GILROY - It's a booming apricot season for many growers on the Central Coast.
At the Van Dyke Ranch in Gilroy, farmers are rejoicing.
They're packing box after box filled with ripe apricots to send them across the country.
Farmers said it's one of the best seasons in a long time.
"It's been a beautiful year weather-wise and we have a really nice crop this year, one of the largest crops we've had in many years," said Eric Van Dyke, apricot grower.
Van Dyke said mother nature played a big role in making this year's crop special.
"We've had a good, mild winter," he said. "We didn't have a lot of rain. We had a good bloom during March. That pushes for a good crop, not too much rain."
He said because apricots are such fragile fruits, they need extra attention and good care.
"If it gets really hot, they ripen fast and it's hard to keep up with them," he said.
Van Dyke said because they don't have a very long shelf life, every apricot here counts.
The apricot season is only about two weeks or so, and we're about halfway through.
