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but were afraid to ask.... (I have a friend on another board who used to live in Hawaii, and she is quite well educated about pineapples. Just thought I'd share her knowledge.)
Part 1 of 3
People wonder why pineapples are so pricey.... It takes 18 months for a pineapple plant to go from planting until it yields its first fruit... Each plant is quite large - - so it is not 'economical' because it uses a goodly amount of land for two or three individual fruits.... And it takes a lot of time and sunshine to make the fruit as luscious as possible...
Pineapples are in the bromeliad family - - the variety that is most grown for consumption is the Cayenne variety.... The plants grow in lots of places, but when most folks think 'pineapple', they also think 'Hawaii'....... There is only one active cannery in the Islands now - - and Maui Pine has just been sold out, so there might not be any canned fruit coming from the Islands any more - - however, there are still fields devoted to the plants on Oahu and Maui..... There are also Boutique farms trying new varieties - - there are also 'tourist trap' gardens that are open to the public where you can still see sugar and pineapple growing - - once the mainstay of the Hawaiian economy - - kind of sad - - I can't help but thinking of the song "Paved Paradise and put up a parking lot" - - I know that isn't the name, but it WAS written about Hawaii years ago......
Pineapples grow from the prepared tops of picked fruit - - I will explain later on how that happens..... The fields are prepared and tilled into long strips of 'hills' which are then covered with biodegradable plastic sheets with 'pukas' (holes) in them to plant the tops.... They are planted by hand - - a good planter can plant about 1200 plants in an 8 hour day - - the record is 36,000 in one day done by a Filipino planter - - he had some help, though - - people handing him the tops and making sure that everything was perfect for planting.... The plastic keeps weeds from growing - - and it will eventually plowed back into the soil after the plants are 'done' - - in 3 or 4 years...... The plants grow so thickly together that after a while, weeds don't have a chance!!!
After 18 months, the plants yield their first fruits.... You cannot tell by looking at a fruit whether it is ripe or not... Sample fruits are picked and are taken to a Lab for testing.... The ripe fruits can be green, brown or golden yellow... Samples are put on the picking arms for the pickers to compare - - 3 or 4 passes are necessary to glean all of the ripe fruits, and picking is a horrible job.... There are long arms with conveyor belts that reach over the plants... The pickers look like they are armed for battle with leather chaps, arm protectors and gloves to protect them from the knifeblade leaves of the plants and to protect them from centipedes.... Of course, they wear the big straw hats, too..... They cut the fruits from the plants with a machete and toss them onto the belts.... They are loaded onto trucks and taken to be processed......
The plants are left to grow the next crop (the first 'ratoon' crop' which takes 9 months to a year.... These fruits are a bit smaller and are usually processed into canned or juice..... A field might be allowed to bear the 2nd ratoon crop, 9 to 12 months later, which are the smallest and sweetest - - we call the 'Sugar Pines' and they are the ones that locals raid the fields for.... They are sooooooooooo goood.....
After the third harvest happens, the plants are cut off at the base by a large machine and are allowed to dry out in the sun - - they are then chopped up and are plowed into the ground - - - and the field 'rests' for about 6 months...
Part 1 of 3
People wonder why pineapples are so pricey.... It takes 18 months for a pineapple plant to go from planting until it yields its first fruit... Each plant is quite large - - so it is not 'economical' because it uses a goodly amount of land for two or three individual fruits.... And it takes a lot of time and sunshine to make the fruit as luscious as possible...
Pineapples are in the bromeliad family - - the variety that is most grown for consumption is the Cayenne variety.... The plants grow in lots of places, but when most folks think 'pineapple', they also think 'Hawaii'....... There is only one active cannery in the Islands now - - and Maui Pine has just been sold out, so there might not be any canned fruit coming from the Islands any more - - however, there are still fields devoted to the plants on Oahu and Maui..... There are also Boutique farms trying new varieties - - there are also 'tourist trap' gardens that are open to the public where you can still see sugar and pineapple growing - - once the mainstay of the Hawaiian economy - - kind of sad - - I can't help but thinking of the song "Paved Paradise and put up a parking lot" - - I know that isn't the name, but it WAS written about Hawaii years ago......
Pineapples grow from the prepared tops of picked fruit - - I will explain later on how that happens..... The fields are prepared and tilled into long strips of 'hills' which are then covered with biodegradable plastic sheets with 'pukas' (holes) in them to plant the tops.... They are planted by hand - - a good planter can plant about 1200 plants in an 8 hour day - - the record is 36,000 in one day done by a Filipino planter - - he had some help, though - - people handing him the tops and making sure that everything was perfect for planting.... The plastic keeps weeds from growing - - and it will eventually plowed back into the soil after the plants are 'done' - - in 3 or 4 years...... The plants grow so thickly together that after a while, weeds don't have a chance!!!
After 18 months, the plants yield their first fruits.... You cannot tell by looking at a fruit whether it is ripe or not... Sample fruits are picked and are taken to a Lab for testing.... The ripe fruits can be green, brown or golden yellow... Samples are put on the picking arms for the pickers to compare - - 3 or 4 passes are necessary to glean all of the ripe fruits, and picking is a horrible job.... There are long arms with conveyor belts that reach over the plants... The pickers look like they are armed for battle with leather chaps, arm protectors and gloves to protect them from the knifeblade leaves of the plants and to protect them from centipedes.... Of course, they wear the big straw hats, too..... They cut the fruits from the plants with a machete and toss them onto the belts.... They are loaded onto trucks and taken to be processed......
The plants are left to grow the next crop (the first 'ratoon' crop' which takes 9 months to a year.... These fruits are a bit smaller and are usually processed into canned or juice..... A field might be allowed to bear the 2nd ratoon crop, 9 to 12 months later, which are the smallest and sweetest - - we call the 'Sugar Pines' and they are the ones that locals raid the fields for.... They are sooooooooooo goood.....
After the third harvest happens, the plants are cut off at the base by a large machine and are allowed to dry out in the sun - - they are then chopped up and are plowed into the ground - - - and the field 'rests' for about 6 months...
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