Few fruits are as popular among children, young people and adults for their freshness, sweetness and versatility as pineapple. This fruit, in addition to its delicious flavor, is also very popular in diets due to its diuretic, detoxifying and slightly antiseptic qualities.
It is most commonly consumed in desserts, salads and fruit smoothies, it can be digested naturally, in syrup or baked; and is even consumed as an exotic accompaniment to hamburgers and sandwiches, grilled. Its sweetness is even used in cocktails, being the main ingredient of the famous piña colada and in Mexico; its shell is fermented to give rise to the famous teacher, a traditional drink from the south of this country.
Grow pineapple at home
The pineapple plant is relatively small, reaching between twenty-five to thirty centimeters; it has a short lifespan in which it does not usually bear more than two or three fruits. This sweet and versatile fruit can be easily grown at home, practically any time of the year in temperate and tropical climates.
It may seem surprising but pineapple is a fruit that you can buy only once in a lifetime and from its crown you can obtain homemade pineapples indefinitely, although somewhat slowly. The procedure is as simple as it is amazing.
What do you need to plant pineapple?
- A fresh pineapple, preferably organic. If it is not possible to get organic, a supermarket pineapple will do, as long as it is a healthy piece and with its crown (upper leaves) complete.
- Water
- A plastic bottle
- A pot or planter
- Land for planting
Pineapple Planting Instructions
The first and most important thing is to select an optimal piece of pineapple for your plantation. Choose a piece with its crown (upper leaves) of an intense green and rigid leaves.
The crown must be complete, it must be checked that the central leaves are intact since they may have been torn off during harvest.
The way to verify the state of the crown is by slightly pulling it and if the leaves do not come off, it is a healthy fruit. If some leaves come off, it is better to choose another specimen.
It is essential that it is a healthy fruit that it is not green or overripe and also observes that the fruit does not have black or gray spots, that its body does not have soft parts and that it is free of insects both on its rind and on its base or the crown.
Insects can easily go unnoticed; they are usually seen as simple grayish spots or dots on the surface of the fruit.
The cut
Once the fruit to be reproduced has been acquired, it is washed well and the crown is cut. The pineapple is placed horizontally, taking care to take the part of the fruit on one side and the crown on the other, and a clean cut is made with a sharp knife previously disinfected with alcohol.
It is important not to damage the crown in the process, since the next plant will come out of it.
The part of the fruit with its peel is reserved for consumption or you can take advantage of the moment to peel and chop if you intend to consume it in the next few days. Practically the part that is usually discarded is the one used to generate the pineapple plant.
Cut and clean the crown, it should be left to rest and dry for a day. Then we proceed to clean the crown of any remaining pulp or flesh, because it can rot and ruin the plant.
From that moment on, it is no longer considered a pineapple crown but rather a cutting, which must look healthy, yellowish green and fresh.
In water
Take the plastic bottle and fill it with water. The bottle or container should be if not very large then wide enough to contain the leaves inside but small enough to be supported and the leaves do not submerge in the water.
The part of the cutting that has the stem is placed inside it. If necessary, a few leaves can be removed from the bottom to uncover the stem, which must remain submerged.
If necessary, you can stick some crises-crossed toothpicks into the leaves to create a support to help them stay on the edge of the plastic container and prevent them from submerging. If they stand alone, it is better not to do it so the plant is not damaged.
Once the cutting is watered, it should be placed in a dry and cool space that receives sunlight, preferably on a balcony or window, until it loosens its roots.
It is important not to expose it to extreme temperatures, neither cold nor too hot, so although in temperate climates this process can be carried out at any time of the year, the ideal is spring due to the solar rays that feed the plant at this time of the process.
The water should be changed every two or three days to prevent it from stagnating and rotting the stem or creating mold and mildew. The plant usually takes between two and three weeks to generate roots strong enough to be planted in the ground, which should be long and white like filaments and can be easily seen through the plastic container.
Planting
The pot is prepared with soil for the garden, preferably with thirty to forty percent organic matter and some stones or sand at the bottom, to facilitate drainage.
The already rooted cutting is placed on it and the soil is pressed around the base of the stem, taking care not to cover the leaves. It is very important that the roots are big enough to take hold of the soil, if we plant before time the plant will not prosper.
Once the cutting is placed in the ground, it should be watered lightly so that it remains moist, but not flooded, since the roots of the pineapple are very sensitive to excess water and have a tendency to rot.
Same case with its leaves that should be wet as little as possible to avoid fungus and mold.
Location
The plant should be placed in the same way as the bottle with water was placed, in a dry and cool space that receives sunlight, preferably on a balcony or window, or it can be placed in the garden making sure that it receives sunlight. Constantly and do not suffer from temperatures below twelve degrees Celsius.
Tips for planting pineapple
Pineapple is a plant that once its roots are strong does not require much care, it is necessary to ensure that it is kept at a warm and cool temperature, receives plenty of sunlight and is safe from fungi and pests.
After a few months, new leaves will be visible. After a year, it may be necessary to move it to a larger pot.
Irrigation
The pineapple plant requires little watering, two to three times a week in summer and once a week in winter.
Harvest
The hardest part of growing a pineapple is the waiting. Two years will pass before the plant produces its fruit to be consumed; however the wait is worth it.
Once harvested, the process can be repeated to have a new pineapple plant.
The pineapple can be planted from the seed; however this process is extremely rare due to its slowness and the practicality of planting from the crown of another pineapple.
