Catching Up with the Pineapples

Now that I'm on a roll with the pineapple scene, I have a strong desire to get more of my pineapple tops into the ground. Last week as an incentive to pull weeds, I had laid down rather ugly looking layers of cardboard in my hugelpits....thus resulting in an urge to cover it up, therefore = weed pulling to gather mulch material. So along somewhat this same line of reasoning, to help kickstart myself with planting my accumulated pineapple tops, I took one of the rattier looking panfuls of tops and set them beside my entry steps, right where I'd have to look at them a dozen times a day. Finally that did the trick. Today I got 21 tops planted. Yahoo! 

The pineapple tops have been sitting in water for several weeks just waiting to get into the ground. So they are a little sad looking. But a sharp pair of scissors removes all the brown lead tips making them look a whole lot better. I remove the lower leaves, revealing the stem/stalk. This just makes it easier for the roots to form and expand out. 

Of the 21 tops I got planted today, I think 19 should make it. 2 looked in worse shape than the others. My own fault for letting them sit around too long. I still have another group to plant and hope to get to them tomorrow, if it doesn't rain too bad. Not that I can't work in the rain, but it's not as enjoyable for sure. 

Why am I planting so many pineapple tops? First, because I have them. Second, because I'm now on a mission to grow pineapples. While they are quite sellable, I also want to supply a local jam maker with fresh pineapples. He has come up with a recipe for pina colada jam that is to die for. His only problem is that he doesn't have very many pineapple plants himself. So I intend to supply him with plenty of them in exchange for jam.