Lockdown restrictions just got tighter, and booze is banned again. With everyone flocking to the stores to buy pineapples and ginger to make their own homemade brews, you might be wondering: how can I start to farm with pineapples?
We already covered how to grow your own ginger, now pineapples might be next on your mind. But, be warned, while everybody can grow ginger at home, pineapples are in a different league. If you are looking into diversifying and becoming a small-holder pineapple farmer, then this is the guide for you.
Recipes: Lockdown home brews are here again, but be safe!
First, look at your climate
Casper Badenhorst, 2005’s Farmer of the Year, farms with Queen pineapples on his farm, Badenhorst Boerdery, in Hluhluwe, KwaZulu-Natal. He says that Hluhluwe is a popular place to farm with pineapples, as 95% of South Africa’s Queen pinapples are grown there.
If you can’t suddenly move your farm to Hluhluwe, you’re in luck if you are situated in northern KwaZulu-Natal, Eastern Cape, or sections of Northern Cape. These are the main areas where pineapples can be produced in South Africa. Otherwise, just make sure you are in a warm climate.
“You can’t grow pineapples where it goes below 10 degrees Celsius,” says Badenhorst.
Then, consider the space you have available
“You need a fairly large space,” Badenhorst says. In order for your pineapple farm to be economically feasible, you need at least one hectare of space.
Badenhorst recalls that the economic unit for large-scale pineapple farms (the amount of hectares planted to make a worthwhile profit) used to be just 20 hectares, but has since moved up to between 40 and 100 hectares.
Lastly, you’re going to need some start-up finance
“The full cost associated with planting one hectare of Queen pineapples is R175 000,” Badenhorst estimates.
That is taking into account soil and land preparation, planting of the pineapple crop, labour, fertiliser and water.
This isn’t exactly the easiest crop to tackle if you want to start farming, but with the rise in popularity for pineapples new farmers might want to take on the challenge! And to those we say, good luck, and happy planting.
- Don’t exactly feel like farming with pineapples, but want to have fun growing one at home? Check out this video on how to grow your own pineapple from the top of a store brought one at home!
