The yard's first pineapple of spring

[Martha]

Umm, pinneapple.

Is home grown pinneapple better than store bought? Like tomatoes are?

 

[sgeeeee]

Orange blossoms are in full bloom in Mesa today. That marks the tail end of the Naval season and the beginning of the Valencia season. The smell when all the cirtrus is in bloom is intoxicating. Peach blossoms will follow soon.

Naval oranges and peaches right off the tree are indeed much better than store bought, crated, trucked and displayed oranges at your grocery store.

No pineapples in our Mesa yard. I wonder if they would grow here. There is no freeze problem. Do you think flood irrigation every 13 days would keep pineapple plants happy?

 

[Nords]

Is home grown pinneapple better than store bought? Like tomatoes are?

Exactly.

I never knew what I was missing until we planted tomatoes, now I have the highest lycopene index on the island.

No pineapples in our Mesa yard.  I wonder if they would grow here.  There is no freeze problem.  Do you think flood irrigation every 13 days would keep pineapple plants happy?

Well, here's the reference that I use. You might be able to make it work, although they take up a lot of yard space for a long time...

We've hit critical mass this year-- four fruits so far and perhaps more on the way. Luckily they're not all ripening at the same microsecond like a bunch of bananas.

 

[Nords]

Four months and I think we're just about there. We'll probably harvest it next week.

I've been wondering what the new sprouts under the base of the fruit will do. I don't know if those are how the plant propagates or if it does something from its own roots.

Last week's project: the payapa crop. I'm already getting family complaints... just wait until they see what the mango trees have been doing.

Today's project: planting 20 tomato seedlings.

 

[Nords]

It was actually four-and-a-half months and topped out at seven inches.

I'll have to check with my FIL (he sprouted the original cutting) but I think this is a Maui Gold (not available from Thailand or the Philippines!).

 

[laurence]

Well? How did it taste? Worth the effort?

 

[Martha]

Mmmmm. Looks good.

What are payapas? They look dangerous.

 

[Nords]

Well? How did it taste? Worth the effort?

Yummy! The Maui Golds have a reputation for being sweeter with less acid, and that's how they taste. Spouse is still looking for her pineapple margarita recipe before we make a final determination.

My "effort" was taking the pictures. Our kid did the planting, the harvesting, the cutting, and the serving. Unlike tomatoes, which seem to stress if they go without water for more than two days, pineapple are happy when the sprinklers kick in every four-five days.

Kinda strange-- we usually don't bother with store-bought pineapple, but we're quite happy to eat it when it's lying there in the yard.

What are payapas?  They look dangerous.

Hawaiian canteloupe. You cut them in half, scoop out the seeds, and eat the rest. One tree feeds all a family of three can stand for a couple months. This one's only two years old and it'll produce an even bigger crop for the next two-three years before it quits.

Our kid thinks canteloupe & honeydew are strange & exotic fruits. She also thinks that blueberries & rasberries at $5 per pint box are a great deal. She can't even imagine what it's like to find blackberries growing in the back yard-- she's never eaten one-- but she can open up a coconut with a reciprocating saw in about 30 seconds.

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

It was actually four-and-a-half months and topped out at seven inches.

I wonder if you can do some kind of combination thing between a pineapple plant and some of that rabbit weener tissue to get larger, faster pineapples.

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

Anytime you want to enjoy the taste of conch, just save up the rubber bands they put on your newspaper, douse them with lime juice, and enjoy!

 

[Nords]

I wonder if you can do some kind of combination thing between a pineapple plant and some of that rabbit weener tissue to get larger, faster pineapples.

Chrome-plated, too...

 

[Martha]

Martha,

When you move to the Twin Ciities, you will have no problem finding Payapas and Mangos - I still have to go to the Bahamas to eat Conch though!

We can get Mangos here but they look pretty tired and are over-priced. Never heard of payapas before, only papayas. I take it they are not the same thing.

How do you pronouce conch anyway? I really like it but I am not quite sure how to say it.

 

[Cut-Throat]

We can get Mangos here but they look pretty tired and are over-priced. Never heard of payapas before, only papayas. I take it they are not the same thing.

How do you pronouce conch anyway? I really like it but I am not quite sure how to say it.

A speller I am not - Papaya or whatever. Conch is Conk! as in Conked on the head!

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

Chrome-plated, too...

Thats a little over the top...

 

[HFWR]

Steely Dan is not a person...

 

[Steely Dan]

Steely Dan is not a person... 

What am I?

 

[HFWR]

From Wikipedia:

Fagen and Becker decided to name the band "Steely Dan" after a steam-powered dildo in the William Burroughs novel "Naked Lunch", a nod to the two being avid readers of 1950's "Beat" literature. Fagen once explained, "We just wanted to give the band a little more thrust than most other bands."

 

[Nords]

What am I?   

I'd say you're SG in desperate need of a life...

 

[Steely Dan]

I'd say you're SG in desperate need of a life...

Very harsh. . . Is this a cry for help, Nords?

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

I'd say you're SG in desperate need of a life...

This is news?!?

 

[Steely Dan]

This is news?!?

If only you would cry for help, CFB. This is the first step you have to take before we can hope to improve your condition.

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

Ask for help from Steely Dan, who isnt even a real person? Now what would THAT indicate?

I'm hungry. Time for a trip to the leaning tower of pizza. I'd go by fed-ex, but its too expensive. And not part of my french benefits.

 

[calmloki]

Regarding Maui Gold Pineapples: Back this last summer i started a pineapple from the top of a Costco Maui Gold. It busily got to dying off, leaves started drying up, then it got cold, so i moved it indoors into the dark of an Oregon fall & winter. Followed that up with forgetting to water it off and on. Since i'm taking off for a week i was moving things around and found the poor plant - and it's put up a 6" new shoot! Amazing. Life wants to persist. In a mere couple years, assuming i take it to Hawaii for a visit for pollination, i should be in for some goood eatin! Nice pictures Nords!