High Hopes Orchards is an organically managed orchard business operated by Zachary Leonard and his family in Westfield, Vermont.  Westfield is located just miles from the Canadian border in extreme north central VT.  The first orchard trees were planted in the spring of 2002.  A larger block was installed in the spring of 2008, bringing the orchard up to more than an acre in size.  Most of the trees are disease resistant apple varieties on a number of different size rootstocks.  About 20% of the orchard is made up of pears on standard rootstock.  Subsequent plantings of plums, cherries, and peaches have been installed in order to test their merits and see how they perform in this climate.  The purpose of planting the orchard was to provide a working model of sustainable fruit production in the north.  Started from small whips, the trees are now off and running.  Some are almost 15 feet tall and large enough to climb.  2013 saw the first substantial crop of apples as well as a handful of pears, plums, and even a few peaches.  
     While the marketing of fresh organic fruit in season to local markets is the primary goal of High Hopes Orchards, it is also our intention to further the development of home/farm scale orchard projects across Vermont and beyond.  Zach is a Vermont Certified Horticulturist through Greenworks - the VT Nursery and Landscape Association.  He also has a degree in Environmental Science from Johnson State College.  His 20 years of horticultural experience is paired with a passion for growing fruit ecologically.  He believes that high quality fruit and nuts can and should be grown in every yard, farmstead, and community space without the use of toxic chemicals.