Catherine Reynolds | May 10, 2017


Geof and Amanda Hall are looking to their past to plan their future.

Married for three years, the couple has been quietly building an apple orchard in Battersea with the trees of their ancestors.

Often found working late into the night at their kitchen table or outside early in the morning with headlamps to guide them, the friendly pair dreamed big as they spent the last two years planting 500 trees of 37 varieties of heritage apples.

“It’s been an interesting experience for us,” says Amanda over a cup of tea on a wet spring afternoon in early May. “We learned of different varieties (of apples) we had never heard of before.”

“A lot of these are cherished varieties,” adds Geof.

Named Harvest Mill Farm after milestones in the couple’s life, the orchard started with a tree from Geof’s great grandfather’s farm located near Rideau Ferry.

“I started to get into this because I wanted to save the last tree that blew down (on the family farm) during a storm,” says Geog about his ancestor, a horticulturalist from Scotland.

“We started a nursery there to keep the line,” he notes. “That line was able to produce small trees.”

Using dwarf roots from British Columbia, the couple attached a branch to each root and placed it carefully in the ground.

“Each branch just needs a few buds,” explains Geof about the grafting process of attaching a branch to the root with tape, wax and a label.

Spread over approximately six acres, the trees are from Geof’s ancestor and fruit trees not commonly found anymore. The orchard is a mix of nature and nurture.

Last year, the trees were subjected to drought-like conditions. This year, they are enduring a historically wet spring. Through it all, the roots are mapped with precision, subjected to organic practices, and documented as they progress.

“The entire orchard is a grid,” confirms Amanda as she wraps her arms around her 18-month-old daughter, Lily.

Since starting the orchard in 2015, the couple has lost 70 of their 500 trees. The loss was anticipated.

“You always have some loss with brand-new roots,” says Geof, 41, a Water Researcher at Queen’s University.

Bright and kind, Geof is proud of the 143-acre farm he purchased in 2013 from Russell Clark. In time, he will use a flock of sheep to help manage the apple orchard. The animals will help with weed control and fertilization.

For now, he is building the orchard the way he is living his life: on a solid foundation that respects the past and anticipates the future.

Smiling at his young daughter, he notes wisely, “That’s important to us. This really is a family thing we’re doing here.”

“The neat part is, it’s a learning experience for us too,” adds Amanda, an Occupational Therapist at Providence Care in Kingston. “These are apples we have never had experience with. We’ll be trying the apples with everyone else.”

“Some of these varieties have amazing tastes,” she explains about the fruit that will be ready in three to four years. “For us, it’s bringing back our heritage.”

Originally from Barrie, Amanda talks about the farm and the community with the soft tones of a woman in love.

“We were looking for two years to find this farm,” says the 34-year-old. “We’re honoured to live here and carry-on the memories. We love it here. Everyone has been so welcoming. We have not come across someone who has not wanted to help us in one way or another. Battersea is a really special community.”

The couple continues to invest in their future by expanding the farm at a sustainable pace. Working at their kitchen table and investing what they can afford, they plan to add 70 new trees annually to the orchard until they reach 2,500. When the orchard is producing, they will advertise the operation as pick-your-own.

“This year, if we can have a non-drought summer, that would make us happy,” says Geof  about the challenges ahead of them. “Right now, we could also use a week a week of sun and no rain.”

“We’re really encouraged by what we’ve seen this year,” says Amanda  about their fledgling apple trees and small vineyard planted off to the side. A pumpkin patch will be added this summer.

Looking around the farm that is thriving thanks to careful planning, hard work and perseverance, Amanda seems pleased with the results.

“It’s more meaningful for us to do it this way,” she says about the orchard they are building, one branch at-a-time. “There’s something kind of neat about knowing you created that tree.”


To learn more about planting an apple orchard, please join Geof and Amanda Hall at their farm in Battersea on June 10. Details on this one-day course can be found at www.harvestmillfarm.ca or by emailing This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

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