For a genuine and authentic farm experience, with delicious fruit to pick yourself and plenty of barnyard animals to feed, head to Forest Dragon Fruit Farm in Brisbane’s Southwest suburbs. There’s a $5 entry fee per person, which includes a bag of feed for the farm animals. The farm’s friendly owner, Kevin Hu, lives on site with his family and is happy to answer any questions while you are there.
Check their Facebook page (link below) for the latest information about pricing of the fruit and farm openings.
Pick your own Dragonfruit
Dragon fruit are the fruit of several types of cactus plants. These cacti are originally from central and South America, but are now grown all around the world in tropical and subtropical climates.
The Forest Dragon Fruit Farm grows 15 different varieties of dragon fruit, which means their fruiting season lasts from November until July, with most fruit available in the summer and autumn months. The fruit themselves are sweet and delicious, with the insides similar in look to kiwi fruit with their black seeds, but with flavours ranging from berry-like to similar to lychees, and colours including white, red, purple and yellow.
If you’re picking your own fruit, ask the friendly farm staff for hints on where to find the best fruit in season, and look for fruit that is starting to ripen and that hasn’t been eaten by visiting birds. Grab the fruit firmly and twist it to detach it from the plant.
Dragon fruit continues to ripen once they’re picked, so if you can get your hands on some that are ready to eat as well as some that are not yet fully ripe, you’ll have fruit to eat and fruit to keep. Once you’ve picked your fruit, it gets weighed with prices listed for the different varieties, ranging from $8 per kilo to $40 for a rare and highly prized variety (and occasional discounts or sales when there’s an abundance of fruit).
Even if you’re visiting outside of the fruiting season, a farm’s work never stops and there is plenty to see and do.
Meet some farm animals
The Forest Dragon Fruit Farm is home to many animals, including chickens, ducks, pigs, sheep and alpacas. There are also beehives on the property with the bees assisting in the pollination of the fruit and producing delicious honey.
Visitors to the farm are able to hand feed the sheep and alpacas, and throw a different mix of grains to the chooks, ducks and pigs. Brisbane Kids will be delighted to see these farm animals up close, however it should be noted that sometimes their manners are lacking and they can get pushy, demanding and sneaky in their hunt for a treat. They behave just like farm animals, not trained pets!
The alpacas and sheep assist with weed control on the farm and know that visitors frequently mean food, so they’re very curious about visitors.
The farm is also using mixed cropping and intercropping methods, so keep an eye out for leafy greens, chilli plants, melons and other plants growing under and around the dragon fruit plants.
You can also purchase dragon fruit, honey and honeycomb all from the farm, or even pick up a cutting to start growing your own dragon fruit at home too!
The Forest Dragon Fruit Farm is a fantastic destination to head to with your Brisbane Kids. The fruit picking experience is fun and rewarding with delicious, sweet dragon fruit, and even in the non-picking season, it’s worth visiting to see a working farm and visit the farm animals.
Please note – this is a working farm. The animals are not pets, there is farming equipment in use and dragon fruit plants are cacti and can have sharp spikes and thorns. Sensible clothing and footwear should be worn, and children should be closely supervised. If you are going after rain then wear gumboots or wear old shoes and pack a plastic bag for after your visit.
For more information go to their website, and also check their Facebook page here for details on picking seasons, opening hours and other news. Like other Pick Your Own places, fruit is only available in season. At the time of writing, they are only open on weekends but this is subject to change. We always recommend checking directly with their social pages before visiting.
Forest Dragon Fruit Farm is at 151 Dickman Rd, Forestdale QLD 4118
Join the conversation