Continuing with the kitchen garden tips, with which you can stop buying so many vegetables in the market and instead grow them yourself from leftovers, this is one of the fruits that, with patience, you can have growing at home. In addition, you will be helping so that there is not so much food waste on Earth, which is a deep problem of modernity.
Before we begin, this is a brief account of the properties of pineapple: it is naturally diuretic and cleansing, it helps to eliminate toxins that accumulate in the body and also prevents constipation due to the large amount of fiber it provides. Activates metabolism and fat removal. It is rich in vitamin C, B1, B6, folic acid and potassium. Helps eliminate intestinal parasites and improves digestion. It is, in a few words, one of the freshest and healthiest fruits that exist.
1. How to grow a pineapple straight from the crown:
Go to your local market and buy a pineapple that looks healthy, firm, has green leaves (not yellow or brown) and a golden brown skin (not too green). If you can buy an organic pineapple, much better. So your plant will be organic of origin. Inspect the base of the leaves and look for small gray dots that are insects. If you find them, discard the crown and select another that does not have insects.
Hold the entire crown of leaves in your hand. Twist it vigorously and it will pull a bit of the stem out of the fruit. If you cut it with a knife you will have to remove all the excess fruit, otherwise it will rot and can kill the whole plant. Remove all the skin that has remained attached to the leaves. Now carefully slice off small horizontal sections from the base of the crown until root buds appear as small dots or circles on the flat base (see photo below). Try not to slice too much tissue to avoid cutting into the young stem tissue.
Now, peel off some of the bottom leaves to expose about an inch from the base of the crown (the stem will root but the leaves will rot). After this, let the crown dry for a couple of days before moving on to the next step.
Place the crown in a glass of fresh water and change the water every two days. Keep the wreath away from extreme temperatures. In three weeks you will see strong roots and you will be ready to plant the crown.
Once the roots appear, plant the pineapple in a pot with very good drainage and potting soil (it can be bromeliad soil combined with cactus soil mixed with a little bit of Styrofoam). An eight-inch terracotta pot is perfect. Place a stone two inches down into the soil. Finally, plant the crown and water it deeply before placing it by a window or any sunny spot.
The earth must always be moist; not wet (which will encourage rot). It will take six to eight weeks for the trunk to really start putting down strong roots. Do not fertilize at this point.
After a couple of months, the pineapple should support itself as a new plant. If it does not, replace the crown with another in the same condition. The original leaves of the pineapple will begin to drop as they are replaced by new ones. During this period the pineapple should not be watered more than once a week.
After a year, transplant the pineapple (always place rocks all the way down to allow for drainage). If you have a chance to move them outdoors in the spring, they will grow much better. The plant will only stop growing in the winter months.
Remember that once it is a plant, it will need at least 6 hours of sun a day in warm months, and be inside your house in cold months.
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