Greetings!
For a long time, I haven't written an update about my garden, and the truth is, it has not really been easy with the whole thing. Almost everything is turning into frustration in the end.
In December last year, I noticed a big attack by local chickens on the tomatoes and peppers. The space I am using as the garden is a very open one, and I didn’t think much about facing such an issue in the future because I assumed only domestic animals like goats—which are not reared in the area—could pose a challenge. But no, even the common local chickens have been very stubborn.
When the tomatoes and peppers started flowering, I was happy. In fact, I increased the frequency of watering every morning and evening because I didn’t want the intense heat from the sun to dry up the flowers. But no, I would return to see that the flowers had fallen off and disappeared as well. I soon realized that it was the handiwork of the chickens that went there to hunt for food. So, I decided to make small walls around each plant using little blocks to fence them in. This really worked for a while because even though the fowls were still entering, they stayed away from the plants.
So, what happened?
The thing is, although the space is not very large, fencing the entire area to completely keep out the fowls will require significant resources. Nevertheless, I am working towards that already and gradually gathering wood to be used for the fence. If not for the way the flowers were being shaken off and eaten by the chickens—and possibly by other rodents I’m unaware of—by now, I would have harvested some already.
No watering for a week:
After Christmas Day, I traveled to my village to celebrate the New Year with my family and spent a week there. Before leaving, I knew the plants were going to suffer because there was no one to water them. Oh yes, I returned to find the tomatoes almost dried up. To this day, I still doubt that just one week of drought caused the shrinking. Maybe the land is not fertile enough to support the growth of tomatoes. However, at the early stages, the tomato plants were flourishing in growth, even better than the pepper plants. It’s painful, but there’s nothing I can do about it now.
The pepper plants that remain, I have been watering regularly as I continue my efforts to close the gaps where the fowls enter the area.
Thanks for reading.
All photos are mine
You suppose carry one of those chickens to make a scapegoat, teach the others a life lesson but then, chickens don't make use of whatever brain cells they possess anyway. 😂 Sorry about your tomatoes. I think you should try again, but this time, create a fencing and perhaps making use of net over the entire garden. At least, that'll allow for sunlight, air and watering while still managing to keep off "attackers" 😉
And this is me, who sees these chickens as very soft to be eaten no matter how strong/matured they are🤣.
Your tip.
Yes, I'm working towards that and the net thing has a lot of brain. Thank you!
Awwww, you went to enjoy yourself but abandoned the tomatoes in your garden and the fowls helped you to do more damaging 😁😁
Catch about two of the fowls, tell them to kneel down and hands up, then flog them 12 stokes of cane. The others will have sense 🤣🤣🤣