Popular Post Tweaked Posted June 4, 2013 Popular Post Share Posted June 4, 2013 Three years ago, I lopped off the top of a grocery store pineapple, trimmed off the remaining fruit and stuck the spiny top into a glass of water. Several weeks later roots sprouted, so I planted the thing to see what would happen. Now I am fortunate to live in a big old DC apartment building with a lovely sunroom. We are above the tree line so even though it is Northeast facing we receive abundant sunlight. In fact we joke that the growing climate in the sunroom is such that it is several growing zones south of DC. We can't grow herbs to save our lives, but citrus no problem. The pineapple took right away. Soon new spiny growth was shooting up. Soon we had spines that were 3-4 feet long. It was almost becoming a health hazard...watch out for your eyes when watering, you might get poked. Fast forward three years to January 2013. I was watering the pineapple plant one morning and saw the most curious thing... Why I think we have a baby pineapple! And the baby pineapple grew and grew... By March we had what was looking like a real pineapple... This past weekend it was time to harvest. So what does an a DC apartment grown pineapple taste like? The best damn pineapple ever. Super fragrant, a long lush pineapple flavor that washes over your tongue. None of that harsh acid one gets with an unripe supermarket pineapple. I suppose like most fruits and vegetable, one that is grown on plant and harvested at full ripeness just tastes better than one that has been picked early and shipped across the country. So now we are starting again. Maybe in three years we will have another pineapple to enjoy. 17 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lperry Posted June 4, 2013 Share Posted June 4, 2013 Wow! It's beautiful! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monavano Posted June 4, 2013 Share Posted June 4, 2013 Who knew?! I thought you were going to write about growing a pineapple tree. I adore pineapple. It's our favorite fruit. I might have to give this a try. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LauraB Posted June 4, 2013 Share Posted June 4, 2013 Thanks for posting this. What a sweet story. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lekkerwijn Posted June 4, 2013 Share Posted June 4, 2013 You cloned a pineapple. Love it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barbara Posted June 6, 2013 Share Posted June 6, 2013 I traded an apartment that got a lot of afternoon sun for another on the other side of the building that has a patio and gets morning/early afternoon sun. I couldn't do what you did--I can only grow shade-loving plants indoors. On the other hand, I congratulate you for your patience. It's amazing what us inner-city apartment dwellers can accommodate. Remind me to explain in great detail about my failure to grow a fig. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KMango Posted June 9, 2013 Share Posted June 9, 2013 I loved this story and the photos! And now for the next 15 projects: 16 Foods That Will Grow From Kitchen Scraps Your sunroom sounds like an Eden of an incubator. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sundae in the Park Posted June 9, 2013 Share Posted June 9, 2013 Thanks for the story; it made us smile What fun! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tweaked Posted June 10, 2013 Author Share Posted June 10, 2013 Other things we have had success growing in our sunroom (although none of these have produced any fruit). Mostly all grown from pits and/or obtained at the grocery store: Mango Avocado (although after growing it for a couple years it did freak out and suddenly die...not sure why) Grapefruit Meyer Lemon (From a tree in Calif.) Olive tree (Again grew for several years and then freaked out and died) Cycad Amaryllis Something that looks like pampas grass Basil Haven't had any luck growing: All stone fruits (plums, peaches etc.) Apples/Pears Papaya Lavender All attempts at another olive tree All other herbs (mint, cilantro, thyme, rosemary) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darkstar965 Posted January 25, 2015 Share Posted January 25, 2015 Three years ago, I lopped off the top of a grocery store pineapple, trimmed off the remaining fruit and stuck the spiny top into a glass of water. Several weeks later roots sprouted, so I planted the thing to see what would happen. Fast forward three years to January 2013. I was watering the pineapple plant one morning and saw the most curious thing... This past weekend it was time to harvest. fibopicked2.jpeg fibocubedDR.jpeg So what does an a DC apartment grown pineapple taste like? The best damn pineapple ever. Super fragrant, a long lush pineapple flavor that washes over your tongue. None of that harsh acid one gets with an unripe supermarket pineapple. I suppose like most fruits and vegetable, one that is grown on plant and harvested at full ripeness just tastes better than one that has been picked early and shipped across the country. I just recently discovered the "most liked" content button at lower right on the dr.com home page.  Well, discovered isn't really the word since I've known it was there but just hadn't ever clicked on it.  Some really great stuff there and Poivrot Farci's homage to Frank Ruta deserves it's #1 ranking. But, as I scrolled down, I came to your post about this pineapple. Think it was 6th or 7th most liked--still very impressive. Somehow, I'd missed this.  I took some time off from dr.com but that was more 2014 than 2013. Still, missed this for some reason. LOVED IT.  There's something bigger and better about this post than the specific story.  It's a metaphor linkable to so many things. Renewal.  Tenacity.  Patience.  Serendipity. Surprise. Happiness. Accomplishment.  Hope. All great things. And perfect for a New Year. Thank you. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tweaked Posted January 25, 2015 Author Share Posted January 25, 2015 We planted the top from the pineapple (we named it Fibonacci) we harvested and it also took. Hoping to grow the next generation, or Fibonacci Jr. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MsDiPesto Posted February 6, 2015 Share Posted February 6, 2015 I'm amazed by the color of your home-grown pineapple! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tweaked Posted February 6, 2015 Author Share Posted February 6, 2015 It makes you realize how under ripe supermarket pineapples really are. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now