Building the Perfect Pineapple

Pineapples have long been associated with the surfing lifestyle. Cultivated for ages in Hawaii, of course, and even since the late 1800's here in Brevard County, Florida by early Japanese settlers in the south part of the county- until a nasty freeze stopped that for a while. They are great to help digestion, and I've had pineapple on a dive boat after a dive to get rid of the saltwater taste- it works fantastic. I've also been feeling under the weather lately, so it's a great pick-me-up.
Now, I'm no gardener, and I don't have a big yard by any means, but I have learned how to take a store bought pineapple and plant the top to make a new one, even in a small space. Here's how.
First, start off with a whole pineapple- either one store bought or from a garden. Try not to steal one out of somebody else's- they take two years to grow sometimes, and karma can suck.

Tasty.

Chop off the top part of the pineapple, not too close to the green, leaving a bit of the gold meat on:

 

Take the gold part in one hand and the green top in the other and twist the bottom away, getting as much of the gold meat off of the green top as possible. Peel away the bottom leaves of the green top to expose the stubby roots:

Place the top into a jar of water with the roots covered:

Here's a top after one week of soaking in water that's been changed out daily indoors- you can see the roots really beginning to show:

Once the roots are prominent like this, it's ready to plant in soil. I usually overkill a bit on the pot size just because pineapples are tricky to transfer after the fact. I plant it up to the first leaves on the bottom, making sure the top is firmly in the soil.

Planted!

Now, it's a wait, but homegrown pineapples are the best. Keep it well watered and in good sun. When it does get near ripened and begins to smell like a pineapple, make a small cage around it from chicken wire to keep the raccoons off or they will peel the fruit right off, trust me.
Enjoy!