Something exotic grows in Los Fresnos

Hidden amongst fields of sunflowers, corn and citrus, the international treasures of the River's End Nursery and Farm in Los Fresnos could easily be missed from the driver's seat.

But for immigrants to Texas from around the world, the farm presents a singular opportunity to bite into fresh-picked fruit from their native lands.

Ed and Kathy Pechacek, the hardworking owners of River's End, have collected and cultivated seeds from many fruits you've probably never heard of - black sapote, jambolan plums, wax jambu, dragon fruit, jackfruit, grumichama, noni, and peanut butter fruit, to name a few. Much of the fruit originally comes from
Asia and Latin America.

Ed began cultivating tropical fruit about 18 years ago.

The couple does not advertise heavily, save for newsletters they send out to their customers.

"For a lot of people it's word of mouth," Kathy said. "They have a friend who found us. That's actually how I found out about Ed. I had some friends who called me one weekend and said, ‘oh, we found the coolest nursery, you have to go out and see it. And that's what I did."

The sub-tropical South Texas climate is ideal for growing fruit from hot, steamy regions worldwide.

The couple gives monthly walking tours of their farm, and offers visitors both insights into the origins of their fruit and a taste of what's in season. In July they will celebrate their third annual mango festival, by introducing tasters to Carrie, Dot, Ice Cream, and Nom Doc Mai mangos, among others.

Kathy says she's grown to appreciate America's farmers more deeply since marrying Ed and moving to River's End.

"It's a shame people are losing this skill," Kathy said. "If all of our food is grown in other countries, we're going to find ourselves in a world of hurt."

The couple enjoys introducing new people to exotic fruits that could flourish in their own backyards.

"People aren't sure what to do with a lot of these fruits," Kathy said. "It's fun to see people get excited about something new in their life."

For more information about the River's End Nursery and Farm, call (956) 233-4792 or visit www.riversendnursery.com.