We’ve been u-pick fruit lovers for decades.  When we decided to plant our own orchard we knew we didn’t want tall trees and ladders but rather, we wanted the fruit near the ground where we could easily harvest it.  As we learned about tree pruning and tree training we realized we could control the size and shape of the orchard through our pruning practices.  Consequently, each winter when we prune the trees, we select those branches that are staying close to the ground to retain and those that are climbing to the moon to remove.  Over the years this has resulted in a short orchard with all the fruit within easy reaching distance.