For Kelly
At my Mother’s memorial service, among other things, Kate spoke about Mother’s love of nature and how she was constantly planting any seeds which fell into her hands – from the pit of an avocado that was served for lunch to the seeds from a bell pepper which was used for a sofrito! My yard is filled with Mother’s green thumb, a true blessing. Shortly thereafter, Kelly posted, on facebook, a series of pictures regarding how easy it is to grow a pineapple, and commented that when she saw the photos, they reminded her of Stella. Like so many people who I have neglected this year, Kelly’s post deeply touched me; though I was unable to properly comment on how very sweet her words were and how much I appreciated not only her kind thoughts, but how gracious she was with Mother every Sunday night – thank you Kelly.
Part of my reaction to Kelly’s post was based on this little guy, which greeted me when we came back to Florida. He had been planted long before we left, and somehow managed to survive for six months, without a drop of water, from the sprinklers – a little miracle – though they do not need a great deal of water.
Pineapples are the most well-known members of the family of bromeliads. Though it can take almost two years before they flower and another six months before the fruit can be harvested, they are easy to grow and delicious to eat!
Like all bromeliad’s, pineapples can successfully be grown in containers, they do require bright light. If you would like to grow your own, simply cut the top off of a store bought pineapple, let it dry out for a few days, and then plant it in well-drained soil. It will not have an expansive root system, instead it feeds and waters itself through its leaves – if you are growing it as a house plant, at least once a week, water the rosette (the center of the top of the plant). Keep a little bit of water in the center, and your pineapple will happily grow.
Wait until it turns yellow to harvest it, as it will not ripen once it is cut away from the plant; and like sweet corn or fresh tomatoes, eat it the day you pick it!
This pineapple plant was planted with Mother, and I am so very sorry to not be able to have eaten it with her; it was the sweetest, most delightful pineapple I have ever eaten. Yes, once it was harvested, I cut off the top and planted it – Kelly, you and I will eat the next one together!
