Tomato Solutions

Maddie and Kiara are excited to check on their tomato plants in the garden at Maddie’s house.

Oh no! Something is wrong. Maddie notices green caterpillars all over the plants munching on the leaves. Kiara notices bites taken out of some of the tomatoes and deer prints in the dirt. What should they do?

They decide to follow the engineering design cycle to protect the tomato plants from pests. They start by asking a question.

What can they do to stop the pests from eating the leaves and fruit?

They observe how other plants and animals protect themselves and decide to make a list of their ideas to imagine solutions.
A fence
A tent
A box
A house
Spikes like a porcupine
Camouflage
Something loud
Something smelly

Maddie and Kiara like the spike idea the best. They think about how a cactus and a porcupine use spikes for protection. They choose that one as their best idea.

Next, they make a plan, listing all the materials they will need. They think about the materials they can find outside or around the house and make a drawing of what they want their solution to look like.

Now it’s time to build!

Maddie’s dad helps them with the tools. They nail pinecones into pieces of wood. The pinecones will be the spikes.

Then, they arrange their creation around the tomato plants and decide to check back the next day to see if it worked.

The pinecones seemed to keep the deer away, but the caterpillars are still all over the plants. It’s time to improve the design.

The girls go back to their Imagine list and see if they can add something to their design. They decide to add marigolds to the pinecones. They think this will work because marigolds have a very strong smell to keep the caterpillars away.

Maddie and Kiara are very happy with their final design. Do you think it worked?