Scholl Orchards, Bethlehem, PA

Since 1948, people have been coming to Scholl Orchards in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania not only for its homegrown fruits and vegetables, but the unmistakable aromas of ripe peaches. Scholl Orchards began with a table stand of apples on the side of Center Street and has transformed into a full-fledged business with peaches, nectarines, pears, plums, sour cherries, and an increasingly wide array of vegetables.

 

George Scholl’s great uncle and aunt, Harry and Mary Nonnemaker, planted the first fruit trees in the 1930s on their Bethlehem property. George’s parents, Reginald and June Scholl, took an interest in agriculture and decided to expand, planting the main apple orchard in 1948. In 1968, George and his future wife, Faith, took over the responsibility of running the orchard in Bethlehem, and the farm market on Center Street. A second farm in Kempton, PA was purchased in 1982.Scholl Orchards remains a fourth-generation family business run by the Scholl family. Jake and Ben Scholl maintain the fruit orchards and vegetable fields. Fruit is picked daily, when nature dictates.

 

Scholl Orchards, like many orchards on the East Coast, practices Integrated Pest Management. It’s an environmentally sensitive approach that focuses on pest prevention through means that are natural, synthetic and, at times, organic. IPM minimizes the use of insecticides and when they are incorporated, they are targeted and not applied in a broad spectrum. IPM involves regular inspection and monitoring of the plants to prevent the infiltration of pests.