Topic: Totally tropical taste!

[Mrs Ava]

Not a picture of my garden or my lottie!  

Look what I managed to grow in my conservatory!


This was taken at the start of September, it had taken 8 or 9 weeks to get to this size!


And here it is mid October.  We could no longer resist the temptation, so we cut it and scoffed it!  I have never tasted pineapple like it - you could have just made a hole in the top, stuck a straw in and had the most divine drink ever!

The plant was grown from the top from another pineapple about 2 years ago.  I didn't do anything special to encourage it to set fruit, it did it all on its own!  Bananas are my next challenge!

[campanula]

stunned and amazed!

[tim]

- what a wonderful achievement - most of us can't grow a begonia!

And the homegrown t-a-s-t-e-! (of success) - Tim

[clare]

:o  :o wow EJ! that looks fab!

so, you grew it from the top of another pineapple?  what did you do with it ... just plant it?  I really want to give this a go!

We've got 2 banana plants.... they are supposed to produce bananas but I'm not convinced!  Only had them for a year though so there's time for me to be surprised!

[Mrs Ava]

Hiya Clare.  Yup, bought a regular supermarket pineapple, but instead of cutting the top off, I twist it off, hard to do but you are then left with a kind of core at the base.  Next, leave it somewhere coolish, but not the fridge, for a couple of days to dry a bit, then peel of a couple of rounds of the bottom leaves.  You should see baby roots around the base.  Then twist it into a pot of compost.  Depending on the size, you may need a couple of wee canes to hold it upright until the roots support it, water when dry, and heypresto!  I have about 8 or 9 growing now, they are so easy, but some grow one MASSIVE plant, like the one that just fruited, and some shoot out baby pineapple plants, which half of my other plants have done.  I have heard once they are 2 years old you can encourage them to fruit by stressing them for a couple of weeks - light and water deprevation really, but as I said, I didn't do anything, just let good old mother nature do her thing!

Now bananas are another story.  They need gallons and gallons of water and feed.  If they  are stressed due to lack of either, they will not fruit.  The banana plant is actually a herb!  

;D my conservatory is begining to resemble a jungle!  I shall have to bore you all rigid and take some pics!  ;D

[busy_lizzie]

EmmaJane, That looks incredible!  You must have green fingers or something special, to have produced something so luscious.  Green with envy!  busy_lizzie :D

[Mrs Ava]

gee thanks you guys...I'm blushing!

[Hot_Potato]

E.J.     ::)THAT is just amazing ::)......well done you....H.P.