People usually associate pineapples with Hawaii...not Bermuda.

Growing pineapples in Bermuda was unheard of several years ago, but now it is catching on and several locals have become quite expert at growing the delicious fruit in pots around their homes.

Stuart Minors is one such Bermudian.

His yard is full of pineapple plants in pots and he enjoys spending his free time tending to his plants.

This may not be the weather that pineapples thrive in, but on a recent visit to his home Royal Gazette reporter Lawrence Trott and photographer Tony Cordeiro found something unexpected, two ripe pineapples and many others still growing.

Mr. Minors and his wife carefully nurture the plants and with the right conditions have made pineapple growing look easy.

It requires a lot of patience though:

"It takes a year to 18 months before a plant starts bearing fruit," explained Mr. Minors who estimates he has been growing pineapples for about three years.

"You would normally get a fruit inside 18 months. There isn't that much work to it once you get it started.

"I've had over 200-odd pots and have given quite a few away."

Even now there are dozens of pots all over his yard, lining the wall for protection from the wind.

Some are still recovering from the recent storm conditions which did some damage and while one plant resembles another, Mr. Minors knows each one's history and growth pattern.

"I had one pot bear one tree for awhile and then a sucker took over and I put it into another pot," he explained.

"Now I'm waiting for that one to bear fruit. They put out so many shoots."

With the plants producing not just fruit but 'shoots' (new growth of a plant), Mr. Minors is constantly transplanting the 'suckers' into smaller pots as well as the tops of the ripe pineapples. To assist with their growth they are then put into bigger pots.

The pineapple grower has learned the art of pineapple growing through trial and error...and lots of patience.

He admits he didn't have a green thumb initially.

"It's just something that came to me in the house, then we had a guy come and mix the soil because we had just the plain soil and it wouldn't grow," he explained.

"I enjoyed it when it started and was really into it. The first lot I had all along that wall and lost every one, so I asked a Portuguese fella what was I doing wrong and he told me. So I took them all out and started all over again. I started with peat moss and the guy told me to go to pro mix."

Years ago when people had a taste for pineapples they went to the grocery store or vegetable cart to get them. Now, more and more locals are taking up the challenge of growing their own.

"Nobody said they don't grow here and a lot of people have tried it," said Mr. Minors.

"Somebody was telling me about this lady up in Somerset. And my mate who works with me has as much as this.

"We started together, I was bringing them home and then he said he was going to try it. He had over 200 at one point and right now he is trying to get rid of some of them because it is getting expensive putting them into bigger pots."

With his wife's help it usually takes Mr. Minors more than an hour to water all of his plants and if he does it by himself he says he usually has to take a rest in between.

"This time of the year they will hold moisture for a long time because there is a lot of rain but summertime you have to water them often," he revealed.

Next summer he will enjoy the fruits of his labour!