Resident gardening experiment a success

LIFE IN LEISURE WORLD

by Emma DiMaggio

Communications Manager

Mutual 9 resident Elaine Miller is reaping the benefits of her latest gardening experiment. About this time last year, she had just finished cutting up a pineapple and was left with the stiff, spikey crown usually destined for the trash bin. She recalled an article that suggested this leftover piece could be used to grow one’s own pineapple.

Instead of tossing it in the bin, she soaked it in water for several days and then transferred it to a large pot. She described the growth process as follows: “nothing, nothing, nothing, and then suddenly, a little something came up.”

After a few months the plant developed a dense, splayed-out crown of its own. Two months ago, a sturdy stalk shot up—and atop it, to Elaine’s surprise, a miniature pineapple!

It can take 1.5-2.5 years to grow a harvestable pineapple from the top of a store-bought fruit, but the long growth cycle doesn’t bother Elaine. “It’s fun to experiment,” she said.

If all goes as planned, Elaine and her husband, Ralph, will be enjoying homegrown pineapple in no time.

Elaine Miller