In this video I would like to show you the difference between New Zealand grown Dragon Fruit vs imported Dragon Fruit that we can buy from the supermarkets some times which are usually imported from Vietnam.
Today I'm going to show you the red flesh dragon fruit. We have our own grown dragon fruit that I've kept in the fridge as I personally think they are nicer when the dragon fruit is nice and cold, but you don't have to keep them in the fridge. When you harvest them fresh they are OK out on the bench for a few days.
We cut the fruit from the branch and often when they are so ripe, they crack open just like that. Sometimes they crack open when the fruit is nice and sweet or if there has been a lot of water or rain. There is nothing wrong with the fruit if they are split open, they will be lovely and sweet.
You can tell if the dragon fruit is red flesh inside by the little leaves have a red line on the ridge of the leaves. The white flesh dragon fruit don't have the red ridge, that's how you can tell. I purchased a dragon fruit from one of the asian supermarkets and they were $9 each. You can see compared to the ones we grow, how different they look, it looks like the store bought one has been harvested for a while, the leaves are soft probably because the logistics of getting the fruit from Vietnam and by the time it gets to you they are probably at least a couple of weeks old. The imported fruit is shaped differently and are quite small, compared to our freshly harvested dragon fruit. Plus sometimes the supermarkets can see the fruit for like $14 each, which is crazy when you can easily grow this fruit yourself.
When I cut the imported dragon fruit in half, you can see it looks good but when I cut our homegrown one it looks great and you can see the size difference.
Taste wise when I eat the Vietnamese one it's mushy probably because it is not fresh. It's OK but not really very sweet which is what it should be. The New Zelaand grown one that was picked yesterday, they are not mushy and come away from the skin beautifully. Mmmm....honestly it is so beautiful. Delicious, very fresh and it has a bite and great texture to it, not like the imported one. 100% much sweeter. The reason is that we have excellent soil and we don't use pesticides or spray them. That's why the fruit is also so red.
I would definitely be growing my own fruit. You can grow dragon fruit in a pot or in a small space and have them in a covered area, it's important to protect them from the cold and frost.