The last thing I had to do to finish the Strawberry Tower was to anchor it so it would not fall down in the event of heavy winds. In Southern California, we get what are called "Santa Ana winds". These are hot dry winds that are most commonly associated with the wildfires that you see on television.
The windy season is usually in the Fall, but occasionally, we get heavy gusts during the rest of the year.
Even though I have a PVC pipe in the center of the Strawberry Tower, the PVC pipe is only held in place by a container full of rocks. A heavy wind could still knock the Strawberry Tower over.
Of course, I could drive a post in the ground and pour cement around it, but I did not want to do something as drastic (or as permanent) as that.
Instead, I used nylon rope to tie the PVC pipe in 5 places. Two of the ropes (the ones in the back) attach to sturdy trees. Another rope (the one to the right) attaches to a steel pole. The final two ropes (the ones in the front) are tied to cement blocks.
I hope these measures keep the Strawberry Tower upright during heavy winds. Otherwise, I will probably need to break the Strawberry Tower into 2 smaller towers.
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