Amphibians & Reptiles 2021

Lucky you Gaynor, checked mine today but still all eggs!

Hopefully you'll find some more soon or you'll be like Paul with his rather sad monopole - was that last year or the year before?

Monopole was in 2019.    ~o
2020 was a multipole year.      ~o    ~o    ~o

Taken earlier today..... He must have bought her chocolates or flowers.!!  :-)

I counted at least twelve Froggies through the binos from the top window just as it was getting dark tonight.

Just popped my head out of the window a minute ago and the garden is ringing to the sounds of Croaking.!!

I'm so happy and glad that I dug the pond a few years back, they wouldn't have been there otherwise. It must be to their liking.  :-)

Wow, that looks so good Paul, 2021 is looking decidedly optimistic.

Your Pond digging was an epic tale that entertained us for weeks, maybe you should dig another one Paul. So pleased you're getting the benefits. My pond is still just a 3/4 dug hole. Every year the veggie plots etc take priority & by the time I get to look at the hole it's too hard & dry. I also get a year older every year. It's not fair. Sob sob!

Hazel C said:

maybe you should dig another one Paul.

I think one is enough for this lifetime, I'll be happy if I never see another spade. :-)

Would you believe it's been almost seven years since I started building the pond.!!

Hazel C said:

Every year the veggie plots etc take priority

Understandable, there's only so much you can do. I've actually just built another big raised bed so we can up the production of veggies this year.

I'm thinking of using a sort of square foot gardening method for it, with hopefully a dozen or so varieties.

Not quite decided yet, it’s still early season here in the north. :-)

Over the winter I've dug up a big area of lawn to turn into veggies, mainly for Ron who has expanded his empire & at least there is less grass for me to mow. However it means more veggie plot to weed & dig each year. How did your caterpillar patch go? This winter I put quite a few caterpillars from the various plants to the edge of the greenhouse with a couple of leaves to eat & there are Pupa all over the place. They are all up the outside walls.

Hazel C said:

How did your caterpillar patch go?

I planted it up as usual with Cabbages and it was swarming with Caterpillars later on in the season. I’ve no idea where they go or if they maybe get eaten, and I’ve not seen any pupae (although admittedly I’ve not really been looking for them).

I let the Cabbages die back and only pull them in the early spring. I also rotate the Butterfly bed between two beds each year to prevent any potential Cabbage diseases from taking hold.

I can only hope that some of the caterpillars survive, I don’t think there’s too much more I can do. I suspect we maybe have a bit colder winters than you do, so they maybe have to dig a wee bit deeper to survive.

The Butterfly bed is right next to the woodshed and tool shed, so they could be in there somewhere (although I’m always careful to check the wood for creepy crawlies before it’s put on the burner).

I sometimes feel like I’m running a Spider rescue service every time I have the burner on.!! :-)

Hazel C said:

Over the winter I've dug up a big area of lawn to turn into veggies, mainly for Ron who has expanded his empire & at least there is less grass for me to mow. However it means more veggie plot to weed & dig each year.

I suspect my raised beds are likely on a smaller scale than your veggie patch, so weeding isn’t really too much of a problem.

New raised bed built several weeks ago, and still to be put to use this season.

I’ve since put in a ton of topsoil and half a dozen bags of garden centre compost, and also a sprinkling of Chicken Manure Pellets as well.

Another two or three bags of compost and it should be ready to go.

Any rogue caterpillars found in here will be gently transferred to the Butterfly bed.  :-)

Amazing how much soil it will take to fill up the raised bed Paul, making me think again about making one as I had suggested to family earlier on. Thought it was a good idea as I can get down to do low down gardening, but it is the getting up again that is hard! Mind you I won't need as large a raised bed as you, maybe about two foot wide and six in length would be sufficient for a couple of carrots, broad beans and peas. I'm only little after all:-)