Johnston Reporter

County of Johnston issued the following announcement on Oct. 10.

Over the last several of years, the Johnston County Extension office, has seen a considerable increase of inquiries from the public about growing one’s own food. There has also been an increase in people moving to Johnston County from other parts of the country and many are not familiar with what will grow well here. But, with the help of the Extension office, we can provide you with information on how to correctly grow vegetables, small fruits, fruit trees, and nut trees and recommend the specific varieties suitable for this area. 

Each year to help support the efforts of the Johnston County Extension Advisory Council, Extension offers a “Fall Fruit and Nut Tree Sale”. The Johnston County Fall Fruit and Nut Tree Sale begins Oct. 3rd, 2022 through Tuesday Nov. 29th, 2022 at the Johnston County Agriculture Center 2736 NC 210 Hwy., Smithfield, NC 27577. You can purchase a variety of blueberries, muscadines, fruit trees and pecan trees specifically selected for their superior qualities and expected performance for our area and at economical prices. Educational handout materials will be provided to give you the knowledge needed to grow and maintain your edibles. You can come by the extension office and pick up a fruit tree sales form, or you can click the website link below for the sales form, print and mail a payment check. 

Before you get too excited, there are benefits and challenges to consider in growing fruit trees so you have realistic expectations and can determine if it is worth it. One of the biggest challenges is that it requires some work and many of the plants are not considered low maintenance. They usually require yearly pruning, need to be closely monitored (and sprayed), to stay ahead of common pest problems and weather can be a challenge. Some of the easiest fruits to manage and grow would include blueberries, blackberries, figs, Japanese Persimmons, and pecans. Figs and Japanese Persimmons are the best fruit trees to select if you want to grow organically or do not want to deal with routine spraying. Fruits with moderate management requirements are muscadine grapes and pears. Apples and peaches require between moderate to high management to grow in our area because they require extra inputs (pruning, pest control, weather challenges) to obtain a decent harvest. The benefits include harvesting fresh, healthy fruit from your own yard, having control of what has been applied, and the satisfaction of growing your own food.

 So, if you are ready to get started with growing your own fruit in your garden, it pays to do some research and plan ahead so you will be successful in having a decent harvest a few years after planting. Proper site selection is critical in growing healthy, productive plants. If you have compacted or poorly drained soil and wish to grow fruit plants, create raised beds by amending and mounding up the soil. VERY IMPORTANT - Soil preparation needs to be done this fall so it will be ready when you receive your plants next year on February 9th 2023. Don’t wait until you pick up your plants to decide where and how to plant them. All the plants offered produce best in full sun and in areas with good air circulation. Blueberries are the most shade tolerant of the fruiting plants available, and will produce even at 50% shade. Good drainage is essential for all fruit plants. 

Once you select the site, take a soil sample, bring it to the Extension office and we will submit it to NCDA&CS Agronomic Division for analysis. https://content.ces.ncsu.edu/a-gardeners-guideto-soil-testing 

Nematodes can be a problem if you are considering growing figs or peaches, especially on sandy soil, submit a nematode soil sample. To keep nematodes alive, bring the soil sample in a plastic bag. https://www.ncagr.gov/agronomi/pdffiles/nflyer.pdf https://www.ncagr.gov/agronomi/pdffiles/nnote15.pdf                 

Original source can be found here.