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by the name of C.E. Johnson. My family worked for him. I worked in the orchards for him. We picked apples for him... 1975 is when I bought this place. The first planting was two hundred trees, and we’ve been adding ever since.”
But they have several things going for them. They have Sunhigh peaches- although you’d better hurry. They carry a variety of produce from both their own and other area farms. They have farm fresh bacon, local eggs and unhotnogenized Creamline milk, fresh butter and yogurt from West Virginia. And they are the only one open daily, year round.
There are lots of places you can get fresh peaches, plums and apples in Rappahannock. But the number is shrinking.
Both statewide and nationwide, the total production of apples and peaches and the acreage devoted to orchards have gradually declined to a small degree over the last couple of decades. In Rappahannock, where apple orchards were once a mainstay of the local economy, apple production has dropped to less than a quarter of former levels in under a decade. And this is on top of a similar decline in the ‘60s and ‘70s. If this trend continues, time may be running out for getting fine, local apples, plums and peaches.
But in the meantime, we’ve still got a few of the oldest and best orchards anywhere in Virginia here in Rappahannock. And, while summer is fading, peach season isn’t over yet.
There are other orchards, farms and fruit stands besides these- these are simply some of the oldest and largest. Others can be found listed in the Rappahannock News’ 2005
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