Aloha my friends!

The feeling of Hawaii is still within me and I’m doing my best to make it real.

I have a pineapple crown set in a dish of water on my kitchen counter. I don’t know if it will grow but I am giving it lots of attention and a bit of fresh water every day.

I had a real education in pineapples recently.

I didn’t just buy a pineapple at the Foodland in Maui. The local pineapple had a brochure attached, to teach me more.

It’s called Maui Gold®. This is a special pineapple that has 3 times the vitamin C of other pineapples. It’s also much sweeter than regular pineapple; these pineapples don’t bite back.

Back home, my local Safeway gave me a happy surprise; Maui Gold® pineapples, picked ripe and flown in from Maui. I picked up a few as gifts, and of course I had to bring one home.

It had the same brochure on it.

One part told about growing pineapples from the crown. I had to try it.

The instructions were on the brochure. It was like a little encyclopedia of pineapple.

Following the directions, I twisted off the crown, and pulled off the lower leaves to expose an inch or so of base. It seemed odd, but they said to let it dry on the counter for two or three days. I did. Then I stood it up in a dish with 1 1/2″ of water, per the directions.

Now we’ll see if it grows roots, and then if I can successfully get it to grow in a pot. We don’t have iron-rich volcanic soil, warm Hawaiian sun, and humid, gentle air. I’ve never seen a pineapple grow in Mountain View, but what the heck. I grew a sweet potato vine in water, maybe a pineapple plant will start, too.

I learned that color that either green or golden color may both be ripe. And, did you know that they don’t continue to ripen, once picked?

How do you pick a pineapple for ripeness? Do you squeeze it or smell it? It’s not a very friendly shell to squeeze.

Come on back for a visit and I’ll let you know how the pineapple grows!

Aloha, Dana