Pawpaws have been part of North America’s landscape for millennia, once abundant from Florida through Missouri to southern Ontario. Indigenous peoples cultivated them long before European colonisation, but the clearing of forests for farmland pushed the trees back and led to a steep decline.

Around fifteen years ago, Thomas Mathias planted the first pawpaw trees on his Niagara farm as a simple experiment. After eleven years of tinkering and research, his patience paid off and the trees finally produced fruit.

To encourage pollination, Mathias spreads raw manure – a mix of horse and llama waste – beneath the trees. The scent attracts blue‑bottle flies, which transfer pollen between the flowers and boost fruit set.

Today Mathias Farm harvests roughly 250‑300 pounds of pawpaws each year, selling them at about $20 per pound. Interest is growing, yet the fruit’s short shelf life and tendency to bruise, as Brant notes, still limit large‑scale commercial distribution.