Pineapples are a tropical fruit but with a bit of work you can even grow them here in temperate Sydney with the right microclimate. The easiest way to do this is to buy a complete pineapple (that is to say, without the green top bit removed as is so often the fashion these days) from your local organic shop or fruit & veg merchant. Make sure the green top bit (technical term) is complete and not damaged.
Then follow these steps –
- Cut down into the pineapple making two diagonal cuts under the green top bit, taking about 2 – 2.5 cm of fruit, so it can be removed from the pineapple.
- Leave it to air dry for a couple of days.
- Get hold of some potting mix (standard potting mix is OK or use my 1 part sand, 2 parts compost or worm casting, 3 parts cocopeat formulation) and a clay pot big enough to take the circumference of the fruit attached to the green top bit. Add a pinch of iron sulphate or iron chelate into the potting mix before planting.
- Plant it into the potting mix filled pot and then cover with a plastic bag, with some ventilation holes punched into it. This will keep the humidity high and keep the plant hydrated until it can grow some roots.
- Place the pot in a well-lit spot, but not in direct sunlight.
- Pineapples can absorb water and nutrients through their leaves, so watering with weak liquid manure solution every week or two is worthwhile.
- Roots should develop in 6 – 8 weeks at which point the plastic bag can be removed.
- Leave the plant in a well-lit spot and regularly spray the leaves to water and feed it. Add some more iron sulphate or chelate to the soil when the plant is starting to flower.
- Commercially pineapples can take 1.5 to 2.5 years to crop, so don’t get too impatient because in the less-than-ideal conditions of a backyard it may take even longer. Ripening fruit in proximity to the plant (eg apples or bananas) will emit ethylene which may stimulate the pineapple to flower.
- When the plant is flowering, move into a sunny position to assist the fruit in developing.
