Sir William's house and gardens at Fort Johnson were surrounded by acres of fields growing wheat, peas, corn, and vegetables for export trade as well as local consumption, and the estate also contained fruit orchards. Johnson ordered a variety of fruit trees for his orchards, including cherry, white apple, crab apple, pear, and plum, though his attempts at growing lemons, limes, and oranges were not very successful. Estate gardeners were responsible for planting, tending, and grafting the trees, while servants or slaves helped harvest the orchards and make sweet and hard ciders and other preserves from the fruit. Several guests visiting Fort Johnson described festive meals consisting mostly of produce from the estate.