H ow Pineapples are Grown on the East Coast 
of Florida 
R. L. Goodwin 
Mr. President, Ladies and Gentlemen : 
The varieties mostly grown are Red 
Spanish and Abbaka with a few Smooth 
Cayennes and Porto Rico and Queens. 
The Red Spanish are the most popu¬ 
lar variety on the market. 
The Abbakas and Smooth Cayennes 
will grow on soils unsuited for Red 
Spanish. 
The largest acreages of pines will be 
found at Oslo, Viking, St. Lucie, Fort 
Pierce, Eldred, Walton, Eden, Jensen, 
Ankona, Rio, Stuart, Delray, Boynton, 
Deerfield, Pompano, Little River and 
Miami, and at these points may be grown 
without frost protection though none of 
these fields have escaped frost damage at 
times. 
A few fields are protected from frost 
damage by slatted sheds which cost 
about $350 or $400 per acre but it is gen¬ 
erally considered more profitable to grow 
them in the open. 
The pineapple plant delights in a well 
drained soil and abhors a wet soil, thus 
the high sand ridge along the Indian 
river is particularly adapted for growing 
this fruit. 
The best land for pineapples in our sec¬ 
tion is covered with hickory scrub. 
The next best is covered with scrub 
oak or spruce pine or both. 
Uncleared land of this kind sells for 
about $100.00 per acre and very little 
available. 
All of the above varieties may be 
grown on flatwoods soil which may be 
bought at $25.00 per acre but on these 
low lands care must be used in selecting 
a location that will be free from cold or 
moist conditions. 
Rich hammocks may be selected for the 
fancy Abbaka or Smooth Cayenne va¬ 
rieties. 
There are fields near Fort Pierce that 
have borne 21 crops without replanting, 
but the average life of a field is about 15 
years when the old plants are removed 
and new ones planted. 
To clear the land, cut off the small 
growth level with the ground with a 
brush ax or machette then grub the land 
to a depth of about 10 inches with a 
grub hoe, throwing the roots to the top 
of the ground where all trash that would 
interfere with cultivation may be raked 
up and burned. 
To clear land and put in pineapple 
shape will cost from $7.00 to $150.00 per 
acre according to the heaviness of growth 
on it. 
Flat woods pine land, or prairie may 
be cleared at much less expense. 
After raking, mark off the land with 
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