This is my post for #freewriters 2816 prompt expectation hosted by @mariannewest
It has only been a couple of months since I moved my pineapple plants away from the irrigation system because we were having a lot of rain and the soil in the pots was holding too much water, causing the roots to rot.
Since moving them from the irrigation and putting new soil, I had the expectation that it would keep raining, it is supposed to be our rainy season. it has not rained but one short shower since I moved them and it was not enough to get the ground wet, now they are too dry. I have been watering them by hand, but with all of the other plants to care for, it is too much for me to keep up with.
I spent today moving them again. This time I put them where the irrigation can be shut off. There were three areca palms here, so I moved them so they can get daily water. This way I can water them all by turning on this sprinkler every four days, they should get the right amount of water now. I put 46 plants in this area, the others have pineapples on them so I will keep them inside our fenced in area.
I have a total of 61 pineapple plants in pots, there are more than that in plants because some pots have 5 or 6 big plants in them and some small new plants that I will be removing to put in their own pots. The pineapples you buy in stores are picked too green and have an acid taste to them. I do not pick mine until they turn all yellow, then I put them inside the house and turn them upside down for 3 days. This lets the sugar that had settled at the bottom flow through the fruit. You can not buy a pineapple that taste as sweet as home grown pineapples.
This one is a late bloomer. It will not be ripe until January or February.
I hope it will be another big one, the last time one got ripe in February it was close to 9 pounds and picked too soon because a storm broke it off the plant. It was a little tart because it did not ripen on the plant but it was still edible, like store bought pineapple. It also had multiple crowns, I can't remember, but I think I got 14 or 15 plants from its crown.
photos are mine