Growing your own fruit can be very rewarding, but a home orchard requires considerable care.

An orchard can be large or small. It can be an extensive planting of many fruit trees, a handful of small trees in the corner of your garden, or an espalier of fruit trees trained to a fence, trellis or wall.

Planting your own fruit trees give you the freedom to grow cultivars you like and produce fruit that is not available at the market. When fruit trees are carefully selected, sited, and properly managed they can enhance a home landscape and provide an abundance of delicious fruit.

Botanically referred to as pomes, apples and pears are excellent candidates for the home garden, as long as the grower is committed to the attention to detail and pest management that the crop requires. Keep in mind that the production of high-quality apple and pear fruit requires careful observation and knowing how to respond to various pest problems that can occur.

Because there are many insect and disease pests of apples and pears, growing quality fruit in Pennsylvania without some use of pesticides is very difficult.

Home gardeners are encouraged to purchase disease-resistant cultivars, when available. While these cultivars are not resistant to all diseases that occur in Pennsylvania, they are resistant to the major diseases.

Pesticides may be required, particularly in wet seasons, but the frequency of their application can be greatly reduced. Under normal conditions, a home gardener may be required to make six to ten pesticide applications to produce fruit of reasonable quality. If you are growing disease-resistant apples, then only two to three pesticide applications may be necessary to produce quality apples.

Growing vegetables is a lot of work. Vegetables require care and tending, and the vegetable gardener will face many challenges while managing water, fertility, and pests during the growing season. Growing your own vegetables also means you have choices. You can grow what you like to eat, and nothing tastes better than when it’s fresh from the garden.

Keeping a garden journal during the growing season is helpful. Track what you plant and when, and sketch a map showing where specific vegetables were planted in your garden. Makes notes describing insect and disease problems, including the time of year and weather conditions when the problems occurred.

Keeping notes about your garden every year will help you plan crop rotations and determine when to start seeds and put out transplants.

Beautiful flower gardens start with good soil. In general, most flowers do best in garden soil that is loose and well drained with a lot of organic material as part of the soil composition.

Avoid digging or handling soil when it is wet to prevent compaction. Thoroughly soak the soil around your newly-planted flowers. Garden flowers generally need 1 to 2 inches of moisture every week to perform well. Provide water if you don’t receive enough rain.

It’s better to water deeply and less frequently than shallowly and more often so the roots of the plants grow deeper. Avoid keeping soil waterlogged so the roots of the flowering plants don’t rot.

As your flowering plants begin blooming, feel free to cut them for bouquets. Clip off the spent flower heads to encourage the plant to put more energy into its foliage and winter survival. Some flowers, including zinnias, dahlias, and others, bloom again when you remove the blooms.

Many home gardeners enjoy seeing the fruit, vegetable, and flower displays at The Great Allentown Fair. Why not enter your own bounty?

For a premium booklet, go to allentownfairpa.org and download a copy. The deadline for registration is Aug. 4.

“Growing Green” is contributed by Lehigh County Extension Office Staff and Master Gardeners. Information: Lehigh County Extension Office, 610-391-9840; Northampton County Extension Office, 610-813-6613.