Planting an orchard isn’t as simple as plant, grow, repeat. Just ask Brian Campbell, who works with his family at Hanover Peaches.
Growing up in New Kent, Campbell never farmed a day in his life. His father David was a businessman. Campbell and his father worked together in various family businesses. His father’s last venture was building mini-storage units across from Richmond International Airport.
“When he sold the self storage, I stayed to run the business for the new owners, and dad basically retired and purchased the property we have now,” Campbell says of the land in Hanover.
In 2011, Campbell’s father decided he wanted to plant an orchard, in part as a nostalgic retrospect of peach orchards he had visited over the years. Making that decision, however, was just the first step on the path to a successful orchard.
“We did research and went to some seminars,” Campbell says. “We had to decide on the orientation of the orchard to optimize the sun.”
They also had to consider irrigation and purchase a wind machine for frost protection.
The most difficult task: Choosing the “right variety of peaches for the area and climate plus the right variety to work into the harvesting schedule,” Campbell says.
When the peaches are at their peak, they are picked during the week for the wholesale market. Weekends at the orchard feature pick-your-own peaches hours for the public.
Currently, the orchard grows twenty-five different varieties of peaches, all of which produce fruit at different times in the summer.
“When they ripen, you can pick them for about two weeks. We try to spread it out from mid-June to mid-August,” Campbell says, adding the orchard partners with Agriberry Farm in Hanover to provide most of the labor for picking, pruning, etc. “They also take the peaches and sell them at farmers’ markets.”
The family has also planted three varieties of apples – Fuji, ambrosia and pink lady. A fourth variety will be planted in the spring. The apples will be ripe for picking in mid- to late-October.
“It’s not quite as critical when you pick them. All of the apples are pick-your-own,” Campbell says.
Apples, Peaches, Health Emergency, and the Road to Recovery
Campbell started running the farm after his father passed away in 2017. “Dad left the business to my mother Ann. Up until my health issues, I helped her run the business part time while working for Henrico County Schools,” he says.
Campbell had to step back from the farm this year after having a heart and kidney transplant at VCU Medical Center. “I found out I had a genetic mutation that caused valve cardiocmyopathy. It turned into congestive heart failure ten years ago. My heart got weaker. On December 28, I was admitted to VCU and three weeks later I had a new heart and kidney.”
He was back home eleven days after the transplants. “My recovery has been fantastic. I can’t say enough about VCU and the whole team,” he says, noting he has been in cardiac rehab since April. “My after care has been phenomenal.”
Campbell considers himself mostly retired from the orchard. His son, Jack, has been running the farm. “Jack has pretty much taken over the physical day-to-day operations, and I just serve as an advisor. But my mother, Ann, still owns all the property and assets. When she passes, everything will be passed down to Jack.”
Being a farmer is both rewarding and challenging at the same time. Campbell loves seeing customers pick the fresh fruit and follow-up by letting him know how good the peaches or apples were. “I love seeing a kid eating a peach and enjoying it. I love seeing how people react to a good product,” he says.
The challenging part of the job happens from February through April when temperatures can dip. Campbell often spends three to four nights sleeping in his truck so he can monitor temperatures. When they fall to a certain temperature, he has to turn on the wind machine and/or set a controlled burn to keep the frost away.
“Then you also have the challenge of disease and insects,” he says. “Picking is the easiest part. Getting the fruit to that point is the hard part.”
Even though he was never really an outside person before working with the orchard, Campbell has grown to love being outside, he adds. “I love watching something grow and that I can protect and nurture it and turn it into something people enjoy. That’s the best part for me.”
