Kent Ranch, Midland Road, Poway 1900

The vintage photo of the day is of the Horace Kent ranch in Poway, circa 1900. The house from the old ranch still stands on the north end of Midland Road. Back when I was a kid our neighbors moved out to Midland Road in Poway, and it was really out in the country back then. Just about the only thing on Poway Road was a Foster's Freeze with horses and cows in pastures out back and a Big Bear market. Kent raised lots of fruit, especially peaches and apricots. The thing that doomed Kent's successful orchard enterprise? Nematodes. Often when people are thinking about which varieties of fruit trees to plant, I advise them to not neglect consideration of the right root stock for their trees. Nemaguard root stock resists nematodes.