Dragon fruit grower explains her tricks of the trade
Nanango farm produces bizarre new dragon fruit varieties
A DECADE and a half ago there weren’t too many Aussies who knew what a dragon fruit was, let alone whether you could eat one.
Bernice Danahay was just as bemused as the next person when she came across the alien-looking fruit for the first time, but she knew she wanted to grow them.
Mrs Danahay and her family had a long history in agriculture, so when they moved to the Nanango area for family reasons, she was on the lookout for a new enterprise after deciding to get out of cattle.
“I saw this plant growing up a tree and wanted to know what it was,” she said.
“I went to a gardening group and the said it was called a moonlight cactus and they had been in Queensland for about the last 100 years.
“Most of the old varieties don’t produce fruit though.
“I couldn’t find anything written about them, but having three sons, they just told me to Google it.
“It all came up, 10,000 articles about dragon fruit, and I’m thinking ‘why doesn’t anyone do anything with them here?’.”
She planted out their little five-acre farm with the strange-looking succulents and didn’t look back.
She said the first big hurdle was figuring out how to market a fruit that few people recognised, so there were plenty of free samples offered to tempt people’s tastebuds and consistent effort had paid off.
Mrs Danahay said rather than growing for commercial production, the farm became one of the country’s premier dragon fruit breeding nurseries, with new and exciting breeds popping up all the time.
It was the smallest property she had ever farmed on, but the little acreage packed a punch.
Far from just the more common pink-skinned fruit with speckled white flesh, there was now a stunning array of colours and flavours.
Mrs Danahay said the traditional fruit had a very light raspberry flavour, while other varieties sported flavours similar to watermelon, kiwi fruit and passion fruit.
The stunning-looking fruit became a sought-after addition to dessert menus and fruit salads in homes and restaurants across the country.
Dragon fruit season runs from January through to May and Mrs Donahay said it was an impressive sight seeing the orchard in full bloom.
“This season we struggled for water, like everybody out here, but we got 60mm the other day and another 30mm last night.
“There were 2500 flowers came out last night the size of a dinner plate and pure white.
“They flower for just one night and they all come out at the same time like they have ESP and are ready to pick about 35 days later.
“They look really beautiful and I’m hoping the next lot of fruit are going to be very good.”
She said plants fruit between five and seven times each season and they were up to the fourth flowering for this season.
“Hopefully now we’ve had this rain that will push more buds in a week or two,” she said.
Another huge benefit to growing the unusual crop was its pest resistance.
“So far I have recorded no
fruit fly attack or any other pest that has caused and problems and therefore they don’t need spraying of any kind,” Mrs Danahay said.
The orchard was established by setting out 2m high posts in rows with a cross-piece at the top the plant can grow over.
Soon enough she was left with an orchard that looked an awful lot like an octopus convention and was able to
harvest within two years.
From there she grew the business, Red Fox Pitayas, to include plant sales, farm tours and a ready-to-eat dragon fruit line including jams.
The family developed the property to be a beautiful retreat filled with local wildlife, making bus tours a regular part of life for years.
The plant sale side of things turned out to be a
strong point for the business thanks to the relatively hardy nature of the plant, which can grow just about anywhere that doesn’t get serious frost.
Mrs Danahay said there was a surprising range of uses for dragon fruit, which is packed with vitamin c, including serving it with ice cream, using it as flavouring in drinks, jams and pastries as well as making wonderful sorbets.
❝about It all came up, 10,000 articles dragon fruit, and I’m thinking ‘why doesn’t anyone do anything with them here?’ — Bernice Danahay