Paul Thomson (botanist) - California Rare Fruit Growers

California Rare Fruit Growers

Thomson began experimenting with rare fruits during the early 1950s after being stationed in San Diego. He and his wife, Helen, purchased five acres (2 ha) of land in Bonsall, California, in 1952. The couple initially lived in a trailer on the land while they were building their home. He began experimenting with tropical fruits and fruit trees that were usually found in climates warmer than that part of Southern California. Thomson initially planted papayas, lychees, mangoes, longans and other tropical species on his new 5-acre (20,000 m2) farm. However, most of his attempts to grow these fruits were a failure due to freezing temperatures during the winters. For example, mangoes could not survive the winter climate in Bonsall.

Thomson decided to make another attempt at growing tropical fruits with a second farm in a different location. In 1962, Thomson purchased another small farm in Vista, California, and called it Edgehill. His newest farm and orchard was only five miles (8 km) from his other property in Bonsall, but it had a much milder climate, especially during the winter. This made Edgehill more conducive to growing tropical, exotic fuits that had not been previously grown in California. He was able to finally grow successful harvests of mangoes, cherimoyas, lychees and other fruits.

The Los Angeles Times reported in 1971 that Thomson was able to grow 96 separate types of fruit between his two orchards in Bonsall and Edgehill. Most of these fruits had not been widely grown in the United States before Thomson planted them on his properties. Thomson grew the first successful Mammee apple crop, also known as the South American apricot or the mamey, of note in California. He also ran the only longan orchard in the United States at the time. A friend of Thomson, Jim Neitzel, said that his Edgehill farm soon attracted the attention of other botanists and tropical fruit enthusiasts. "His Edgehill property was the biggest feather in his cap. People would come from all over the state to check it out."

However, lack of demand for Thomson's fruits in the marketplace at the time forced him to close the Edgehill property in 1972. In a 1989 interview with the San Diego Union-Tribune Thomson told the newspaper that, "I was 20 years ahead of my time...I never made enough to pay the water bill, let alone make any money."

Thomson, an organic farmer, continued to earn his living by budding and grafting fruit trees for grove owners and nurseries throughout California. He also continued to grow cherimoyas and mangoes to be sold throughout Southern California. In particular, Thomson devoted much of his time to propagating tropical and subtropical fruits that would grow in San Diego's North County.