Sunday, the previous week, I took a walk around the tamarillo farm doing a quick survey to see if there was something that needed our immediate attention.
I do this maybe once or twice in a week just to make sure the tamarillo crop was healthy.
One minute you have extremely green and lush leaves and the next they are yellowing from the onset of whiteflies, mites, and other sap-sucking insect pests or otherwise die-back caused by the introduction of fungal spores by the same insect vectors.
This time the mature trees were doing quite well so I focused my attention on the recently planted tamarillo crop.
Simba (Swahili for Lion 馃槄) pictured here was quite pleased running around the canopy of the mature tamarillo. Truly man's best friend this one. Stuck by me the whole time.
It has been about three weeks as of today since we did the transplanting from the seedbed.
Fortunately, the poles and the wires running above them were already in place from the previous crop of passion fruit that failed spectacularly.
We don't usually talk about that capital-burning mess.
A keen eye will spot several smaller sticks all around the field. These provide support for the fragile and young tamarillo so that their trunks grow strong and straight.
That will be a massive help for when they are mature and yielding since you will not require support poles to keep them upright when they are overwhelmed by the weight of the fruit.
On closer inspection, however, you can already see massive chunks missing from the leaf.
This is not all that terrible but what it means is that there are chewing insect pests already taking a liking to the young fresh leaves. The fact that the lower leaf is more damaged than the upper leaves, that probably gives an indication it is more likely a non-winged insect wreaking havoc.
Tamarillo is very sensitive at this stage of its development as are most fruit plants.
For someone looking to maximize production, this kind of destruction to the young plant must be kept at an all-time low. That means constant visits to the farm and checking on the plants and making sure they make it out of this phase relatively unscathed.
It will be a full year before they can start producing the first bunch of fruits and boost the total production to about a tonne every week.
The two girls are all grown.
Finally, it wouldn't be a farm without cows, would it?
These two beauties featured in one of my posts two months ago. They were but calves then. Two months later, you wouldn't recognize them. They are massive.
They are let out in this secondary open and vast field every Sunday for a bit of a stroll and stretch.
The one at the front with the white and black patches on the back loves to be scratched and for some reason, she thinks I am the best at it, hence why she is coming over.
Unfortunately, I was on the other side of the fence so I sadly couldn't oblige her.
Regardless, they are fast outgrowing their pampering stage already, so maybe it is probably about time they discover how to do it themselves against a tree or something.馃檪