Te Puke’s Hidden Tropical Paradise: A Visit to French’s Farm

Just a stone’s throw from Waitangi, on the outskirts of Te Puke, lies a local gem: French’s Farm. While the Bay of Plenty is famous for kiwifruit, a visit to Michael French and his daughter Kat offers a delightful surprise — fresh fruit, vegetables, eggs, and a remarkable collection of homegrown tropical produce cultivated here in Aotearoa.

A greenhouse oasis

Step into Michael’s greenhouse and you enter another world — warmer, more humid, alive with greenery. It is a carefully managed space where exotic plants do not only survive; they thrive.

Michael proudly showcases his tropical collection. The star is a towering fruiting jackfruit, with more wonders alongside.

A symphony of tropical wonders

Michael’s passion for mangoes runs deep. He has germinated thirty Quesa seedlings and, remarkably, five healthy plants from a single R2E2 seed — a testament to that variety’s polyembryonic nature. His collection also includes Kent and an Indian peach mango with striking red bloom, earmarked for future grafting.

Pineapples flourish too. The family has refined propagation — saving tops and dividing roots to produce new pups — growing varieties such as Cayenne alongside other smooth-leaf types in Te Puke’s microclimate.

The collection goes further: cocoa under innovative heating, star apples, a jackfruit that weathered winter under tunnel protection, and papaya in hydroponic bins built for drainage and cold resilience.

Vector Group Charitable Trust is proud to collaborate with French’s Farm — a valuable example of local growing and kai resilience in Te Puke.

Learn more about Michael’s tropical fruit venture on the Troppo website and through Troppo.

Explore more: Troppo · Grow Te Puke · Kai resilience · About Vector Group