I let out a horrific gasp when I finally stumbled upon this poor guy. I had been touring my food forest for a half an hour before I stumbled on this Pawpaw tree that had gotten stepped on when I was away. This Pawpaw was positioned a meter off the path at the main entrance. Pawpaws are very slow growing undergrowth trees, and part of why I'm so sad is because this one was so healthy. Until a Pawpaw is established with a truck thicker than one inch the tree will always be in danger at that location.
I felt the tree carefully at the splitting point, and wood felt very wet and soggy. This tells me this paw paw tree has been down for about two weeks. I really don't care who stepped on my tree and I hope the person was able to enjoy themselves in some way when they were there. Who knows maybe it was me; unlikely. Some of my neighbors are into gardening, and they know (I encourage them) to walk through my food forest as a short cut across the block. I will grow enough food for the public to forage, the animals to feast, me to sell some at market or directly to consumers, and feed myself with well over 50% of my yearly caloric intake.
This final photo is of one of my oldest Pawpaws. Sadly at this Pawpaws previous residence it was stepped on at its base similar to the first and second photos in year one, got a yard waste bin set on top of for a few weeks during year two, and regrew both times. I transplated it during its third year in the ground, and placed it with along with its original Pawpaw pollination mate, nestled near the back of this food forest site. This tiny Pawpaw is one of my favorite fruit trees because it has been so resilient, and I feel a tight bond with it after giving it consistent care over the years. It currently stands about 18 inches tall. This is the only tree in my food forest that has already been surrounded by a bunch of big rocks to protect it from stray feet. I will definitely protect my small paw paws with rocks and also a metal circular tomato trellis. I'm hopeful that the much bigger Pawpaw featured in the first two photos above will survive this blow, I just hope the growth comes after the graft, and I will stake up the tree after it starts growing again.
If you haven't already seen my first food forest update on Steemit be sure to read that one.