Our Maine Street's Aroostook Issue 26 : Fall 2015 | Page 9

Armstrong
Family Farm
By Judy Armstrong

In a scenic valley on the Currier Road in
Fort Fairfield, you will find one of the
largest vineyards and orchards in Maine.
Armstrong Family Farms is owned and
operated by Jeff and Judy Armstrong,
natives of Fort Fairfield, the place they
have called home for most of their lives.
The Armstrongs currently tend 6,000
grapevines and 1,500 fruit trees on their
beautiful 60 acre property. There are
currently 13 different varieties of grapes
and 12 different varieties of fruit trees
flourishing on their land.
The farm has been in the Armstrong
family for many generations and was
formerly planted in potatoes by Jeff’s
father Stanley and his grandfather Ernest.
Jeff, his siblings and their mother worked
the farm beside his father for many years
as did Ernest’s family.

home town. An engineering job offer
took the young couple to the Portland
area where they started their family and
lived for seven years.
“When Judy and I moved back in
1989 I knew I would farm this land
again one day, but it wasn’t until I was
reading the book of John, chapter 15,
that I considered grapes,” Jeff relates. “I
knew there were many apple varieties
that would do well in this climate, but
I didn’t know if grapes would. I began
researching vines and discovered there
were indeed many hardy varieties that
could potentially grow well in this area.”

The couple cleared the acreage of dead
and dying poplar trees and kept it mowed
for many years before putting the first
vines and trees into the ground six years
ago and more have been added each year
In keeping with tradition all three of since.
the couple’s children, and the spouses of
their two oldest have been instrumental Working a vineyard and orchard of this
in making the vineyard and orchard what size is very labor intensive. The vines
it is today.
and trees need to be cared for from
early spring until the end of October,
Jeff left The County to pursue a degree in when most of the fruit is harvested. The
mechanical engineering at the University vines, as well as the trees, are pruned in
of Maine at Orono in 1976. Soon after the spring and throughout the growing
graduating he met and married his wife season as necessary. A grape vine is
Judy, though the two grew up only three pruned to maintain vine form. Vines
miles from one another in their small climb by several adaptive mechanisms
FALL 2015

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