FROG BLOG

I was busy with Tiny Pond yesterday because I’d noticed that the water had become very murky. I could only see down to a couple of centimetres at best, whereas the other two ponds seemed clean and clear. I wondered if this was due to overcrowding by frogs and tadpoles since Tiny Pond has been the dating and spawning venue and now hosts at least one large frog and many hundreds of tadpoles, all making waste while the sun shines.

With a few hours to kill, I decided to freshen up the water, replacing about three quarters of the total. I used the existing pond water to hydrate my pots and borders that had become a bit parched in the heat, figuring that pond waste might be full of nutrients. Time will tell with regards to my figs and flowers. Then I all but emptied two water butts to top the pond back up to a healthy level. In the process I rescued a couple of hundred tadpoles stranded in the emptying liner and aquatic pots, and set them free in Lily Pond. And any pond snails I found (good pond cleaners) I put back into Tiny Pond. I also took some time to remove a proportion of the decaying leaf matter and sludge at the bottom. Finally I added some new washed aquatic grit to lighten up the over all effect.

This morning the sediment from the grit had settled and here’s the result; clean and clear water and tadpoles swimming around with apparent good cheer (who knows, but they looked okay to me). I’m now waiting for the arrival of some floating plants to add cover and oxygenation.

Now you might be wondering why this blog is called The Hosta Challenge, as I haven’t mentioned any plants yet. Well, if you examine the picture of the refreshed pond, near top right, you will see the fresh green and creamy-yellow leaves of a Hosta, a shade-loving plant, that I planted this afternoon. I planted it in a bare patch where I’d had a Hosta before but which was ruthlessly decimated by slugs last year. Slugs absolutely love the leaves of a Hosta and munch their way through it, creating huge holes, until the plant is nothing but a dismal stalk protruding from the soil.

The interesting thing is that frogs eat slugs (aha, now it’s beginning to make sense), and I’m wondering if they are now mature enough and numerous enough to tackle the slug army that dominates our garden from dusk to dawn. The Hosta challenge is my test of their strength and power. Who will rule the garden now: frogs or slugs?

I’ve just taken some closeups of the Hosta, sans holes, and I’ll check on it in a few days to see how it’s doing. Come on frogs, I’m depending on you!