... female announcer: "A Growing Passion" is made possible by Leichtag Commons, a nexus of sustainable agriculture, social enterprise, environmental education, and community engagement, all in the heart of scenic Encinitas.

♪♪♪ announcer: Your neighborhood Gelson's Market, Edible San Diego, Joe and Julie Walker.

♪♪♪ Jim and Judy Farley.

♪♪♪ And with the support of viewers like you.

Thank you.

Nan Sterman: Have you ever seen a cactus flower that blooms overnight or eaten an exotic fruit covered in what looked like reptilian scales?

If so, you've discovered the climbing green cactus that makes pitahaya, also known as dragon fruit.

There was a time when you'd have to grow your own dragon fruits or search for them in ethnic markets, but more and more these sweet treats are showing up in grocery stores and on restaurant menus.

Nan: Specialty Produce in San Diego, California, caters to chefs who feature farm-to-table, especially local farm-to-table.

Nan: What's the specialty in Specialty Produce?

Joe Herrmann: Specialty ingredients.

We get things that no one else is able to get and better quality.

We're able to get exotic produce because of the farmers here in San Diego.

Nan: San Diego's top chefs and the public too shop here for fresh local and uncommon offerings like yellow raspberries, kabocha squash, rambutans, fingerlimes, and the dramatic dragon fruit.

Nan: Oh, and there they are.

Joe: Here they are.

Nan: Beautiful, look at these dragon fruits.

They're gorgeous.

Joe: The demand for dragon fruit is growing because we are able to get such great product.

It's interesting, it's beautiful, it tastes great, it's exotic.

Nan: Dragon fruits are wildly popular in Asia, but their roots are right here in the Americas.

Together, we'll discover the lure, the lore, and the sweet character of this exotic beast today on "A Growing Passion."

♪♪♪ Nan: Dragon fruits grow on a climbing cactus named Hylocereus undatus which is native to tropical Central and South America.

There, the columnar cactus fruits are called pitaya, but the fruits of this climbing cactus are called pitajaya, also known as dragon fruits.

The name "dragon fruit" comes from Vietnam, where the fruits were introduced in the late 1800s.

There, the fruits are grown for their beauty rather than their flavor, so the Vietnamese varieties tend to be white fleshed and very mild.

The flower bracts on the outside of the fruit reminded the people of dragon scales, hence the name: dragon fruit.

San Diego County has a long history with pitajaya.

Back in the 1960s a very serious backyard grower with a passion for exotic fruits began to experiment with pitajaya.

Today, we remember Paul Thomson for that pioneering work.

He was determined to breed the best tasting varieties of pitajaya.

He also experimented with different ways to grow the plants.

Nearly all dragon fruit grown in California today are based on Paul's breeding and most locally grown varieties are from his original plants.

♪♪♪ Nan: On a foggy late-summer morning, we visited the dragon fruit collection at the South Coast Research and Extension Center in Irvine, California.

Here, researchers continue Paul Thomson's work.

Ramiro Lobo: Under this type of trellis system, we're looking at about 726 plants an acre.

Nan: Ramiro Lobo is California's dragon fruit expert.

Nan: Ramiro, what are the goals of this plot?

Ramiro: Well, the goal of every research we do with the University of California is to find practical solutions to problems that are found in the communities where we are.

With dragon fruit, the goal of this research was to find crops that were profitable and water-efficient to help local growers in San Diego County and Southern California substitute their avocadoes and citrus that are considered heavy water users.

Nan: Here, Ramiro tests different systems for growing this climbing cactus in the region's lean soils, limited water, and extreme heat.

He's also a teacher and a mentor to both farmers and home gardeners.

Ramiro spreads plants and information to anyone who asks.

Ramiro: Propagation process starts with a cutting.

You can see that the original cutting for this plant goes up to here.

It is this portion here, from here up to this level, which is typically about 12--I mean, about 18 to 24 inches is what we recommend.

From there, the plant starts setting shoots, as you can see, and we train 'em up the trellis system that we're using.

I like to keep the plants light so you can see the center of your pole, you know, your central pole.

And that's a pretty good balanced plant.

I would say this is an ideal plant, the structure, for this type of trellis system.

Nan: Yeah, I like the fact it's low.

If I were taking care of this, I could easily access the whole thing.

Ramiro: That is something that we're also experimenting here.

Originally, when we started our trellis system, the wire basket that support this plant was placed at 6 feet high in our original plantings, but because of the plant adds more layers, you end up with a 7, 8 feet tall plant that makes it hard for the average person to really harvest and in order to prune.

So we lowered it to 5 feet, top it at 5 feet, so with the additional plant growth, they get to 6 feet, but it's still within reach for most people.

Nan: This one's trellised, that one's on a wire.

Ramiro: There are as many trellis systems as there are dragon fruit growers.

To make it all, we used the structure with rebar and wire.

The idea is that because of our topography in California, we can grow these and manage our dragon fruit plantings as an orchard, with each single plant managed as you would any other orchard tree per se.

And here, the reason we have two trellis systems is we are comparing two.

One is this single pole, central system, and the other one on the other side is a sort of a single espalier trellis, similar to what is used with wine grapes or blackberries.

Nan: Just two years after planting, the cuttings start to flower.

Each of these beautiful, enormous, and very fragrant blooms opens for just one night.

Its scent attracts nighttime pollinators like bats and moths.

Then, as the sun rises, the flower slowly closes.

Ramiro: Because we have a lot of fog today, the plants, I mean, the flowers are open late.

Nan: So they're not normally open this late in the morning?

Ramiro: No, usually they wilt as soon as the day comes out.

And there is about 40 days from pollination to harvest.

So you can see they have different waves of flowers over time and, as you can see in the plant, we have flowers, we have ripe fruit.

And the cycle repeats for about six times a year, depending on weather.

Nan: We've been standing here for about five minutes, and in that time, the fog has lifted and the sun's come out, and this flower is noticeably collapsing, just in that small period of time.

It was fully open 'cause it was open all night, and now it's starting to close up.

It's really fascinating.

♪♪♪ Nan: Dragon fruit are really unusual looking.

That's part of, I think, their mystique, and these are the bracts.

I wanna show you where those come from.

Here's the flower.

The pollen goes down through the flower into the ovary down here.

This part becomes the fruit.

These little bracts here, are these big bracts here.

Ramiro: To protect the fruit from birds, we are using these bags.

Nan: Humans are not the only ones who love to eat dragon fruit.

Their sweet, bright pink fruits attract animals too, and that can be a problem for commercial growers.

Ramiro: You don't want any bird that's pecking on your fruit.

Nan: That's bird damage?

Ramiro: Yes, it is.

And what you see is they will--different finches and other small birds will pretty much carve this fruit up.

They will leave just the outside shell.

And on top of the damage that sometimes they will just peck on 'em.

There were other fruit right next to this, they would splatter seeds and juice on to the other fruit which would increase the cost of marketing because of the need to wash 'em.

Nan: Knowing when to harvest dragon fruits is part art and part science.

We look for a good sugar-acid balance that develops as the fruits start to color up.

Ramiro uses a refractometer that measures the solids in the fruit as they develop.

That's how he tracks the sugars and knows when to pick.

These are the much more flavorful and interesting pink and red fleshed dragon fruits.

Each variety has its own flavor profile with a different sugar-acid balance.

To find your favorite, all you need to do is taste.

Nan: Thank you.

Ramiro: That is the light and I'm gonna try it as well.

Nan: It's pretty.

It's very pale pink.

Nan: Wow, that's so good.

It's really refreshing.

There's a lot of acid balance with the sugar.

Ramiro: It excites your palate, if you will.

Nan: Yeah, that's exactly right.

Ramiro: This is Physical Graffiti.

Nan: Mm, I like that a lot.

It's a whole different flavor profile.

It tastes richer.

Ramiro: And it's subtle differences, but really noticeable.

Ramiro: And this is Armando.

Nan: Oh, entirely different again.

This tastes almost like kiwi, like a ripe kiwi.

Ramiro: The last one we're gonna taste and complete the job here is El Grullo.

Nan: It's a great name, El Grullo.

Ramiro: El Grullo, it is a selection from Mexico.

Wanna hear your opinion about this.

Nan: Well, the color is fantastic.

To me, this one is just sweet.

It's just sweet.

Ramiro: Exactly right.

Nan: There's no acid to this one.

Ramiro: There is no acidity to these ones.

Nan: But they were all interesting and well worth eating, right?

Each on their own, they're just different.

Ramiro: Yes, I totally agree with that.

And when you pick 'em makes a big different--a big difference as well, so, and tasting makes perfect.

Nan: A dragon fruit farm is different from any other farm you'll ever see.

These Medusa-like cacti are a high-touch crop.

So the next time you go to the store and you see one of these beauties and you wonder, "Where did that come from?

And why is it at a premium price?"

This is why.

♪♪♪ Nan: These are the ripe ones?

Neva Day: These are the ripe ones.

Nan: Neva Day owns Wallace Farms, a production dragon fruit operation in Bonsall, California.

Most of Neva's 15-acre ranch is planted in the fruiting cacti.

Left on their own, some of these flowers would be pollinated by bees or moths or even bats.

But farmers can't leave pollination to chance.

So, early in the morning, farmer Neva and head grower Julio Robus engage in a very special kind of assisted pollination.

Neva: We will maneuver around the dragon fruit and we have this beautiful bloom that we have in a fruit bag.

It just acts as enough closure so that as we remove it, see this beautiful bloom.

I take our brush and I swirl it around, which will help break off more of the pollen.

The pollen's on the anthers and you just brush it right into our container.

What will happen is we cross pollinate and so we like to collect pollen from different flowers and we like to have a mixture and then as we go around to the rest of the flowers we will mix it and get it on the brush and then-- Nan: Oh, you're doing the flower sex.

Neva: We're creating baby fruit.

Nan: Baby fruits.

Nan: Each flower has hundreds of these fringe-like stamens, topped in pollen-filled anther sacks.

These are the male parts of the flower.

The female parts include a tall pistil where the pollen lands and begins its journey down to the flower's ovary, which eventually becomes the fruit.

Nan: In this region, the plants flower in cycles over seven months of the year.

Every time a plant flowers, those flowers can produce fruits so, unlike other crops, a single plant has the potential to produce fruit over and over again in a year, as long as its flowers get pollinated.

Every morning, Neva and Julio collect the pale powdery pollen that they brush onto the pistils and set fruit for the next round of harvest.

Nan: You're picking from these now?

Neva: We are.

We're picking from these now and we're setting up our fifth bloom and we will probably set that bloom in a couple of weeks.

Nan: Wow.

Neva: Yeah, and we're hoping for a sixth bloom.

It's possible this year.

Nan: A sixth bloom?

Neva: A sixth bloom which would make our season, High five, let's go.

Nan: Neva is a new farmer.

She's also a former Olympic-caliber cyclist who had a successful career in sales and marketing.

So she uses all of that background, along with her energy and dynamism, to grow this operation.

Nan: Why dragon fruit?

Why are you doing all this?

What's behind it?

Neva: We were looking for a lifestyle change.

And so, back two years ago, we found Bonsall and we found Fallbrook and we knew we were going to have a crop and we were just so fortunate that the crop we ended up buying into was dragon fruit.

Nan: How many acres are here?

Neva: We're approximately 15 acres.

Nan: And how much do you produce in a season?

Neva: We produce 20,000.

Nan: Twenty thousand pounds?

Neva: Twenty thousand pounds, yeah.

Nan: Wow, how many different varieties?

Neva: We have 19 different varieties here.

Nan: What's your star varieties?

Neva: Our star varieties are American Beauty, which is my favorite, Physical Graffiti, and Robles Red.

Nan: Now, this is clearly not a do-it-yourself project and it's not a low-maintenance project.

I mean, I'm just looking at the trellising to keep these going has to take a lot of work, right?

Neva: It's very high labor and so, when the farm started, it was to reduce water costs.

And so this is a low water production.

However, what you trade in water, you put back into labor.

Nan: Neva works from sun up to sundown.

Julio does too.

He planted most of this grove before Neva took over.

He even has a variety of dragon fruit named for him: Robles Red.

With Julio's expertise, advice from researcher Ramiro Lobo, and a big dose of determination, Neva expects to break even after only three years of farming.

Neva: I'm the jack of all trades so I do the business aspect of it, the paperwork.

I hardly get any office time but it's necessary.

And then I'm out in the field I'm doing irrigation.

I'm learning all the time.

Nan: Do you like it?

Neva: I love it, I love it.

Nan: What's--what about it do you love?

Neva: I absolutely love being outside.

And I love the fact that it's a mental and a physical job so you're always trying to figure out what your plan is and what you're doing and are you doing it right.

And then, physically, you're running up and down 15 acres outside, all day long, working with just stunning plants and a really healthy fruit, which really embodies my lifestyle.

Neva: Nan, look at this fruit Julio's picking.

That's a pound and a half Physical Graffiti.

Nan: That's huge.

Neva: Gorgeous, huh?

Nan: Oh my gosh, look at that.

That's amazing.

Neva: And what's really great, Nan, is right here I see a one-day-old bud, a two-day-old bud, a three-day-old bud, and a four-day-old bud, meaning that in about 14 days we're gonna have big blooms, we're gonna pollinate, and we're gonna do that again.

Nan: So this is your next crop coming?

Neva: Our next crop, yeah, gorgeous.

Nan: Growing pitajaya isn't difficult but it requires constant attention.

And the cost of that labor offsets the huge savings in water as compared to farming citrus or avocado.

Most of the cacti are planted in pots or buckets to protect their roots from hungry gophers.

The buckets are filled with well-draining potting soil, no heavy clay or wet feet for these plants.

In nature, the cacti climb trees.

Here, they climb either wood or concrete posts.

Neva and Julio cover the ripening fruits with mesh bags to protect them from birds.

Nan: That's beautiful.

Nan: Neva also grows specialty citrus, passion fruits and other rare fruits in orchards planted by the previous owners.

And now, she's branching out again, selling dragon fruit cuttings.

Nan: How do you know which variety's gonna come from which of these cuttings?

Neva: Although all dragon fruit may look alike, if we look at each cutting differently, we're going to see variations within the ridges, which this has a more round ridge, which is American Beauty, and this has a much more elongated ridge.

And if we look right here, this is a Robles Red.

Nan: Oh, so this almost doesn't have any ridges to it.

Neva: And it also is a little more curly and, if you look at the thorns, this has a four-thorn pattern whereas this has a one-thorn pattern.

Nan: So you have to be really serious to be able to identify which ones and know which fruit you're gonna get 'cause, I mean, if it were me, I would go look for the Robles Red 'cause that's beautiful.

I'm sure it tastes great.

But then I have to find somebody who knows what they have.

Neva: That's--yes, and so we recommend that people buy from production farms or from very strong backyard enthusiasts who know what they're growing and they're also going to sell you production fruits so that you can actually get fruit from what you buy.

Nan: While pitajaya is usually eaten fresh, it's also delicious in drinks and desserts and even made into wine.

Nan: Do we get to taste?

Neva: We get to taste.

Nan: Oh, good, what are we gonna start with?

Neva: I think we start with American Beauty, which to me, again, is the most balanced fruit and it just hits that sweet spot of sweet and acidic.

Very balanced.

So we'll just take this and we'll eat it like watermelon today.

Nan: The rind comes off, so that's pretty easy.

And I love those little black seeds.

Neva: They're edible.

You don't really notice them when you eat them and people always ask me, "Neva, what does a dragon fruit taste like?"

And my thought is a mix between melon and a kiwi with flavor.

Nan: The texture is kiwi, the flavor is--do I have it on my face now?

Yum.

Nan: The special time and attention that goes into dragon fruit is reflected in the cost of the fruits in the market.

But just one taste tells you it's worth every penny.

Nan: Dragon fruits can be hard to find and when you find 'em they're at a premium price.

So for dragon fruit lovers, the best way to get the fruit is to grow it yourself.

Kevin Foth and his wife transformed this quarter-acre hillside in Point Loma, California, from a field of ice plant into a terraced garden of rare fruits that include not one but two dragon fruit orchards.

Kevin Foth: We have about 40 variety of dragon fruit, plus or minus, and then about 80 to 90 plants.

We grow them in a way where we can get a lot of variety.

It takes a lot of maintenance but if you control the growth, you can have a lot of different plants.

Nan: Kevin's an engineer who takes a very calculated approach to gardening.

Kevin: So we have 12 plantings in this small garden and there's 2 to 4 plants per post.

Nan: So 12 times 4, so you could get 48 plants in this small space.

Kevin: Right.

Nan: These posts are just 4 feet apart.

That's how Kevin optimizes this small space.

It also makes the pitajaya easier to care for and increases natural pollination.

Nan: I see most flowers and fruit up here.

Is that a fruit growing on the vertical portion?

Kevin: Yes, it is.

That's, you know, a nice thing of the dragon fruit is you'll get flowers and fruit on the vertical portion as well as the horizontal portion.

I record all of my production on my phone.

Nan: Agh, you are an engineer.

Kevin: So, so far this year, I've pollinated 290 flowers.

I've had fruit set on 188 and I've picked 155.

So I have another 100 or so fruits that are maturing.

Nan: Kevin experimented with different post designs before settling on a favorite.

Nan: Explain the structure to me again.

Kevin: So dragon fruits require something to grow on and we've--we're using 4 x 4 redwood posts.

We've cut 10-foot lengths into 5-foot lengths, and then I attach that to a cement base that has a vertical attached point and then at the top we've drilled holes through the top of the 4 x 4 in each direction, inserted rebar, and then laid the tire on top of it.

Nan: And then when the plants come up and those heavy vines come over the sides, this will all support that?

Kevin: Right.

Part of the maintenance of the dragon fruit is to cut off all of the new growth that comes off the vertical stems horizontally, and I have an example here.

I'll just trim this at the bottom and then this becomes a new planting for this variety of dragon fruit.

Nan: The cut end is left to dry for a couple of days then dusted with rooting hormone before planting.

Kevin secures the cutting with stretch ties.

Soon, it'll begin to grow and in a few years, he and his wife will enjoy even more fruits of their labor.

Kevin: So this is one of the fruits I've picked recently.

It's the third fruit on the variety of Rosa, and I picked it on 10/10 and then I recorded the weight of 22.55 ounces, and I keep track of that for all of our varieties so we know what we grow.

Nan: Kevin, you are definitely an engineer.

Nan: While dragon fruit is delicious eaten fresh, skilled chefs take it to a whole new level.

At Huntress Steak House in San Diego executive chef James Montejano creates unusual and delicious dishes using dragon fruit.

James Montejano: This is kind of like, we call it a [inaudible] so something that would--you would get as a starter right before the meal.

Hamachi, which is yellowtail, which I'm going to incorporate with the dragon fruit.

And then I'm gonna mix the scallions in with some, like a wasabi dressing.

Toss it, it's almost like a poke.

Then I'm gonna garnish also with this Penrose apple.

♪♪♪ These are Kumiai oysters from Baja, beautiful French-style, salty, briny oyster.

I'm going to dice some red and white dragon fruit to add to our smoked soy sauce for additional flavor and then on top, a dragon fruit granita, so in the granita I've added ginger juice to it to accent the flavor of the dragon fruit to go into the oyster.

And then on top, We're adding Regiis Ova caviar.

Nan: As a yummy treat, a show-stopping ingredient, or a spectacular plant, enjoy dragon fruit on your plate and in your garden.

Nan: Connect with us at "A Growing Passion" for garden tips, behind-the-scenes updates, and to see what's growing in California.

Watch all of our shows online any time at AGrowingPassion.com.

Nan: Exotic, beautiful, and delicious, dragon fruit is the uncommon waterwise fruit that belongs in your garden.

I'm Nan Sterman.

See you next time on "A Growing Passion."

♪♪♪ announcer: Support for this program comes from the KPBS Explore Local Content Fund, supporting new ideas and programs for San Diego.

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