• Long-term income crop (fall anchor)
• U-pick potential
• Cider / value-added products later
• Visual + experiential feature of the farm

• NOT early income
• Becomes core fall revenue
• Works with:
  • Pumpkins 🎃
  • Mums 🌼
  • Fall events

• Year 1–2: Establish trees
• Year 3–4: Light production
• Year 5+: Full production

👉 20 trees total

• Manageable solo
• Enough to learn + produce
• Expand later

👉 4 rows × 5 trees

Row 1: 5 trees
Row 2: 5 trees
Row 3: 5 trees
Row 4: 5 trees

• Between trees: 12–15 ft
• Between rows: 15–18 ft

• Room for mowing
• Future side-by-side access
• Airflow (disease control)
• Easy harvest flow

• 3–4 ft mulch ring
• Wood chips / compost
• Keep mulch off trunk

👉 Fescue grass

• Clean look
• Easy mowing
• Matches your style

👉 Clover mix

• Nitrogen fixing
• Rabbit feed potential

Apple trees NEED cross-pollination.

👉 Mix varieties with overlapping bloom times

• Early bloomers
• Mid bloomers
• Late bloomers

👉 Add 2 crabapple trees outside the grid

• One on each side or corners
• Improves pollination across orchard

• Early harvest
• Starts your season

• Main production
• Best flavor + volume

• Storage apples
• Extends fall sales

• Granny Smith
• Honeycrisp
• Fuji
• Gala

👉 Great foundation—keep expanding around these

When adding trees:

• Add more Honeycrisp-type (high demand)
• Add disease-resistant varieties
• Add 1–2 unique varieties (standout factor)

👉 Modified central leader

• Keep trees shorter (easy picking)
• Open structure for airflow
• Strong scaffold branches

• Remove crossing branches ✅
• Keep height manageable ✅
• “Upside-down umbrella” concept ✅

👉 You’re on the right track

• Drip line per row
• Automated (Home Assistant integration later)

Design for:

• Mower access
• Wheelbarrow / cart
• Future side-by-side

👉 Keep rows straight and clean

• 2–5 bushels per tree (varies heavily)

👉 Enough for:

• Farm stand sales
• U-pick (small scale)
• Processing later

• Fresh apples at stand

• U-pick orchard

• Value-added:
  • Cider
  • Apple butter
  • Bundles

• Fire blight (you’ve seen it already)
• Pests
• Thinning fruit
• Pruning discipline

✔️ Keep trees small and manageable
✔️ Stay consistent with pruning
✔️ Thin fruit for quality
✔️ Maintain airflow

• Walkable orchard
• Clean grass rows
• U-pick experience
• Integrated with fall events

👉 Apples are your long-term backbone crop

• Slow to start
• Strong once established
• Perfect for fall revenue + experience

END OF PAGE