Growing Pineapples on Fuerteventura

[TamaraEnLaPlaya]

Pineapples have cropped up (excuse the pun) a few times recently: A beauty I bought at Tetir market and the ones in pots at FEAGA. It got me wondering about trying to grow them myself. I tried it as a kid, placing a sliced off top in a saucer of water, but just ended up with a rotten slushy mess. I had a look around on line and found a 'grow' site that I really like:

https://www.tropicalpermaculture.com/pin...owing.html

reading about permaculture was like coming home for me, it takes further a number of things I'd already tried to achieve in my garden and really got me thinking about how I can tweak the design of my garden to make life easier. 

Back to the pineapples - according to this site they are really EASY to grow, should take our Weather with no problems, need little water and once you get going they should propagate themselves. Grow in the garden soil or in pots, once they're planted you have very little you need to do other than wait for bloom and fruit!

As easy as that - I'm hooked! I've bought a pineapple and plan on getting started following the instructions in the link. Anyone else going to give it a go? Feel free to add your experience/progress to this thread.

Day 1 - bought a pineapple:


Day 2 - tbc 

[Can the Man]

Good luck Tamara, looking forward to following your progress

[Emmi Smith]

A friend of mine has grown one in a pot.  It fairly quickly developed into a lovely specimen which needs very little attention.  So good luck Tamara.

[Archer]

I have one growing in my garden. Not a fast grower....at least mine isn't ... not like Emmi's friend.

There was a guy on tv the other day, from El Hierro, who grows them commercially. Looked quite a sucessful operation. 

Not sure I'll see Pineapples like his, though.

[TamaraEnLaPlaya]

So, day 2.

I carved up the pineapple and prepared the top for planting. Apparently it is very important to get rid of all the fruit flesh and just be left with stalk. Once I'd done that I submerged the top in water for half an hour to drown any bugs that may have been in it and to make sure there was no juice that could attract ants or fruit flies. Following instructions I'm now leaving it for 2 days for the cut surface to dry out. There was a dark area in the stem but it was rock solid so I'm hoping it won't rot.

  

  

ps - the fruit tasted delicious!

[TamaraEnLaPlaya]

I have one growing in my garden. Not a fast grower....at least mine isn't ... not like Emmi's friend.

Did you start it yourself Archer? Is it in  the ground or a pot?

[Archer]

Yes, just twisted the top out of one bought from Padilla. It seemed to take ages to root, maybe because I planted in the ground outside. I put a cut water bottle over it for wind protection. I'll let you know when it puts on a growth spurt!

[TamaraEnLaPlaya]

Day 5 of the pineapple experiment:

the base of the stem had dried out nicely and I pulled off a couple more leaves that had dried and browned - this revealed that there are actually 3 'pups' as well as the central growing shoot. I decided to leave them all intact.

I chose a fair size terracotta pot (as it breathes and is less likely to boil future roots if gets too much water) placed a layer of grava in the bottom for additional drainage and then mixed local soil 60/40 with molida for a free-draining potting medium and filled the pot about 2/3 full. I pushed the pineapple stem gently into this mix and then added a layer of grava on top to hold it in place, stop erosion by wind/watering and attract moisture from the air. I also added 3 bamboo skewers to help hold it in place. The top of the leaves barely reached the top of the pot; a further precaution against wind displacement. It also creates an area in which I can place vegative mulch without it blowing away. I gave it a good watering from the top - the only 'proper' watering I intend to give it until I see some growth. Pineapples belong to the bromeliads family and get a lot of their water and nutrition through their leaves. I constantly monitor the relative humidity on behalf of my orchids so when it's low I'll give the pineapple top a quick spray with very weak (1/4 strength) leftover orchid fertiliser. I've placed the pot under a tree for now where it will only get full sun for about 3-4 hours a day, dappled shade for the rest. I'll increase the amount of full sun when it shows growth (hopefully!).

  

Lava rock comes in many sizes, like gravel:

Grava grande - approx. half tennis ball
Grava - 0.5 inch - 1.5 inch
Picón - pea sized
Molida - ground up stuff, lentils or smaller!

There may be other sizes that I haven't discovered! 
I steer well clear of picón - I think it is one of the most hateful things ever invented  it gets stuck in the bottom of shoes, trekked indoors, stuck under doors where it scrapes the floors, stuck in dog's paws, and when you get a bit in your sandal or step on it with barefeet, well, my language knows no barriers! I am eliminating it all from my garden where I inherited a fair amount - it's not needed, grava does a much better job without the pain!

[Gone Fishing]

Do you think you'll be able to eat it after lavishing all that TLC on it Tamara?
What ever you do - don't give it a name :-)

Try to get hold of an Antigua* black pineapple to add to your collection - they are rated to be the sweetest.  

Mrs GF and I visited the pineapple farm at Cades Bay during our last visit and tasted some of the produce - well it would be rude not to.

 

*Antigua, in the Caribbean

[TamaraEnLaPlaya]

Thanks Can - shame it's not the local Antigua! Great pic 

I have to admit to being a bit OTT fanatical about growing challenges! In the UK I was secretary of a horticultural society for many years and a fierce competitor in the flowers, fruit and veg classes at the shows. My allotment was a mix of normal growing for eating and bizarre contraptions for growing outsize veg, ie parsnips in 6' drainpipes propped vertically around the compost heaps with pumpkins growing on top of the compost heaps, with auto feed and watering systems for during the week while I was away at work. One of the biggest challenges was transporting the large/heavy stuff to the show - somewhere I have a pic of a 76lb pumpkin wrapped in a blanket and dangling from a forklift! (I won the pumpkin cup that year )