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Photo by Jim Craven Bear Creek Corp. orchard workers plant Comice pear trees under foggy skies near Talent Monday. Bear Creek replants new holdings By DAVID PRESZLER Imagine buying an old house and, instead of hassling with poor insulation or structural problems, leveling it in favor of a mansion with all the amenities. That's precisely what Bear Creek Orchards has done with its two newest acquisitions. The pear-growing giant purchased two large orchards -- one roughly 400 acres and the other 500 -- in 1997 and flattened a combined 555 acres of producing pear trees. This month, workers began replanting 245 acres at the smaller of the two plots -- the 396-acre Royal Crest orchard near Talent. By May, 91,500 new Comice trees and 8,000 peach trees will grace the valley bordered by Suncrest and Payne roads. "The clean palette is what we've wanted to do," says Keith Emerson, who's managing Royal Crest's renovation. "We have had more frustration with new orchards trying to salvage what's there and nurse it back to health. It's worse than trying to bring an old house up to code, I can tell you that." Instead of fighting with outdated drainage systems, rut-filled roads and trees whose peak production has passed, Bear Creek Orchards -- the agricultural branch of Bear Creek Corp. -- started almost from scratch. Only 89 acres of producing Bosc and red pear trees were left standing at Royal Crest and they too will eventually be replaced. At the 512-acre Foothills Orchard (the old 401 orchard), about 140 acres of trees -- mostly Comice -- remain. The other 300 farmable acres were leveled and will be replanted next spring. But the projects go beyond the plow-and-replant efforts that growers must periodically do to keep production high. Not only does the size of the projects make them unusual, but Bear Creek has invested millions in laying new roads, installing high-tech irrigation systems and reconditioning the soil. "In the past, we typically haven't had the time," says Scott Cully, who's overseeing the Foothills renovation. "We'd just plow it down and plant it." "We talk about it being a reclamation project," says Bear Creek Orchards vice president Ron Henri. "We're doing it right." The driving force behind such a large investment -- the kind that only a big company like Bear Creek could afford to make -- was the need for Comice pears, the signature product in Harry and David's high-end gift baskets. Each of the two sites has presented unique challenges. At Royal Crest, efforts have focused on controlling runoff, while dealing with sticky clay soil is the major hurdle at Foothills. At Royal Crest, purchased from Reter Fruit Co. in December 1997, the mature pear trees came out as quickly as the rains would allow in early 1998. Before things progressed too far, drainage issues were addressed. A new subterranean system was designed to keep the water -- and topsoil -- from running everywhere. "The old paradigm was just to run the ditch along the orchard and get rid of the water as fast as you could and who cares what went with it," Emerson says. Bear Creek's efforts were applauded by neighbors tired of seeing their fields turned to swamps. For example, the company arranged for its underground pipe to feed water to one neighbor's pond. "We're happy with what they've done," says Sandee Kensinger, whose home lies on the low end of the valley and whose pond is now full. "It's not like they've just come and done what they wanted. They've worked with everybody." The basic drainage system in place, workers went about tearing free the trees' roots and leveling the orchard. Berms were shaped and grass was planted between them -- more efforts to ease erosion. An irrigation system featuring radio-controlled microsprinklers also was installed. Planting began Jan. 4 and workers have done about 25 acres so far. Two teams of 13 men each are planting between 1,000 and 1,500 trees a day. The trees will begin producing in about four years. Production is at least a year further away than that for the Foothills orchard, located where Foothill and Vilas roads meet north of Medford. The orchard lies in a part of the valley traditionally known as Big Sticky because of its clay soil. Though the orchard has a long history of pear production, the clay always has made it a struggle. Equipment gets gummed up, not to mention workers' shoes. And the soil retains too much water, leaving little room for the oxygen the trees need. So when Bear Creek bought the land from Crystal Springs Packing Co. in October 1997, Cully is pretty sure a few eyebrows were raised. "The rest of the farming community may look at us and say `You are out of your mind,"' he says. But Cully says the soil, properly treated, has the potential to yield wonderful Comice pears and Bear Creek is willing to invest enough to make it happen. After the older trees were pulled, Bear Creek planted the first of two cover crops. It plowed it back into the orchard last summer, adding organic matter to break up the clay. A second cover crop is in the ground now and will be plowed under in May. "You are not only rebirthing the orchard, you are rebirthing the soil," Cully says. "This is an outrageously expensive thing to do on this scale but it's going to pay off." Once the soil reconditioning is done, the orchard will be developed much like the other site. It's scheduled for planting next spring. While such elaborate projects may not become the norm for smaller orchardists, Emerson and Cully say it's been enormously rewarding to be able to shape such a dramatic renovation. "This was a real opportunity," says Emerson. "It's quite a plum to have fall in your lap." Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, Oregon USA