Gardening is a favourite hobby of mine. Working with plant-life and the soil removes one from the stresses of technology and daily pressures. It's a great way to find a few moments of escape and relaxation. I've been raising and propagating plants for nearly 18 years as a hobby. I just like to experiment to see if I can do it. Take a look at the pineapple story for example.
My newest "experiments" are three dwarfed apple trees (about
4-5 feet) that I planted from seed: one Golden Delicious and two Granny
Smith. One of the trees is bearing fruit (they are 6 years old as of June
'96). I kinda blew it though, I didn't identify the trees so I don't know
which is which. Guess I'll figure it out when the fruit matures. In addition,
I have 14 Gala apple trees that I've started from seed in May '96. We love
Gala apples but they're too darned expensive in the stores. If you've never
had a Gala apple you ought to at least try one. If anyone could Irises
One of my most interesting and fun experiments was the growing of a pineapple. I cut the crown off of a store bought pineapple (leave about 1" of fruit directly under the crown) and simply planted it into a pot of mixed potting soil. As the crown grew larger, I transplanted it into larger pots, eventually ending with a large, 12-inch wide by 14 inch deep plastic nursery pot. The pineapple took off! after about three years, the plant producing three pineapples, one of which broke off before maturity, and I removed the other to permit more energy to go into the third fruit. The remaining pineapple grew into a 5" round ball shape and had very tasty fruit. I read a book that said pineapple plants are very easy to grow, and if your lucky, about 2 to 3 years after you plant it you will get some fruit. I guess I was lucky!
October 5, 1997
Well, I did it again. Another pineapple grew from the same plant the produced the first one two years prior. This time, I allowed the fruit to ripen until virtually all of the nodules were yellow. The fruit was approximately 4" to 4.5" in diameter and about 6" tall. The fruit was very tender and ohhh so sweet. I think I'm going to put the plant into the ground and see if it will produce larger fruit...
Pineapple grown in Arroyo Grande, CA.
(Eaten on 10/5/97 - Mmmmmm)
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