For really fresh fruit, try growing your own

The varieties are fruitful and multiplying.

McClatchy Newspapers

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. — If you tire of reading labels like “grown in Chile” or “a product of Egypt” on the blueberries, grapes and strawberries you bring home from the grocery store, there is a close-to-home option.

Grow your own fruits.

“The popularity of all edibles is growing, whether it’s fruit, vegetable or herb,” says Bill Kidd, a senior buyer at McDonald Garden Center in Hampton, Va. “Pomegranate, for example, is one of the hot new fruits. I read recently in the past 18 months there have been over 200 new pomegranate-based juice or food products introduced, so we have more requests for that.

“People also read and hear about recalls from contamination and feel they want more control over the source of food they supply to their family. They are also discovering many of the edibles are easy to grow than they think and they are willing to put something in.”

If you’ve got some backyard space or pots on your patio, you may want to try out some of the easy-grow, high-fiber figs or dwarf blueberries that take up little space and require minimum maintenance.

Garden centers are stocked with a wide selection of every fruit you can think of figs, persimmons, pears, plums, raspberries, apples, blackberries, kiwis, cherries and even the “pear cocktail” with four varieties on one plant.

The wholesale nursery in Keller, Va., has been growing fruit trees for 12 years but is reaching out with more product for the growing trend of “orchyarding,” or growing dwarf-type fruit trees in small orchards planted in urban yards or in pots on porches and patios.

Hollybrook’s proven favorites include McIntosh apples, Elberta peaches and Anjou pears along with new varieties such as sweet cherries from the Cornell University breeding program that are specifically developed for the Eastern climate.

“We have fruits your grandmother enjoyed to exotics from across the globe,” says Robin Rinaca, general manager at the Eastern Shore grower. “Every day we’re discovering more and more fruits that have antioxidant and other health benefits, whether it’s the blueberry or exotics like goumi and wolfberry. Home fruit production ties directly into people wanting to learn and control what goes into their body.”

X For more information, visit www.hollybrookorchards.com.