You may have grown up among the fruit orchards of Saratoga or enjoyed your own fruit tree bounty; you may live in Saratoga today or in your fond memories. We share your value of the agricultural traditions and fabulous fruit of the Santa Clara Valley, and are reaching out to ask that you write a letter of support for the Novakovich Orchards family to regain the management contract for Saratoga’s Heritage Orchard.

Last year, after 43 years of faithful, fruitful service, the city of Saratoga abruptly severed its contract with Novakovich Orchards and awarded a one-year contract to a Santa Cruz County landscape maintenance company called Orchard Keepers for 32% more than its contract with Novakovich Orchard.

Unfortunately, Orchard Keepers’ management skills and organic farming technology did not meet the Heritage Orchard’s needs. In the course of one year, Orchard Keepers mismanagement of the Heritage Orchard caused severe damage to the fruit trees, and the majority of the crop was wasted.

Contrary to the requirements of their contract, Orchard Keepers failed to adequately prune and thin the fruit trees, manage pests, irrigate the trees or prop heavy tree limbs prior to harvest. Many trees suffered major limb breakage during the fruit season.

The French prune trees were infested with aphids, and the entire crop was lost. The apricot harvest, which in a good year yields approximately 10 to 12 tons, was largely wasted: 3,000 pounds of apricots were picked and donated to Second Harvest, and the huge remainder (about 80%) was randomly picked or left to waste.

The stress and damage to the trees caused by Orchard Keepers led them to cut down nearly 200 trees. Many of the trees that were removed were heritage trees, 30-40 years old.

The orchard cannot survive a repeat performance. We need the city to restore the maintenance contract with Novakovich Orchards, run by a local farm family with nearly 100 years of experience farming apricots, cherries and French prunes in the heart of Saratoga.

The 14-acre Heritage Orchard has been continuously farmed since 1880. In the 1950s, the land was owned and farmed by the Seagraves family (cousins of the Novakovich family). In the late 1970s, the city purchased the land and preserved it as a working orchard and a historic landmark. The Novakovich family managed the Heritage Orchard until 2020.

The 11-acre Novakovich Orchard, the last commercial orchard in Saratoga, is located on Fruitvale Avenue, close to the Heritage Orchard. Three generations of the Novakovich family have farmed their property since 1925.

Please support Saratoga’s last family farm, Novakovich Orchard, and the long-term future and productivity of the Heritage Orchard by sending a personal letter to senior planner Nicole Johnson via email at NJohnson@saratoga.ca.us or by mail at the Community Development Department, 13777 Fruitvale Ave., Saratoga, CA 95070.

Finally, concerned residents and supporters of the Heritage Orchard may wish to attend a forthcoming City Council hearing during which the orchard management contract will be discussed and awarded. The date of the public hearing is to be determined.

Former Saratoga residents Neal Casteel and Lisa Newman contributed to this article.