There’s a world of difference between biodiverse orchards and conventional orchards.

Imagine an orchard in your mind’s eye. Is it straight rows of the same tree?

A conventional orchard looks neat and tidy. All the same kind of tree in rows with a lawn down the middle and plain dirt around the tree trunks.

BIODIVERSE ORCHARDS LOOK MORE CHAOTIC.  

Dozens of different kinds of fruit trees at different heights. Tall, leggy grasses and purple clovers piling on the ground. Chickens and guinea fowl pecking bugs. Birds taking their share of the fruit. The hum of bugs and bees.

A BIODIVERSE ORCHARD HAS A COMBINATION OF BENEFICIAL SPECIES. 

There’s “productive” species like fruit trees, and “resource” species like plants, animals, and shrubs. The “productive” trees give cherries, peaches, apricots, plums, quince, apples, and pears. 

The “resource” species are cover crops and shrubs that pull in nutrients, house beneficial insects and pollinators, preserve the soil from run-off and erosion, and attract nutrient-distributing mushrooms. 

Their strength and teamwork make the plants and trees more resilient to pests and diseases. And they make more complex nutrients available to all plants in a circle of life. Natural fertilizer is processed by the mycelial network and shared with plants.

Snowy Mountain Farms is a the biodiverse orchard where we source cherries, peaches, plums, apricots, and more. 

WHY YOU SHOULD EAT FRUIT FROM A BIODIVERSE ORCHARD

In addition to complex nutrients from the farming ecosystem, a biodiverse farm also boasts a biodiversity of fruit species.

You may be accustomed to one type of peach, one type of apricot, and maybe two types of plums. It’ll be whatever variety can be picked unripe, transports well, and doesn’t go bad quickly. It’s not about taste.

There are countless varieties of fruit, they just don’t do well in supermarkets.

Snowy Mountain Farm has more than 70 varieties of fruit trees. And they all taste marvelously different. They’re picked by hand when perfectly ripe. Their unique flavours are otherworldly.

THE RICHNESS OF COLOUR AND FLAVOUR REFLECTS HOW FULL OF NUTRIENTS THEY ARE.

Every week, Aaron from Snowy Mountain Farm brings us varieties from his orchard. We sell them as they come into season throughout the summer.