Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/283151
www.goodfruit.com GOOD FRUIT GROWER APRIL 1, 2014 11 country, visiting customers to see how they were growing fruit. Carl also liked to attend horticultural meetings and would always sit in the front row where he could listen intently and fire questions at the speakers when given a chance. "He was very interested," Gie recalled. "And if they said something that wasn't right, he'd let them know." Not long after Carla joined the busi- ness, Carl became ill with cancer, and his daughters gradually took over manage- ment of the nursery and the 1,000 acres of orchard he had planted in the Quincy, George, and Royal City areas. After he died, in 1992, they just kept on going. "We were in the middle of the bud- ding season, and we had to go off the next day and get budwood," Dena recalled. "Life went on. That's how we were raised. There was no looking back." "And he would have wanted that," Carla added. "I was nervous about how the employ- ees would react to a different manage- ment style," Dena said. "And I was very pleased that the team we had all stayed and we kept on going." To improve production, Dena grad- ually replanted the orchard with dwarf- ing rootstocks, which had by then been proven hardy enough to survive the region's winters. At its peak, the business was producing 50,000 bins of tree fruit and growing 750,000 trees annually. Last crop Two years ago, the family decided to lease the orchard to Northern Fruit Com- pany in East Wenatchee, and bud their last crop of nursery trees. Gie, 80, says she's ready to retire and do more travelling, with Antarctica on the agenda for next year. She's travelled the globe on tree fruit tours, and Antarctica is the only continent she had no reason to visit. "It's broadened my horizons, and I have friends all over the world," she said. "It's just marvelous. I love to go different places." Carla, who has visited India with her church, Calvary Chapel Fellowship in Wenatchee, wants to spend more time doing overseas missionary work. She has also visited Ethiopia with World Vision, a Christian humanitarian organization. Dena, who has had two knee replace- ments, says she needs to do less phys- ical work but will still be involved in the industry. She's been active in nursery and tree fruit organizations in the Northwest and plans to remain a member of the Washington Tree Fruit Research Commission's board. "I love the industry, and I would like to give back to the industry everything I can," she said. Her husband, Manuel Ybarra, who is nursery manager, will keep busy as a wrestling coach. They have a 21-year-old son, Manny, who is at Boise State University in Idaho. Last November, the family harvested their last 800,000 nursery trees—their biggest crop ever. "It was a great growing season, and the trees looked very good," Carla said. "And it was a great piece of ground we grew them on. "It's nice to be able to go out strong," she reflected. "We're not going out because we're having to. We made a choice. We're finishing strong." • When it comes to protecting your orchard, Delegate ® egate offers proven WG insecticide stands alone. Dele , , th, leafrollers, performance against codling moth — along with other tough pests like Oriental fruit mot spotted wing drosophila, plum curculio and apple maggot. What sets it apart? A mode of action so unique, it's the only one in its class. That makes Delegate key to any spray rotation program for pome and stone fruit, cranberries, blueberries or grapes. www.DelegateInsecticide.com 800-258-3033 UNIQUE CHEMISTRY FOR STANDOUT PERFORMANCE. ® Trademark of The Dow Chemical Company ("Dow") or an affiliated company of Dow Always read and follow label directions. ©2013 Dow AgroSciences LLC L38-359-010 (01/13) BR 010-34175 DAAGDELE2059 G ie, Carla, and Dena received the Industry Service Award from the International Fruit Tree Association during its annual meeting in Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada, in February. In March, the Washington State Nursery and Landscape Association awarded Gie its special Pioneer Award in recognition of her long service to and involvement in the association.