Quadrant 1 is our primary food production zone. With maximum sun exposure on our south-facing slope, Q1 hosts the majority of our fruit trees and annual vegetable gardens.
Fruit Trees (40+)
Our orchard includes over 40 fruit trees, carefully selected for disease resistance, cold hardiness, and storage quality. We chose heritage varieties and modern disease-resistant hybrids suited to Appalachian conditions.
Apple Varieties
- Arkansas Black — Excellent keeper, improves in storage
- Pawnee — Early season, disease resistant
- Liberty — Scab resistant, reliable producer
- Goldrush — Late season, complex flavor
Pear Varieties
- Moonglow — Fire blight resistant, early harvest
- Harvest Queen — Excellent storage, disease resistant
- Seckel — Small, sweet, perfect for preserving
Stone Fruit
- Peaches: Reliance, Contender (cold-hardy varieties)
- Plums: Stanley, Methley (reliable producers)
- Cherries: Montmorency (tart, for preserving)
The fruit trees we plant will outlive us. This is what it means to plant for people you will never meet.
Annual Gardens
Plot 4 in Q1 is our primary annual vegetable garden. We use succession planting and interplanting to maximize yield while building soil fertility.
2026 Spring Plantings
| Crop | Variety | Function | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fava Beans | Broad Windsor | Nitrogen fixation, early harvest | 45 seeds, Plot 4 |
| Swiss Chard | Ford Hook | Continuous greens | 72-cell tray started |
| Bok Choy | Snow White | Quick harvest, interplant | 20 seeds with favas |
Planting Strategy
Fava beans fix atmospheric nitrogen, feeding the soil. Swiss chard provides continuous harvest from early summer through fall frost. Bok choy matures in 45 days, filling gaps before slower crops need the space.
Three crops, one plot, multiple functions. This is how we maximize stability, not just yield.
Succession Planning
Q1 follows a four-season succession plan:
- Early Spring (March-April) — Fava beans, peas, spinach, lettuce
- Late Spring (May-June) — Brassicas, chard, early root crops
- Summer (July-August) — Tomatoes, peppers, beans, squash
- Fall (September-October) — Storage crops, cover crops, garlic
After harvest, we plant cover crops (winter rye, hairy vetch) to protect soil and fix nitrogen over winter.
Water Management
Q1 benefits from our south-facing slope's natural water flow. We capture and store rainwater in barrels positioned above the garden for gravity-fed irrigation during dry periods.
Drip irrigation lines run along planting rows, minimizing evaporation and delivering water directly to root zones.
Soil Building
We build soil through:
- Compost applications — 1-2 inches annually
- Cover cropping — Winter rye, hairy vetch, clover
- Mulching — Straw, leaf mold, grass clippings
- Minimal tillage — Broadfork instead of turning
- Green manures — Nitrogen-fixing legumes in rotation
Our clay-loam soil responds well to amendment. Each year it becomes more friable, more fertile, more alive.
Harvest & Storage
Q1 production supports our family year-round through careful preservation:
- Spring — Fresh greens, early vegetables
- Summer — Fresh eating, beginning of preservation
- Fall — Major harvest, canning, drying, root cellaring
- Winter — Stored crops, preserved foods, planning
See our Preservation Library for techniques on canning, drying, freezing, and root cellaring.