A week ago, the latest pineapple was almost ready for harvesting. It needed a few more days to go, but hubby was worried that the garden squirrels would get to it. So he quickly harvested the fruit. However, we had to let it sit in the kitchen to fully ripen before eating it.
The trick to ensure the fruit ripens well is to hang it upside down and let gravity do the job to aid the process. So far, it is going very well. As each day passed, I could smell the fragrance of the pineapple whenever I walked past the cabinet where we hung the pineapple. Mmm, so wonderful!
See the string?
In a day or two, we should be able to savor the aromatic pineapple harvested from our garden. Lovely.
Every morning, when I look out my kitchen window, I see the pineapple in the garden growing beautifully. It crosses my mind daily, will we get to savor the fruit this time? The garden squirrel got to the last ripened fruit before us, eating it until the core.
Well, horrors of all horrors, history has repeated itself! The heavy pineapple somehow fell to the ground despite being propped up with a stick. And the garden squirrel started on it as the wire mesh fell off, devouring about a third of the fruit before being discovered. Hrmph.
The mesh, the fruit and the fruitless plant
We have decided not to plant pineapples anymore after this latest mishap. They take too long even though we don’t have to care for the growth constantly. And when it comes time to harvest, the garden squirrels are a tad too fast for us. Sigh.
Our fig plants are growing well. Yesterday, hubby saw one fruit ripening on the tree, and he thought it would be ready for us to eat the next day. But guess what? Those darn garden critters got to it before us! Argh.
The fig must be really good, almost gone!
Remember when we had that pineapple that ripened, and the garden squirrel helped itself to it, standing precariously in between the blades of the pineapple plant? Double ugh.
We have to be more vigilant when it comes to our precious fruits in the garden. If we see one ripened, we’d better wrap it, protect it or do whatever to prevent those darn critters from eating them before us.
So the mini pineapple was left on the kitchen counter to ripen, and it did. It took a few days for this process, and during this time, we could smell its fragrance in the kitchen. What a lovely smell! We were looking forward to savoring it.
The mini pineapple
When we finally cut it, it was not as sweet, unfortunately. A day or two more on the stem would have been better. But it was weakened by the excessive rain and water – we had to harvest it. Otherwise, the squirrels would get to it before us. Oh well. Let’s hope the next pineapple will survive the wet weather.
Whenever it rains, the garden suffers. It will flood because the water is too much for the drainage to handle. Some plants survive, but some suffer too, like the pineapple.
Occasionally we suffer too when the frogs come out! They will croak throughout the night, causing sleeplessness as their choir ensemble is too loud. Sigh.
The weather has been wonky the past few months. On days when it’s not supposed to rain, it pours. And when we expect rain, there isn’t any, and it’s so hot.
The pineapple tree in the pot had some hot sun at the beginning of the year. But during one stretch, it rained a lot, so hubby moved the pineapple to a warmer spot in the garden. And the weather changed again, raining cats and dogs!
So much so that it affected the stability of the fruit, weakening the stem of the pineapple tree. We had no choice but to harvest the fruit, small as it was, instead of letting it go to waste. Despite its size, the fruit still has a chance to ripen, and we may still get to enjoy it. Fingers crossed.
The preparations to usher in the Lunar New Year are almost complete! We finally put up the red cloth for the entrance this morning. And we got it right this time, having measured the hanging points and having two ladders to put up both sides in one go.
I had a pleasant surprise this morning when I was in the garden. There was a new pineapple fruit growing! How fortunate as a pineapple signifies prosperity and its timely growth is symbolic of welcoming the Year of the Tiger on a good note!
With two days left to the Reunion Dinner, I’d like to take this opportunity to wish all travelers a safe journey, and to everyone, a happy and prosperous Lunar New Year!
Hubby decided to transfer the growing mini brinjals from the planter box to the garden. And the best place is at the pineapple patch with lots of sun and breeze.
Pineapples take forever to grow, and thus, having vegetables in the premium spot makes more sense. He relocated several pineapples to other areas in the garden to make space for the mini brinjals.
A good mess
And now, the pineapple patch is a little messy with so many types of plants growing. It’s okay to be unorganized when you know the yield will be a good one to savor.
Our doing something during this lockdown is the daily baking and cooking; throw in the daily efforts on the DIY project and chipping in the garden is not sufficient to pass the time. And we don’t sweat enough but end up eating more instead because of all the food efforts.
We decided to work on the garden again, focusing on the area at the side of the house. The plan is to convert a tiny plot to become a vegetable patch.
But before we could sit down to work out the idea, we jumped ahead and made another area into a pineapple patch!
Our pineapple patch!
Hubby relocated all the pineapples to one plot instead of being in pots and scattered around the garden. I think they look good being there. Furthermore, the plot is easier to protect from the squirrels. Remember that one time, the rascal of the squirrel ate our pineapple right in front of our eyes?
We look forward to the day the pineapples are ready to be harvested for our consumption.
After the recent pineapple theft right before our eyes by the garden squirrel, hubby took no chances with the latest pineapple as it is almost ripe and ready. He had put a wire mesh around the fruit as it grew to protect it from the squirrels. Of late, squirrels have been visiting us.
Last week, hubby set out a cage trap intended for a suspected rat intruder in the wet kitchen area, but a silly young squirrel fell for it instead. It wasn’t a big-sized squirrel, nor was it the scalded squirrel. He let it go because the furry critter did look rather cute but not our intention to trap it. Then several days later, two squirrels was simultaneously trapped! Two, I thought it was quite a feat.
I suspect the critters are coming around because there are fruits in the kitchen, and they can smell the enticing fragrance of ripe fruits. Thankfully, we are one step ahead of them this time, and our fruits are not compromised.
But with the whiff of the ripe fruits, we have to be careful, and since the current pineapple is almost ready, hubby decided to harvest it. I think it should be two or three days before we can savor this fruit of his labor.
And yesterday morning, the scalded squirrel had a brief encounter with me. It contemplated coming inside the house as we left the terrace door wide open. We had a short staring moment, and I won as I got up, causing it to scurry off.
Again out of pity, hubby left a piece of bread for the poor squirrel. I hope the birds will not eat it and continue pecking at their provided bird seeds. The things we do for our garden visitors.
Angieneering 
Remarks