I rather think they do. And they dig holes up and might puncture the lining so two or three layers is probably a good plan. 'orrible foxes.
Still, they seem to do more damage than actually clear out the population.
If you do fancy trying rice, the Merchant Gourmet make of red Camargue rice germinates readily. If you don't want to buy a pack we might still have some lurking in the cupboard and you're welcome to a handful.
I rather think they do. And they dig holes up and might puncture the lining so two or three layers is probably a good plan. 'orrible foxes.
Still, they seem to do more damage than actually clear out the population.
If you do fancy trying rice, the Merchant Gourmet make of red Camargue rice germinates readily. If you don't want to buy a pack we might still have some lurking in the cupboard and you're welcome to a handful.
I might get back to you on the rice, depending what else I put in there.
The fox thing might be an issue. I think I can scare off herons with shiny things and netting, but I noticed plenty of fox footprints at the allotment site. Might have to think about dissuading them too (human hair or clothing that smells of people is meant to put them off, isn't it?).
Can't be much help with the foxes as everything we have tried seems to be ineffective. Unfortunately idiots who feed them plus other idiots who leave bones out for dogs and put plastic bags of rubbish out over night, probably negate all our efforts.
On the bright side I have a URL you'll probably regret visiting (if you don't alreayd know it):
Joined: 28 Oct 2004 Posts: 25795 Location: Jumping on the bandwagon of opportunism
Posted: Mon Feb 14, 05 12:31 pm Post subject:
The trouble with dumping a pile of manure is that frogs, toads and slowworms can bury themselves under the soil to hibernate. Toads tend to stay hidden for another month or so and I'm not sure how much they'll dig through or if there would be a problem.
Depending on how big you intend to make the pond we have some off-cuts of a proper pond liner you can have (Should be at least a 2mx2m bit but I'd have to check. It's a sort of re-enforced plastic.
We currently have a problem fox that seems happy to enter our pond, it must be after the frogs. I don't think it's a cat as it's raking out the pond plants. BTW, if you're interested in the liner I can through a few handfuls of oxygenators in, they're native to the UK (purchased from a nursery a few years back).
Borrowed book by bloke from them, of the same name, (man is called Mr Fern, is it a law that garden writers have appropriate names? Apart from Gay Search obviously ). It was very interesting, so much so that I've deliberately not bought it because we don't have enough space for everything in it. Yet
wellington womble
Joined: 08 Nov 2004 Posts: 15051 Location: East Midlands
Posted: Wed Feb 16, 05 9:57 pm Post subject:
Don't forget to include a seat (or a space for a deckchair) sounds like a lovely place to while away a summers afternoon, watching frogs plop in and out of your pond, and listening the vegatables grow (if you shut your eyes you could ignore the weeds!)
Maybe if you put a metal grid over your pond (a really sturdy one) then the foxes wouldn't be able to get to it (weighted it down with stones) and the frogs would be have a safehouse. Also, if you put a black plastic drainpipe in, they can hide from the herons.
i don't know about the watercress - I know it gets a parasite near stock, and thats why you should eat wild stuff from clear running water, but I'm not sure about a pond. I'm having a go in a box this year - I was planning to make an overflow channel so that i could flood it, and water all my other veg at the same time!
gavin
Joined: 10 Feb 2005 Posts: 93 Location: Leeds, W Yorks
Posted: Mon Feb 21, 05 8:25 pm Post subject:
Just a wee thought - according to the older guys on my old site, frogs like to return to their original pond to spawn; for a bit of insurance, collect some spawn and pop it into your pond?
All best - Gavin
Treacodactyl Downsizer Moderator
Joined: 28 Oct 2004 Posts: 25795 Location: Jumping on the bandwagon of opportunism
Posted: Mon Feb 21, 05 8:32 pm Post subject:
The general advice is to not to move frog spawn. Reasons:
1) There are quite a few diseases of frogs and toads that can be easily transported between ponds.
2) You may endanger an area of rare frogs.
I thought it was generally accepted that frogs and toads returned to the same pond but we have found frogs, toads and newts all spawning within the same year in our ponds. When we installed one in a relatives garden it was full of spawn in the next spring.
Perhaps frogs etc just remember where their nearest pond is rather than necessarily the one they were spawned in. If a better, or emptier pond appeared near the old one, some might go there instead.
I think the main problem with watercress is liver flukes from sheep. If you have a pond that isn't stagnant or obviously contaminated with anything nasty, there's no reason why the water has to be running. You can grow it in a bucket of damp soil, or even a jar of water on the kithen windowsill, until it runs out of nutrients. The watercress you buy in the Summer seems to have longer stalks, and I sometimes stick a stalk or two in a jar of water and watch the roots grow and new leaves start again.
When I was a kid the watercress my mum bought used to contain pond snails, freshwater shrimps and all sorts of wildlife, and you had to wash it carefully. We used to put the creatures in a small tank and keep them instead of goldfish!
). It was very interesting, so much so that I've deliberately not bought it because we don't have enough space for everything in it. Yet 
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