You drive past it so often on the Tin Can Bay Rd, not quite knowing what’s behind the fence.
That is until you stop. Take the time to sit down, to have a look and listen.
That’s the case at Ross Creek Tropicals. It was a complete surprise to find what Tom Esler is doing – from a local perspective but also by sending so much product to each state of Australia.
The four-acre property, near the Ross Creek Service Station, is home to the largest range of fruiting trees in Queensland.
“Follow the driveway up,” Tom said on the phone. “It’s bitumen all the way.”
There is a netted orchard plus potting area. Then across the creek and up the north-east slope are more fruit and decorative trees, as well as workbenches.
I met Tom Esler at Odd Spot Plants earlier this year when the Titan arum – dead corpse flower – was blooming.
At the time I didn’t realise but, yes, Tom had a hand in supplying the original bulb to Neil and Lisa Paterson.
Sitting at the verandah, looking over the property, Tom tells me he was born in Brisbane, and worked in supermarkets for 20 years.
“Woolworths brought me to this area … Cooloola in 2016 to manage the store.
“I bought this property on a whim – there were a lot of good things to do and knew I would be moving with my work.
“It was a matter of grabbing the opportunity when the property came up for sale.
“Once I moved in, I never worked at Cooloola again but was sent all over Queensland.”
The Goomboorian/Ross Creek area was chosen by Tom due to its good all-round climate and reliable rainfall.
It’s cold enough for a fireplace in winter, meaning it is favourable for growing stone fruit.
There is a distinct change in climate on the east side of the highway due to the influence of the sea breezes.
“We have not had a frost in that time,” Tom said. “I’m absolutely happy with this decision.”
At the time, there were simply two front paddocks of grass and about 30 fruit trees planted.
Now there are more than 1000 planted and Ross Creek Tropicals stock over 900 varieties.
Much of Tom’s knowledge has come from taking the time to listen to the advice of others – whether his mother and grandmother or customers in the supermarkets he worked at.
The benefit of time has given him the chance to take a look at what is suited, what is in demand and what can be made available.
Most are from seeds grown on the property, from cuttings and grafted varieties.
They are having some good success with red papaw, lady finger bananas and black sapote.
The most common would be citrus – and Tom points to one tree in front of us that would have somewhere near 400 lemons on it.
Then there are apples, pears, 60 varieties of mango and more than 30 varieties of avocados.
There are five or six different types of red papaya, and all sorts of berries – blueberries, raspberries, mulberry.
More than 30 varieties of mulberry are in the grounds – from dwarf varieties to red and white shatoots that are the size of your finger.
That’s when we reminisce about mulberry pie, mulberry jam and the stained mouths from eating fresh mulberries from the tree in season.
“I encourage my family to come and pick them, as the berries don’t store,” Tom said. “In the heat of the season my stepmom came up and filled two 10-litre buckets, and didn’t make a dent in the crop from the trees”
Some of the more unusual plants are jackfruit, custard apple and loquat, lychees and longan, guavas and jujube.
Tom carries the jujube fruits around while working and eats them like lollies or raisins. The fruit originates from China and is crunchy, with a dry apple taste, but very well known for its health benefits.
The fig Tom gave me to taste was as good as any I have eaten in Italy.
“Our climate suits South East Asian fruits. We can push it at borderline some winters but our days warm up so quickly that the plants are forgiving.”
As for bananas, among the rarer ones are red daccas and blue java. Then there are a few different types of plantain – they are good for cooking and grow perfectly at Goomboorian.
“My brother did nine months in South America,” Tom said, “and every day he used them as a meal. They can grow so well.”
Gympie has a strong legal case for selling banana trees as the Sunshine Coast is restricted by the threat of spreading disease.
Tom can send into those areas, but they cannot send out. There are a few different types of disease – bunchy top and panama disease.
Plants from Ross Creek Tropicals can be sent throughout Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia through on-line markets.
The nursery can sell into the Northern Territory, Western Australia and Tasmania by means of a quarantine service.
A lot of people utilise that method as they cannot get the stock otherwise.
Bananas love a full-sun position, moist but well-drained soil rich in organic matter, and regular fertilising.
Papaw want dry feet, planting on a mound and east facing – perhaps near the house or a path.
Somewhat of a super fruit, papaw can be enjoyed daily due to being high in fibre and vitamins.
“They are good for health. The seeds can be dried and used as pepper.
“As for bananas, we cannot eat enough of them. I might pick six bunches at a time and luckily CC at Woolooga Farm Kitchen takes some to the markets for us.
“Generally, they ripen from the top of the hand. Remove the bell from the bunch once it stops producing, then covering the fruit helps stop the raiders from attacking – birds, bats, possums, even bush turkeys will fly up on a bunch.
“They are the guide to when to harvest.”
While Ross Creek Tropicals mostly engage in retail they do have some big wholesale orders.
The new orchard at the front of the property is to allow them to grow a greater range of varieties and graft more from their own trees.
These include black sapote, persimmon and tamarillos. Then there are tamarinds which can be used as a bean in Asian cooking.
Pomegranates are high in anti-oxidants, super juicy and can be grown in a pot or the ground. They can be eaten fresh, in salads or juiced.
Once established, they are drought tolerant trees some two to three metres tall.
“They look pretty when in fruit but the flowers are impressive as well,” Tom said.
The outbreak of the Covid pandemic in 2020 meant that by the time Ross Creek Tropicals started in 2021 demand was high for fruiting trees, and supply was low.
“We were trying to source plants from anywhere we could to meet the demand.
“We could see big players were not meeting demand and this was a good opportunity to start a specialised nursery.
“At the big outlets you can buy one type of orange … we sell 12.”
Floods, bush fires, interruptions to transport created supply issues in general terms that helped specialised producers.
The rise in the cost of living has also pushed people to small backyard orchards.
“Lots of people are buying lemon trees due to the price going up.”
There is a sense of nostalgia around citrus trees.
Growing up, there was always one in the yard so that a lemon could be picked at any time – much like a passionfruit vine.
Then there were bush lemons on farms and in the bush. I know my grandfather loved to pick one when he came across a tree.
“Lemons are a simple fruit yet so effective,” Tom said. “Cooking, drinks, marinades, baking, they are high in vitamin C.
“As for oranges, my favourite is Cara Cara blood orange. It develops a good colour in our milder winters.
“It can be eaten early in the season or will hang right to the end of winter … the longer it hangs (on the tree) the more colour it develops.”
Last September Tom was the first to release the Jala avocado – a giant-sized fruit that ripened in winter.
The demand was intense.
“My phone rang just out and the battery was flat by 10am. The initial stock was sold out within 12 hours.
“There were on-line calls and walk-ins. Phone calls from all over the country wanting the trees.”
Everyone needs a fig tree – they are good for shade but for fruiting it is best not to let it get too big.
They produce over a long season. Tom starts picking September-October and will go through til March-April.
“What most don’t realise is that the fruit is actually the flower. I love them with prosciutto, cheese … and fig jam is pretty good.”
Getting Ross Creek Tropicals going meant a fair bit of earthworks – not only for the orchard but for the growing area.
It is north-east facing and has a good water supply. Netting at the front is to protect the trees and fruit mostly from insects.
Citrus and mango trees are grafted to ensure a good fruiting variety and disease resistance.
The reason Tom got into the fruit tree industry was simple – a love of gardening.
“That came from both my grandmothers,” he said. “The passion for growing fruit came from those years working in the fruit and veg industry.”
Part of that was learning from a lot of of Italian, Greek and Asian customers.
There would be walking clubs coming through the stores of a morning that would rate the fruit and veg display.
Through the discussions, the customers would teach Tom how to grow, eat and cook things from their heritage and desire to share their knowledge.
“Now I eat a lot of fresh food – from backyard gardens, friends and neighbours.
“I wake up thinking about what I’m going to have for dinner, not wondering.
“There is that ability to just wake up and pick a fresh orange, go from a fig for breakfast, stone fruit in afternoon then mulberries.”
There are mulberries at the nursery that are twice as long as ordinary. Finger shaped with a rich, sweet flavour.
Then there are the older fruits such as quinces that are making a comeback.
The introduction of Queensland garnet plums to the market in recent years has shown how the Department of Primary Industry (DPI) and private enterprise can work together to develop a super plum high in anti-oxidants.
Renowned for its deep, almost black colour it was developed specifically in Queensland and New South Wales and has gained popularity for its distinctive flavour and health benefits.
It involved intentionally cross-pollinating flowers, then planting the subsequent seeds to create the root stock.
Then it is a matter of waiting to see how the new variety responds. It could be five to 10 years to judge how the new fruit is rated for shelf life, if it ripens evenly, does it taste good?
For Tom, he gets a great kick out of his work when customers send in photos of when trees first start fruiting and how much they enjoyed them.
Tips for choosing good produce from a store include any fruit should feel heavy for its size.
That’s when you know it’s at its peak.
Melons, papaw and the like will have a distinct smell. They will be less green in the ridges, and have a blush colour at the bottom.
“You want to see the colour you are looking for on the inside, coming through on the outside,” Tom said. “The blush or the bloom coming through.
“There is nothing better than the smell of stone fruit in season.”
Tom has the first release shortly of an avocado that produces a glossy 800-1000gm green-skinned fruit that turns red when ripe, and one big enough to make two serves of guacamole.
Then there is another small, back-skinned avo about the size of a 50cent piece. Very cold tolerant, the trees have been sent to people in Tasmania and they get snow on them.
“The fruit has an aniseed flavour. Really nice on toast as it has that fennel taste.”
Developing the nursery – especially the netting – has shown Tom that spiders are your friends for cleaning up caterpillars and insects.
Meanwhile the magpies and butcher birds have worked out ways to get under the netting but the wagtails are content to come along and peck them off the outside.
“A lot of plants we are growing are no longer being produced commercially and are at the threat of being lost,” Tom said.
“Some of the lychees are no longer commercial varieties but they have their place. And if these get bulldozed then they have gone completely.”
Pumpkin and tomatoes are planted as ground cover in between trees, together with mulch.
Among the lessons learned during the development of the nursery have been the way the floods came up quickly.
“We weren’t able to trade during that time. We had severe damage to the driveway due to the run-off and were unable to dispatch on-line orders.
“It’s bitumen now as we couldn’t keep repairing it.”
The most recent rainfall had 100mm an hour, and the water was running over the contours and down the roads.
The orchards are all in raised beds to store the moisture, but angled so that it doesn’t saturate the roots.”
Tom uses local organic potting mix and the plants love it.
Less is more in regard to fertiliser but do it regularly – especially with organic products.
Nothing beats picking your own home-grown fruit, Tom said. After all, you know where it came from, and how fresh it is.
The biggest volume of sales is Queensland and New South Wales. Customers can order for pick up so locals do not miss out.
Trees are grown in full sun, not in greenhouses, to give a strong sun-hardened plant ready to go in the ground.
“We are not just selling plants – we have them growing here too,” Tom said, “so we know how they perform in the area.”
So what gives Tom the most satisfaction about his life among plants?
“I wake up at 6am, look at the weather to see how hot the day will be or if it will rain. Then we know how much to water the plants.
“From there, every day is different … early in week we pack the plants to send across Australia.
“There is a pick-list for the orders. The team of five establish the most suited for shipping due to size, health and the the variety the customer is looking for.
“Looking down the valley, it’s beautiful to not only wake up to but work from here each day … it’s like an oasis.
“We can get some heavy fog,
“Throughout the week we are preparing for the three open days – Thursday, Friday and Saturday – and restocking the nursery.
“Sunday we still water. There is never a day off.”
It was so fascinating to visit the nursery and talk with Tom, because of the unexpected about what they are doing from a local perspective as well as sending so much product interstate to all states of Australia.
Tom spent years working hard to invest in his life on the land. Yet now, when you see how passionate he is about his trees and produce you realise that with such passion he’ll never have to work another day in his life.
Tom is a real inspiration for all of us.
