Pong's Orchard
When you walk up to the Pong’s Orchard table at Bethesda Central Farm Market, you’ll meet Samantha. She is the market representative for her grandparent’s orchard, Pong's Orchard in Howard County. Samantha is adorable - she always has a joke, a story or a cute picture to show me. Besides being a friendly vendor, Samantha is also extremely knowledgeable about her family’s business and the products they grow and sell. Around her stand you will see citrus plants on the ground and orchard fruit laid out on the table. During the summer months, Pong’s provides market patrons with nectarines, peaches, tomatoes, blueberries and plums. And now their real specialty is in season, Asian Pears - they have many varieties of this sweet, crispy fruit.
The origin of Pong’s orchard can be traced back to Samantha’s grandparents, Al and May Pong, who opened a restaurant in Chillum, MD in 1965. At that time they had trouble getting adequate bean sprouts, so they started growing their own in their basement. Once people found out and tasted them, they couldn’t keep up with the orders for these beans! This turned into a little niche market for them, so in 1973 they made the decision to rent a farm so that they could grow and sell the beans. They quickly realized that the beans wouldn’t grow well on this particular farm, so they decided to turn the farm into a peach and apple orchard. By the early ‘80s, they were having trouble selling all of their harvest- the market for apples and peaches was becoming saturated so they found a supplier of Asian Pears, which had become all the rage on the West Coast. In 1985, Pong’s Orchard became one of the first farms to grow and harvest this fruit on the East Coast. In 2001, they moved to the farm they are at now, and the rest, as they say, is orchard history…
Aside from the Asian Pears, Al and May put a lot of time and effort into growing plants and fruits that have health benefits. Al is interested in learning about heart health and other medicinal values of citrus fruits. When I met him, he walked up to me with a folder and enthusiastically gave me a stack of articles, studies, and descriptions of these health benefits that he printed out just for me. Al loves to share his knowledge with his customers and made me promise to share this information with my readers. His contact information is located at the bottom of this post- I know he’d love to answer any questions that you might have for him.
One big thing I learned from my visit to Pong’s Orchard was the sheer number of citrus plants there are in the world. The Pong’s raise at least 20-25 different varieties - and they’ll tell you about the medicinal value, taste, texture, origin, and the best use for each individual fruit. I saw and learned about Kisxu, Persian Limes, Sumo Tangerines, Satsuma, Meixua, Fig and even Papaya - all citrus plants from around the world, grown right here in our area, and sold by Samantha at the market.
I highly encourage you to stop by the Pong's Orchard table on Sundays and learn about the rare plants Samantha is selling. She’s been selling at the Bethesda market for four years now, and she particularly loves when children become interested in the plants - she considers it a great way to show kids where fruit comes from and how to take care of a plant, as citrus plants are very low maintenance. All of the Pong’s trees are available for sale at the market, but you’ll have to order them before hand, as there is just no way for her to bring every variety every week! So come by, get some fruit and chat with Samantha, who will tell you the best citrus to use in a cocktail, a salad or to enjoy as a snack. Pong’s Orchard is a rare gem and we encourage you to enjoy what they offer!
To contact Al Pong for special orders (to have them bring a particular plant to the market for you), or for questions regarding the health properties of his plants, email him at AsianPearMD@Verizon.net.