Just when you thought you made a huge success, disaster strikes!
Disaster in Cow's Clothing
This time a bigger animal, a cow! Loosened from its leash, the cow went to our tomato plants and plowed our posts.
And a few tomato plants were dragged down to the ground. I tried repairing the damage; let the plants stand with a cut bamboo stick and stringed the stem. I would go back the next day to make the support stronger.
Disaster in Smaller, Stronger Number
By the weekend, another set of animals, goats this time, came by and trampled on the tomato plants while they got stuck with the strings. The poles weren't able to stand the pressure and so they broke! The whole middle plot down to the ground.
The Victims
Over 50 tomato plants were down to the ground together with their fruits which I believe contributed to the weight that the poles weren't able to handle. What could be done? I was devastated as I saw the onslaught on the plants. What good can come out of this disaster? How can I remedy the situation?
Too Much Fruit Can Kill You
Stake them with a cut bamboo, I thought. This should help them stand back up. So I staked around 20 plants but it was harder than I thought. Fruits were good in number in a plant breaking the branches they grow on.
I should have supported the branches as well. There are others, around 4 more like this, that their branches broke because of too much fruit. Who would have thought having too much fruit is a bad thing! ;-) No, not giving enough support to a thriving plant is a bad thing. Now I know this. And my next project will be better, and bigger, and more fruits!