Orchards

Orchards are central to Sunnyside’s legacy. This was the first apple orchard in Rappahannock County and one of the best known in the state. Orchards extended well up the mountain slopes into what is now regenerating forest. Relics of that history — cisterns, roadbeds, old campsites — can still be found today. Though on a far smaller footprint, we continue to operate an orchard inherited from the farm’s previous owners. Initially it included  multiple varieties of apples and Asian pears, yellow and white peaches and two varieties of  sweet cherries. We eliminated the peaches and most of the cherries having concluded that it would be impossible to manage them effectively without heavy use of chemical pesticides and fungicides. We have added a small number of Asian persimmon and fig trees. Most significantly, in 2016, we planted approximately 100 pawpaw trees, a native species that produces North America’s largest tree fruit and serves as the only host for the larva of the  zebra swallowtail butterfly — a relationship depicted on our logo.

Conservations Practices: Our orchards are favored by a number of mammal, insect and bird species. Of note, American woodcocks use them for their spectacular early spring mating displays. Most orchards intensively apply pesticides, herbicides and fungicides harmful to birds, insects and other species. We don’t. Most commercial orchards treat their ground cover with herbicides to reduce competition for water and deter small mammals. We spray nothing in our understory and limit mowing. We also deploy nest boxes for barn owls and American kestrels to encourage these beneficial species that prey on rodents. Many orchards temporarily import honeybees to assist with pollination, a practice that can be harmful to native bees. We  surround our orchards with meadows planted in native flowers that support thriving  populations of bumblebees and other species that handle the pollinating for us. We also provide nesting logs for blue orchard mason bees, a native species that’s an important pollinator of fruit trees.  Conflict with animals, particularly deer and black bear, is a problem many orchards face. Commonly, they will resort to obtaining lethal control permits. Instead, we maintain an electrified fence surrounding our most important varieties.

Indicator Species: Eastern screech owl, American kestrel, American woodcock, whip-poor will, orchard oriole, pollinating insects (especially mason bees and bumblebees), zebra swallowtail butterfly.

Goods and Services: Our orchards produce a variety of apples (primarily Gold Rush,  Enterprise, Liberty, Fuji, Red Stamen, and Pristine) and Asian pears as well as pawpaws, figs and Asian persimmons. We sell them locally at farmers’ markets and wholesale to restaurants and cideries. Our pawpaws, figs and persimmons are primarily sold retail at local markets.

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Orchards
Production Fields & High Tunnels
Hayfields & Pastures
Relic & Existing Farm Infrastructure
Native Meadows & Savannas
Ponds
Stream Corridors & Hedgerows
Forest
Manicured Areas