What Jobs Are We Doing In The Garden Today 2020

I don't suppose there would be an audience to witness the illegal activities. My concern is whether my pond is actually suitable and able to sustain amphibians.

 

Well, there's no fish to eat them but I don't know if something else might, like birds. There are Herons and Little Egrets in the fields here, although I've never seen one in the garden. Also, some insect larvae might fancy tadpole. I know there is larvae in the pond but don't know what it is. There were Dragonflies around the pond last year. Last year I encouraged the grass to grow right up to the pond edges to create shade and shelter but the grass has been recently cut leaving the pond looking like it's been scalped . Obviously it will regrow but will take awhile. The pond plants - as I mentioned before - have been invaded, so need sorting out. I'm probably over thinking everything

 

I wondered about transferring frogspawn myself because I'm planning a wildlife pond at my allotment, but almost every website I've looked at warns against it due to the risk of spreading amphibian diseases, here is one example: "Don’t move spawn or tadpoles into a different pond, as this can spread non-native plant species and amphibian diseases. Ponds that already contain spawn may not be able to support the increased population, and ponds that don’t have any spawn are unlikely to be suitable for frogs – if they were suitable, the spawn would already be there. There are many reasons why a pond may not contain frogs, and one of the most common explanations is newts."

Guide to frogs and toads: when do they spawn and how to care for them

There's also this from my wildlife gardening book: "There have been some devastating outbreaks of disease in some parts of the country in recent years, in particular the ranavirus, which is thought to have been brought in from North America. It is untreatable, with large numbers of Common Frogs, some Common Toads and even newts dying each year, usually in the heat of midsummer. They become lethargic and emaciated, and can develop secondary infections and lesions. To reduce the risks, don't move frogspawn between ponds, which can transfer the disease, and if you suspect frogs have the disease in your garden, report it to www.gardenwildlifehealth.org"

Nick

 

@luciusmaximus I follow Froglife page on facebook and they do all the toad patrols etc across the country. They've got some really good advice on there. I'm sure they recently said that toad spawn has to be in very shallow water - different to frogs. Not sure whether that helps.

EDIT - Just looked it up again, and frogs like shallow water and toads prefer deep water. Toads lay their spawn in long strings unlike Frogs whose spawn is in clump.

 

Fruit salad day! Potted on Banana seedling grown from commercial seed, there was a root resembling an adder poking out from the drainage hole so I guess that was a clear call for more room. Planted a Mango seed, and for fun, Cardamom seeds that had been soaking in hot water since Friday and to me clearly showed signs of life. After 3+ years in the spice shelf this might be optimistic, but hey, they are seeds and it's spring. Pricked out Chia seedlings. Gave a benevolent look at Ginger, yet to sprout. Noticed that Dragon fruit is coming to life despite of not having any water since November.


A quick watering of overwintering cuttings in the makeshift shelter in the back garden and plenty of daydreaming and planning. The very pot bound raspberries will go this spring as the berries are no longer lush and big after a decade in a 50cm pot. Perhaps a rhubarb would be worth a try...?

 

Ooh! Hubby pricked up his ears when I mentioned growing cardamom!

My young mango plants are still looking really lush, so I wish you similar success. My ginger is holding back too. A slight sign of shoots on top of the root/corm, but still no movement...

 

I've only gone and done it I promised myself I wouldn't start too early but what the hell..Cranked the props up in the greenhouse and
Sown Cleome 'Helen campbell' and Purple queen,Ammi Majus,Nicotiana sylvestris and Helitrope...Whilst the chooks were wandering gave their coup a good 'do' I suppose that's included as they are a big part of the garden had a bit of a tittivate and now waiting for the Rugger to to start..

 

Brrrr! It’s cold out there!

I’ve been out and inspected the reinstated trench at the top of the drive, where the company who installed the sewage system have returned to finish our drive entrance. Hopefully we will not be at this “even worse than before” stage for long....

I emptied a couple of patio tubs, that where the yellow pear tomatoes have finally admitted defeat, and hand-pruned some more of the laurel hedge - this time behind the house. I then spent a fun half-hour netting out more leaves from the pond. The meadowsweet (where did that come from?! I never knowingly introduced it!) is taking over one of the shelf-areas, but the forgetmenot is pushing through. No sign of any spawning yet, though, @luciusmaximus ?