, Cal. 



Thirty years ago, nearly a thousand acres of prunes were planted in S:m Luis 

 ot>ispo County, principally in the vicinity of Templeton, £3 miles north of San Luis 

 Obispo, and r> miles south of Paso Bobles. Due !o the prevailing low prices for 



prunes, and the very poor marketing facilities, these 

 orchards were neglected and in many cases destroyed, 

 although parts of old orchards are still standing and 

 bearing indifferently, due mainly lo lark of care. 



About this time the Oiivcrs'ty of California had 

 an experiment station established near Paso Bobles 

 for the specific purpose, as far as can be ascertained, 

 of determining the status of the section as a. fruit 

 growing venture. Due to heavy frosts almost every 

 winter in the early nineties, the reports from this 

 Upper Salinas Valley station were unfavorable, and 

 although the station was continued for several yens, 

 it was finally abandoned but the unfavorable reports 

 remained. 



These reports tended to discourage people from 

 planting orchards for a long time, however interested 

 parties could not but notice the excellent results 



obtained from tl Id Trussler & Van Wormer 



orchard, situated about two miles northwest of the 



business center of Paso Kobles, as well as other old 

 almond orchards in the same vicinity, and in 19112 



extensive plantings were started, in more favored localities than above-mentioned 

 tracts. Notable among these new plantings are: The G. X. Talbot orchards, now 

 comprising over 500 acres in almond trees, the Brown Bros, orchard of nearly 300 

 acres, and several smaller orchards of 'Jo to 1IKI acres. Although \V. S. Foriugton. 

 one of the pioneer fruit mowers of the district, had demonstrated that prunes and 

 apricots would do surprisingly well, and Guy C. Heaton, who put San Luis Obispo 

 County on the map when it came to showing prize apples, demonstrated beyond a 

 doubt that surpassingly tine apples can be grown in the county, all the new plantings 

 in the distriet at this time were almonds. 



This movement gave the industry the necessary impetus, and since it has grown 

 by leaps and bounds. The first authentic figures on orchard acreage in the county. 

 compiled by former Commissioner Carl Nichols, placed the almond acreage for the 

 rear 1916, inclusive of that year's plantings, at ."..07(5 acres non-bearing and 312 

 ■teres bearing almond trees, hi 1917 this acreage was augmented by 2.100 acres. 



About r.ti per cent of the fruit it acreage of the county consists of almonds. 



Prunes, pears, apricots, peaches, apples and walnuts make up the balance. Pears 

 and prunes tire planted at a lower altitude than almonds, in draws and bottom lands, 

 where, although the soil is more fertile, almonds would not produce crops due to 

 frost conditions. Most growers readily understand this, as the almond is the 

 earliest blooming orchard tree we have. Hence almonds are planted on hillsides and 

 frequently on hilltops, to secure the best obtainable air drainage, aud where frost 

 danger is' minimized. Soil conditions must always be taken into consideration, as 

 i,i.i all these soils on the numerous hillsides of San Luis Obispo County will produce 

 .almonds. The trees require a fairly deep loam, with a pervious subsoil. The 

 presence of lime in the soil appears to be very beneficial to the almond; some 

 orchards planted on hillsides with outcropping limestone are doing extremely well. 



The purchase of the old Henry ranch by the Ataseadero Holding Corporation in 

 101.'! marked another step forward in the development of the fruit industry of the 

 county. The plans of this gigantic enterprise include, as a main feature, the 

 planting of a great part of the 23,<HHi-acre estate to pears, prunes, apples, peaches 

 and almonds. At the present time about 3,000 acres are planted to orchards which 

 are now from 1 to 3 years old. It is planned to subdivide this estate into small 

 lots, varying in size from villa lots to 10 and 20-acre orchard tracts, and selling on 

 easy payments to homeseekers. The influx of many intelligent eastern investors, 

 who since 1915 have built hundreds of beautiful homes on the estate, as well as the 

 fine buildings, including Administration Building, Department Store and Hotel 

 Building, and the largest printing plant between San Francisco and Los Angeles, 



