The Pineapple Project: Pineapple Growth (2 Months Down)

Making Progress

The original idea for this blog was to grow my own pineapple from its top and then document the growth as I go through the experience of living and working in Hawaii. Since it takes two years to grow a pineapple, I figured it would give me a theme to build the blog around. I said I would post pictures and updates about once a month. I intended to post around the first of every month. I'm a few days early, but here is the next round of updates. If you want to see the last post about these pineapples, and see how much progress they are making, you can view the pictures here. As you can clearly see, the pineapples aren't dead yet. They seem to be growing, in fact. I say "yet" because one of the pineapples has only been growing for a month and the other for 2 months. It needs to be planted for 24 months. There is a LONG way to go (see Clerkship Countdown above).

If you watch the video from the previous post, it says that after 2 months you should see some pretty significant growth. The pineapple on the left, after 2 months, is not as big as I would have expected, but right now I'm just happy it's not dead. I'm also impatient and really don't think it should take 2 years to grow a damn fruit. If I weren't stuck on this island for 2 years, I would just go to the store and buy a damn pineapple. But alas, it is what it is. Anyway, the stunted growth may actually make sense given the dirt and soil it was planted in. Instead of using fresh potting soil, I just used the dirt that was already in the pot on my lanai (Hawaiian for "porch"). I did, however, use Miracle Grow potting soil in the other one. I guess this will be the "experiment in the experiment." We'll see if it makes a difference.

Picture Taken Nov. 28, 2010 (Planted Oct. 1, 2010)

Because no blog post of mine would be complete without fun facts, here is some interesting trivia about your homegrown pineapple. The pineapple is native to southern Brazil and Paraguay where wild relatives occur. It was spread by the Indians up through South and Central America to the West Indies before Columbus arrived. Columbus found the fruit on the island of Guadaloupe and carried it back to Spain and it was spread around the world on ships that carried it for protection against scurvy (vitamin C deficiency...go ahead, make the pirate sound). The Spanish introduced it into the Philippines and may have taken it to Hawaii and Guam early in the 16th Century.

Picture Taken Nov. 28, 2010 (Planted Oct. 25, 2010)

The pineapple is a member of the bromeliad family. It is related to Spanish moss and some ornamental plants sold in nurseries. Spanish moss absorbs water and nutrients from a water-tight reservoir formed where the leaves come together, which allows these plants to draw water and nutrients from sources as random as fog and dust in the air. The pineapple, however, uses its roots like houseplants with which you are familiar and should be easy to grow if you treat it like a normal houseplant that needs bright light.

How to Grow a Pineapple From Its Top (reminder):

Step 1: Twist crown (leaves) off the top of a fresh pineapple. Peel off the leaves at the bottom exposing about an inch or two of the crown

Step 2: Soak the crown in water for about 3 days until the roots sprout

Step 3: Plant the Crown in fresh potting soil (water once a week)

Step 4: Trim the dead leaves as the plant grows

Step 5: After about a year, re-plant into a larger pot if necessary

UPDATE:

Someone informed me (instead of commenting, which is the proper way to address blogging issues) that they couldn't see a difference between the first and second posts regarding the growth of the pineapples. This person also suggested that it was annoying to have to go back to the previous post (despite the simplicity and ease of clicking the link). So here are two pictures from the earlier post to make it easier.