Debates over Saratoga history and the future of farming took the forefront on April 2, ending with the city council continuing to allow Orchard Keepers to care for the city’s Heritage Orchard.
The Heritage Orchard occupies about 14 acres between the Saratoga Library and city hall. It is known for its hundreds of trees yielding apricots, prune plums and cherries. The city contracted Orchard Keepers, a home orchard and landscaping company based in Santa Cruz, to manage the orchard in 2020. Previously, Saratoga-based Novakovich Orchards had cared for the orchard for 41 years.
Both contractors applied to maintain the orchard for the next two or more years when Orchard Keepers’ contract expired earlier this month. City staff’s recommendation to continue working with Orchard Keepers was approved in a 3-2 vote, with Vice Mayor Chuck Page and Councilmember Kookie Fitzsimmons dissenting.
According to the Orchard Keepers’ application, it will cost them a little more than $155,000 to operate the orchard. Their approach aligns with regenerative agriculture, a farming method that tries to improve soil health and air and water quality and to bolster ecosystem resilience, biodiversity and carbon sequestration. One of their most controversial moves was using a cover crop to increase the organic matter in the orchard’s soil. Orchard Keepers also does not use synthetic fertilizers or herbicides to treat pests and weeds and only uses materials approved by the Organic Materials Review Institute on fungal and bacterial pathogens.
“Our methods might look a bit wilder than the manicured aesthetic of chemical-intensive farming, but they produce healthier outcomes for our community, for the orchard ecosystem, for the trees themselves and ultimately for the fruit we all enjoy,” said Orchard Keepers founder Matthew Sutton. “This isn’t just about growing apricots. It’s about growing them in a way that respects and enhances all aspects of our community’s relationship with this very special place.”
In their application, Orchard Keepers highlighted its efforts to connect with the community, like working with the Regenerative Agriculture class at West Valley College and with Village Harvest to pick fruit and donate it to the local food bank. The contractors also highlighted their contributions to the orchard, including installing a new irrigation system, planting almost 500 new trees and identifying a soil pathogen–oak root fungus–that had been killing the trees.
In contrast, Novakovich’s contract would have cost around $173,000 the first year and a little over $155,000 for the next two to five years. Novakovich prioritized growing fruit using “traditional practices” and drying the fruit and making it into jams and other products for year-round enjoyment, according to their application. In answering a question by Page, city manager Matt Morley said that no chemical pesticides are permitted in city parks, including the Heritage Orchard.
Novakovich offered to buy heritage fruit trees, like Blenheim apricots and French prunes, to replace non-heritage varieties and fill vacant spots. They also proposed offsetting the costs of maintaining the orchard by crediting 80% of the profits raised by the sale of fruit back to the city. Their application included hiring a pest control firm to eradicate the gopher population at the orchard, which would have cost $17,650 in the first year.
Several Saratoga residents spoke favorably of Novakovich Orchards, citing their longtime presence in Saratoga and criticizing the current state of the orchard under Orchard Keepers’ care.
A resident named Paul criticized Orchard Keepers for allowing residents to come and pick fruit off the trees openly, saying that it could be damaging the trees.
“It hurts me to see the trees in the orchard around the library that are dying off,” Paul said. “I don’t recall in the years, some 70 now that I’ve lived here, seeing that kind of condition before.”
Councilmember Fitzsimmons spoke highly of Novakovich Orchards’ commitment to community engagement. She also criticized the Orchard Keepers for not attending a lot of Heritage Preservation Commission meetings and not frequently attending community events.
“Novakovich, who is not contractually obligated, for decades, has routinely contributed their time, money and resources to Saratoga’s most popular events,” Fitzsimmons said.
She also decried the decreasing percentage of Blenheim apricot trees in the Heritage Orchard, saying that it went from 95% to 70%.
“I don’t think that Orchard Keepers can make it any clearer that they do not want to manage Blenheim trees,” Fitzsimmons said.
However, several other community members spoke favorably of Orchard Keepers’ regenerative agricultural practices, saying they set an example for using environmentally sustainable practices and giving back to the community through their work on the orchard.
Neha, a senior at Saratoga High School and co-chair of the Green Committee at the school, expressed her support for Orchard Keepers, saying that their nontraditional practices have improved soil health and made the orchard a “safe, chemical-free space for people to gather.”
“If the city chooses to switch back to a conventional management approach, that would be a huge loss and a loss in the wrong direction,” Neha said. “Orchard Keepers have shown that they can grow high-quality fruit while also giving back to the community.”