"Back then, seed nurseries like ours thrived," Womack said. "The country was more rural-based, and during the Depression, people went to planting stuff. That was the cheapest way to get your food. Nurseries really thrived back then."
Womack Nursery is still thriving, and reflecting the times. The foundation of their business is still their pecan and peach trees, but increased sales of grapes and some of the more exotic fruits show how consumer demand is changing.
"We've doubled our grape vine production over the last three years," Womack said. "There is a very high demand now from not only the hobby wineries, but also from several new commercial operations. Grapes are a real up-and-coming part of our business now."
While Womack used to wonder if some of his more exotic offerings might be too exotic for the nursery's customers, he finds today that nothing is too exotic to sell.
"In fact, it seems like the more exotic, the better. Persimmons, pomegranate, figs -- we can never keep up with the demand," he said. "Asian pears are big. Most of the customers have small orchards, anything from one to five acres. The small-orchard owners make up about 75 percent of our business now."
Womack's father, Larry J. Womack, was born and grew up on the nursery's original 180 acres and is still active in the business. Larry Don came aboard full time in 1983 after graduating from Tarleton State University.
Ninety-five percent of the nursery's business is fruit and nut production. The Womacks have about 80 acres of pecan trees and about 15,000 acres of peach and other fruit trees. They ship to customers all over the state and also to customers Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi, Arizona and New Mexico. In all, Womack sells about 120 varieties of fruits and nuts. The nursery used to produce a lot of peanuts -- Larry Don was on the board of the Texas Peanut Producers Association -- but most of the state's peanut production has moved to the Panhandle, he said.
"We do cattle now in place of that," he said. "This year, I might even grow a little cotton."
Womack is taking a wait-and-see attitude toward olives, which has attracted the attention of a few growers in the state.
"I want to see how well they winter," he said. "Their hardiness and tolerance of the cold factor has to be proven to me before I start growing them. A lot of varieties can't take temperatures much below 20 to 25 degrees, but they are taking a look now at varieties that can tolerate the heat and also some that are more cold-tolerant.
"I won't tell anybody that something won't work. There are too many people today who will do whatever it takes to prove you wrong if you tell them they can't do something. If they have to bring in tons of topsoil so they can establish a small orchard where people said they couldn't, that's what they'll do."
The busiest sales time of the year at Womack and other nurseries begins about the first of December and runs through the end of March, when the trees are dormant.
"That's a very hectic, very rushed time of year," Larry Don said. "There's also planting, grafting and budding to be done, plus we do the irrigation end of it. Nursery work is often tedious and repetitious, which is one reason we try to do more than just the fruits and nuts, so the people who work here can get a little variety in their work. I think it helps them stay focused."
In the Womack Nursery catalog, Larry Don offers observations and opinions developed mostly from feedback that he has gathered from customers over the past two-plus decades. In the introduction he writes: "It has been my thought that the knowledge of the tree business lays with the orchardist or full-time gardener in your area, because there is no better teacher of ag cultures than experience or hindsight."
For more information on the nursery, or how to place an order, visit womacknursery.com or call (254) 893-6497.
