Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/657340
www.goodfruit.com Good Fruit Grower APRIL 1, 2016 41 come, they're there to have that experience, but they also want to be able to find the fruit easier." Thus, Libby has to keep up with the new techniques of precision orchards just as much as vast commercial growers. They also do some small-scale wholesaling. Libby and his parents, Michael and Mary Libby, bought a portion of Three Hills Apple Orchard in 1999 after the farm went under due to low prices and three straight years of hail damage. The farm had mostly Cor- tland and McIntosh apples planted on M.7 rootstocks in the 1980s with 16-foot spacing. Aaron was in high school at the time. They took the youngest of the apple blocks and started U-pick right away. They cut many of the McIntosh trees and planted 18 acres of highbush blueberries, adding new apples over the years. Today, they have 20 varieties, with the crowd-pleasing favorite Honeycrisp among them. "We very much changed the outlook of what the trees look like," he said. Though his family still has demand for Cortland and McIntosh apples, most of their trees are new now. They replanted the trees to 6-foot spacing or less with M.26 rootstocks. Their newest block is 3 1/2 acres of high-den- sity, trellised tall spindle trees with 11-by-3-foot spacing. Libby attended the IFTA conference eager to learn about multiple-leader fruiting walls, growth regulators and fire blight risks of dwarfing rootstocks to find the next technique to make the Maine orchard more attrac- tive and efficient. "The game is always changing, so you have to change with it," he said. • "The game is always changing, so you have to change with it." —Aaron Libby gRoweRs