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Post by NellyDee on Mar 21, 2017 10:50:16 GMT
Tie a bundle of bamboo sticks different hole sizes - cut down to small length and hung on fence, you could tie some fir cones to it as well, or if inclined make a box to hold them in, could also drill some holes - cones, holes, bamboo places for all sorts in insects to nest or hide like this - Insect house by Helen Skelton, on Flickr On the pond front can't think of anything else except the water cress, will have another think
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foxy
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Post by foxy on Mar 21, 2017 14:34:27 GMT
There is a bug box on the fencepost to the left of the pond (& left of the daff planter). I've just come back from LIDL with another (then saw your comment Nelly. lol).
I also have some wood 6 inches wide that I will be drilling to a depth of approx. 5.5 inches as I've read that solitary bees choose what sex egg to lay & will lay the female first then the male (males emerge earlier than females) but if the holes are shorter than 4 inches they lay less males. It's about equal amounts in a hole 6 inches deep.
I have purchased some 1 longer & 3 shorter wall planters to attach to the framework to plant cotoneaster to cover some of the top (& provide shelter & berries for the birds etc.), I may plant a climbing rose, ivy or something in one of the smaller one and see what else may be suitable for the other 2.
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Post by rowanberry on Mar 21, 2017 14:37:58 GMT
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foxy
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Post by foxy on Mar 21, 2017 14:51:10 GMT
Would love to Rowanberry but the wife seems to think that she should have space in the yard to hang the washing out, she's so possessive.
I told her I only need space to get the bike out so I can get plenty more stuff in but it only made thingsworse, huh women! lol
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foxy
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Post by foxy on Mar 25, 2017 12:22:21 GMT
Spotted in one of my 'cat litter tray' pools, my first free swimming tadpole hatched from spawn that has been outside since I got it. There are several more still attached to their jelly that are wiggling about so these should be free swimmers soon.
The bigger pond is still a bit behind, probably because it's taking a while for the water to warm up a bit.
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Post by teasel on Mar 27, 2017 11:30:53 GMT
They're using the cucumber as rafts rather than meals so far Attachments:
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Post by Harold Smith on Mar 27, 2017 18:19:53 GMT
They're using the cucumber as rafts rather than meals so far Cucumbers in a pond! This is a first for me. I have had a wildlife pond for nearly 40 years and this is the first time I have ever heard of cucumbers being put in a pond. Personally I hate cucumber, can't stand the taste. However, I'm assuming your tadpoles and other pond life like it. How did this come about? Harold.
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foxy
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Post by foxy on Mar 27, 2017 20:18:42 GMT
The spawn in one of the buckets has just exploded with life, too many tads to count. They're just mooching about rather than free swimming but they seem to do that till they loose their external gills.
I suspect I've got one or two tad loving blackbirds as wee hatchlings are not visible yet the unhatched spawn is getting less. Putting some netting up to protect them for now.
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foxy
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Posts: 61
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Post by foxy on Mar 27, 2017 20:21:58 GMT
They're using the cucumber as rafts rather than meals so far They look more advanced than mine. I though you put slices of cucumber not a whole one, lol
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Post by teasel on Mar 29, 2017 11:48:28 GMT
My (allotment) pond is very new (July '16) and wasn't really set up as a pond, it is a bird bath gone wrong So it only has a small sprig of pond weed. About 5 large clumps of spawn were laid, much to my surprise, so I was worried there wouldn't be enough food for the 'poles to eat. I've read they eat lettuce and cucumber, so cut up a cucumber into wedges for them and put in 1/4 lettuce too. Overkill, but I don't visit regularly, especially as the weather has been so wet. Lots of algae seems to be growing on the liner, despite the variable weather. I have wondered if the spawn residue acts as an algal fertiliser. Can you tell I really like having tadpoles and an allotment?
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foxy
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Post by foxy on Mar 29, 2017 13:00:55 GMT
My (allotment) pond is very new (July '16) and wasn't really set up as a pond, it is a bird bath gone wrong So it only has a small sprig of pond weed. About 5 large clumps of spawn were laid, much to my surprise, so I was worried there wouldn't be enough food for the 'poles to eat. I've read they eat lettuce and cucumber, so cut up a cucumber into wedges for them and put in 1/4 lettuce too. Overkill, but I don't visit regularly, especially as the weather has been so wet. Lots of algae seems to be growing on the liner, despite the variable weather. I have wondered if the spawn residue acts as an algal fertiliser. Can you tell I really like having tadpoles and an allotment? Sounds more like you hate tadpoles, lol. all the info I've read says to boil the lettuce for 15-20 mins. and don't give them iceberg (or other hard leafed) lettuce. I threw some watercress (for the fruit & veg. section of Tesco's but they like Asda's watercress as well lol). Just let it float about (or weigh the cut end down) and it will grow, provide food & safety as the tadpoles grow.
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Post by rowanberry on Mar 29, 2017 19:53:12 GMT
Tads do love cucumber... these are some old photos I took of them eating slices in 2011, the lettuce pic is from 2012. I put in really thin slices of cucumber, after I've trimmed the outside off first- they seem to prefer the softer centres and will eat the middles out so it looks like there are lots of green doughnuts floating around in the pond. The lettuce I put in a bowl and pour boiling water over it... leave it to sit for a few minutes until it goes soft. They really enjoyed that! After a few weeks to a month, (I've never kept track of when it happens- I should try and do that this year) they'll abruptly switch from being vegetarians and become carnivores. Once that happens, they won't bother with the salad anymore.... but get very excited if a slug happens to fall in the pond! I've also had some success with the sort of pellets used to feed koi carp. I put an earthenware plantpot saucer on one of the pond shelves and put the pellets in that, (the sinking kind) otherwise the tablets sink to the bottom and I'm not sure the tads can find them. Tads on Cucumber by Wabi Gallery, on Flickr Tadpoles and Cucumber by Wabi Gallery, on Flickr Tadpoles and Lettuce 2012 by Wabi Gallery, on Flickr
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Post by rowanberry on Mar 29, 2017 20:08:18 GMT
My (allotment) pond is very new (July '16) and wasn't really set up as a pond, it is a bird bath gone wrong So it only has a small sprig of pond weed. About 5 large clumps of spawn were laid, much to my surprise, so I was worried there wouldn't be enough food for the 'poles to eat. I've read they eat lettuce and cucumber, so cut up a cucumber into wedges for them and put in 1/4 lettuce too. Overkill, but I don't visit regularly, especially as the weather has been so wet. Lots of algae seems to be growing on the liner, despite the variable weather. I have wondered if the spawn residue acts as an algal fertiliser. Can you tell I really like having tadpoles and an allotment? Teasel, if I was you I wouldn't put quite so much... just a few slices and see how quickly they get through them, otherwise if your cucumber and lettuce go off it might make the water too mucky. They will nibble at the algae growing around the side of the pond, too... and I think they'll also eat the jelly from the spawn, if there is any of that left. That plank might be treated timber, so a natural branch might be better for them... or a partially submerged rock if you'd like to provide them with something to bask on You've got a healthy looking bunch of tads there, though! I'm jealous, I don't have any yet... still just clumps of spawn. My pond is always behind everyone else's.
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Post by teasel on Mar 29, 2017 22:10:23 GMT
I don't like cucumber much so gave it all away. I guessed they like the middle which was why I cut it into wedges. Oh, and I froze the lettuce - maybe that does what boiling does? I've never fed tadpoles before so it was all a bit of an experiment. I've successfully fed Giant snails with lettuce and cucumber so based my experiment on that! Any that isn't eaten may well rot, and break down into nutrients that will feed the algae. I "rescued" daphnia when I created the pond, and at the moment they are thriving. I doubt they'll reproduce quicly enough to feed all those taddies. Chicken breasts next maybe . When my home pondweed grows a bit, I'll chuck some more in for oxygenation. My local grocer hasn't got watercress, I've been keeping an eye out. The plank is very old wood, there are stones underneath. I made it all too deep for a birdbath so made the shallow end shallower. I didn't expect tads so I didn't design it for tads, I was just "playing" and rescuing daphnia from the puddles on the plastic covering I was taking up. I shall have to make a mark 2 pond later in the year Sorry, once I start I do go on about my allotment adventures
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foxy
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Post by foxy on Mar 29, 2017 22:54:43 GMT
They say hang some liver in the pond when their back legs start to appear. and stop feeding as the tail is absorbed.
After that the froglets will leave the pond & find their own food.
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