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applestar
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Re: Random comments and reports related to our gardens

Cool! I have yet to see a toad in my garden, though I make "toad houses" from broken terra-cotta pots and leave them under shrubs and stuff. Three little frogs and one big one in my pond. Tree frogs calling from everywhere....


Something has happened to the local firefly population -- I used to see the entire backyard filled with them and used to joke that they are prettier than the fourth of July fireworks. I would send the kids out with a butterfly net to run around once and see who caught how many.

This year, Number I see can be counted on fingers of one hand. All last week I only see one at a time almost every time, I cheer if a 2nd one flashes back from somewhere else in the garden.

imafan26
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I can hear the toads chirping at night even though I don't see them. I did find an orchid blooming and another one in bud today. It would be nice to spend some time outside in the late afternoon, but I rarely go outside after dark. Today I got home at 6:15 p.m. and already the days are getting shorter. It was already starting to get dark.

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ID jit
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Location: SE New England: zone twilight or 5b... hard for me to tell some days.

Toad houses.... that is a cool idea!

Firefly decline.... "Nobody really knows why".... collateral damage from the humans making the world more comfortable for themselves: Habitat removal /destruction, spray for mosquitoes & co. probably isn't helping, less water and more and more people using more and more.... Fireflies are a rare occurrence around here these days. Where I grew out (100 miles away) they were almost psychedelic - used to watch them in these huge fields with binoculars.

Same gig as the harlequin frogs in central America, red efts & co. in New England, amphibians throughout the world.... We're not headed into a repeat of the life abundant Cretaceous or Jurassic periods.

Toad houses are a great idea and I think I am going to go move some more downed logs into the edge of the stream that is not too far away.

gumbo2176
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I could finally get out into the garden for a bit of work today after some torrential rainfall last week that had it looking more like a swamp than a garden plot. I had just put in some pole bean and cucumber seeds several days before the deluge came and the seeds that have emerged are fairly sparse so I put in more seeds to fill in the blanks.

I've had a bigger than normal influx of birds in the garden as of late since I've been tossing multiple bags of grass clippings in there to till under. Seems the birds are loving the easy pickings of bugs and nest building material I've supplied. I've seen Blue Jays, Doves, Grackles, Sparrows, Mocking Birds and the occasional Cardinal. It is nice to sit out on the back porch in the evening and look down into the garden with all that activity going on.

There's even a flock of parrots that have been around for well over 15 years now that love to invade the fruit trees in the evenings. Before Katrina when I had a large Japanese Plum tree, they would come in the early morning and late afternoon to help themselves. They were fun to watch and ever colorful, but they sure raised a fuss with all their noise.

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ID jit
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Location: SE New England: zone twilight or 5b... hard for me to tell some days.

I just googled "Toad House"..... what the heck.... I don't know if I need to web surf more or surf less.... Has me second guessing what I did earlier.

Gather up some stones, bricks and broken slate pavers.... dug trenches in shaded parts of the garden...... installed a floor of really mulchy compost..... propped up the broke slates to put a roof over the cave with the really mulchy compost floor.... covered the slate with a inch or so of soil and then covered with some light colored mulch to try to keep the sun off and keep it cool.... basically made little underpasses (open on both ends) for the overhead foot traffic.

All proud of my ingenuity and resourcefulness and then I came in a google "toad house". WHAT!? What kind of toad is going to move into my little dirt-n-rock cave when there are so many whimsical and pretty ceramic creations to pick from on goggle ?!?!?

Did a little reading..... I need to add a water dish? Would that be sparkling water or is well water okay? Are lemon wedges optional of mandatory?

ButterflyLady29
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At one point I had several clay saucers setting on the ground around my garden and in the little wooded area behind it. Toads would set in the saucers when the weather was dry. The water attracted a lot of snakes too. Snakes do eat toads so nature took it's due course I'm sure.

Toads don't look for houses by how pretty the structure is. They look for sheltered locations, cool and close to a food source. A solar garden light might attract some insects for them but I have heard they prefer slugs. Lots of loose mulch that is soft and easy to dig into brings in toads. I've found them under piles of weeds I have pulled and piled in the garden.

We used to have loads of fireflies until the county started spraying for mosquitoes. Severe drought takes a toll too. I find lots of firefly larvae in the mulch and loose soil in the yard so I leave as many places as I can for them. Unfortunately spiders and other predators eat them. There are even fireflies that eat other fireflies!

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digitS'
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imafan26 wrote:... Today I got home at 6:15 p.m. and already the days are getting shorter. It was already starting to get dark.
You are a very observant person, Imafan'! We have all come to realize that from discussions on gardening subjects.

You recognize a lose of daylight at about 21° North latitude.

Sprayed ornamentals this evening. I think that the most common insect in my garden at the moment is the Plant Bug. Isn't that the darndest name??

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miridae

Steve :D

Taiji
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Location: Gardening in western U.P. of MI. 46+ N. lat. elev 1540. zone 3; state bird: mosquito

I'm noticing the day length difference too. When doing basically the same routine every day, you can't help but notice!

But my random comment is "if you plant it they will come". Posted this image in another thread. Was surprised this year to see this new pest show up. For the first time ever I decided to try tomatillos, and suddenly here they are! How do they get here? Pretty far out from town, no one else has a garden around here, natural environment is sand, rocks, juniper and pinon pine. They only bother the tomatillo plant.
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Good news is, I think they've run their course, but they were feasting on tomatillo leaves for a while. Tomatillos are thriving now, and finally setting some fruit! Just planted a little seed from some tomatillos I got from the store. Kind of exciting.



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