It’s easier than you think to add some fruit and color to your yard. There are many options for fresh fruit from the convenience of your own home. Just think about the next time you want to make lemonade and going out back to pick the lemons with your kids. Then the next time you entertain, you can tell your friends the mint and lime in the mojitos are all home-grown. Not only is it a way to help ensure that your fruits are free of pesticides, it’s also a great way to ensure the best tasting and freshest food possible.

In Central Florida, we can successfully grow avocados, peaches, tangerines, figs, and even olives. It’s all about picking the right variety to thrive in our region. Then, with regular water, natural fertilizer, and the great Florida sun, the fruit trees will thrive and produce great yields that you can share with your neighbors and friends.

Many of these trees have smaller varieties that will not take over your entire yard. Typically, each tree will need about a 15- to 20-foot-wide span for the roots to grow and thrive. A dwarf variety can also easily fit into a large container. Container varieties provide the opportunity to grow a tree in a manner that is all-natural and organic. There is no concern about how the yard or grass is being treated with the use of chemical pesticides or weed killers because the tree and roots are protected from exposure to the chemicals while planted in the container. A drawback to keep in mind is that within three to five years, the trees may need to be replanted in the ground or replaced because the roots will eventually outgrow the containers.

Growing melons is also a great way to have your own fresh fruits that’s easier than you think. A small-ish four-foot by eight-foot raised garden bed is a big enough patch to grow many different types of melons, from watermelon and muskmelon to Seminole pumpkins for baking pumpkin pie in the winter.

The sugar baby watermelon is a popular variety for its sweetness and ability to grow locally. It’s a small watermelon that packs a big punch of sweet flavor. They grow through the spring and the heat of the summer and into the fall season. The last harvest is typically just before the first fall frost, which in some seasons, like the fall of 2018, is non-existent.

Seminole pumpkins are also a great choice to grow through the spring and summer into the fall. These pumpkins are smaller than a traditional pumpkin but really thrive in our region. They have a great pumpkin flavor and are frequently used for pumpkin pie.

These are some tips for growing your own fruit trees and melons. For all of the details, be sure to use the University of Florida website search for any tree or fruit you’d like to know how to grow at home. The University of Florida has a comprehensive database of just about anything you may want to grow with specific data on how to grow, when to grow, and what variety to grow specifically in our region. Since seed packages are typically based on information for the rest of the country, it’s nice to have the U of F database as a go-to.

Amber Harmon is the Owner of My Nona’s Garden, where they sell and service low-maintenance, elevated, organic vegetable gardens. Our mission is to bring health, promote growth, and provide vegetable gardening education to local communities, one garden at a time. 

Visit www.MyNonasGarden.com for more information. 

“We make organic vegetable gardening easy!”