A Fruit Survey of Mesa County 
3i 
Thinning 
In ordinary years thinning is absolutely essential to the grow¬ 
ing of fruit of marketable size. One must be heartless in order to do 
good work at thinning, as it is often necessary to remove over half 
of the apples. It is a paying proposition in the end, as more first- 
grade fruit is produced than if no thinning had been done. 
One can best learn to thin fruit by watching somebody who is 
expert at this work. By looking at a tree properly thinned and 
trying to follow this as a model, one soon learns just how much 
fruit to leave on the tree. 
Distance oe Planting 
The writers were amazed to find apple trees planted so thickly 
in the Grand Valley orchards. In the majority of cases the trees 
were set 20 feet or less apart. Common distances of planting were 
16x20 feet and 18x20 feet, and several orchards were even set 
15x15. One case is recalled of an orchard about 20 years old set 
15x15 in which the trees were so interlaced that sunlight seldom 
touches the ground. There are several such orchards in the 
Valley. 
Permanent apple trees should not be closer than 25 feet each 
way, and 30 feet is better, depending of course, upon the variety. 
When set at this distance, fillers may be used, but they should be 
removed as soon as they interfere with the permanent trees. The 
latter will occupy very nearly all of the space when they attain 
their full growth. 
One of the best young orchards in the Valley is that of War¬ 
ren Walker, one-half mile north and one-fourth mile east of Fruit- 
vale Switch. It is a ten-year-old orchard of Jonathan, Gano and 
Winesap apples set 25x30 feet, and shows what can be obtained 
with proper setting and good care. 
Fillers 
A filler is a temporary tree placed between the permanent 
ones to be removed before it interferes with them. The trees se¬ 
lected for fillers are usually short-lived and come into bearing 
early. The majority of the orchards in Grand Valley have been 
planted with fillers, mostly of the pomaceous fruits though stone 
fruits are sometimes used for this purpose. 
The use of fillers is to be recommended where there is ample 
room between permanent trees, and where the fillers are taken out 
in time. Too often the fillers are left long enough to spoil the 
shape of the permanent trees. This practice is the rule rather than 
the exception and should be condemned. 
