Taking a retrospective view of all the highs and lows that happened on the farm this year, planting the tomatoes certainly brought a sense of hope, a feeling that held onto the sentiment that the farm was going to be alright. I watched the plants grow every day, stronger and taller, it was beautiful. All the hours of sweat and a fair share of bleeding, the financial investment involved in the infrastructure labor and plants, it looked like it was all starting to come together, and it was a delightful feeling.
But as it goes, all good things come to an end.
Shortly after we started harvesting, our well water ran dry, and we could not irrigate the plants anymore. The rainy season was still a while away, and we were running through our backup water at a fast rate.
This meant that all the forming fruit after the initial harvest started ripening while the fruit was still very small. The tomatoes started developing end rot from the draught and the stress on the plants.
The photos below were the last sellable fruit taken off the land.
At this point, even the brinjals were starting to go into flower.
I tried everything we could, even carted in water in trucks as the finances allowed it. But the point came where I simply had to cut my losses.
I can not tell you how this broke my spirit, plan as we may, nature remains a cruel mistress.
