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[fairdinkumseeds]

I like frogs, (just incase you didn't notice) and I reckon they do an awesome job in the garden.
They eat all your bad bugs, but leave most predatory insects alone, they sing for you, and they have a real cool attitude that I can really relate to.

There are a few issues they are having at the moment world wide, and that is causing huge numbers of extinctions.
Global warming, introduced fungal diseases, introduced pest species like toads and cats, irresponsible farming practices, insecticide herbicide and fungicide use and the "non toxic wetting agents" that go along with it, are all big killers of frogs and their eggs.
Anyway, frogs are doomed, no doubt about it, but in the meantime we can all do our bit to save a couple of the cute buggers, and get them to give us a hand in the garden at the same time.

I set up these kiddies pools in the garden and on the balcony for many reasons. (Keeping them up high off the ground to stop the cane toads. 25inches-60cm high is plenty)
You can grow edible and medicinal water plants in them, you can attract predatory insects and native bees, and you can breed up your local frogs and send them out like a moving insecticide army to patrol your garden for you.

Cheaper and much more effective than any systemic spray, and you get a bit of good karma at the same time.
Instead of watering the garden with tap water, put the tap water in the pond and gravity feed the pond water in the garden.
All the mozzie larvae, dead decomposing leaves, algae, and frog/bird poo really helps improve the soil.
When you tap the edges of the pond the mozzies all scoot to the bottom and get syphoned out onto the garden where they die.
This actually LOWERS the mozzie numbers in your area as they are lured to breed in your kiddies pond, and then the babies are killed and used as fertilizer in your garden.

Even gives the frogs somewhere to go instead of your water tank so that means your drinking less frog shit. That can only be a good thing.

Every possible angle you look at it, its worth doing, and if every one did, maybe we could save the frogs.......
Worth a try?

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[PermieGing]

Awesome!!!

I love the second pic!



I really wanna try this out now!

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[New Wisdom]

This is a grea idea.  I love frogs!  That's a great picture (the second one) Cute little buddies.

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[Roze]

I totally agree with you, frogs are a huge benefit to every garden!

Here in south europe is very very difficult to find some in the wild..some years ago they were everywhere!  this species once abundant is disappearing, and that's a warning sign that something is wrong in nature

I want some in my garden but maybe the cats not enjoy the company...


which water plant specie you have in pics 1?

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[fairdinkumseeds]

That picture is one of our water tanks in the wet season. Constantly overflows for a month because of all the rain we get, but unfortunately that's pretty much it for the year and it soon runs out.
At the moment its 1/8th full as are the other 3 tanks.

The water plants in the picture are Nelumbo nucifera or "Sacred Lotus" which is the biggest disks.
It was a kind gift from hereje.
Then there is the Lemna minor or "Duckweed" is the tiny butterfly looking floating plant, and Wolffia arrhiza which is a bit hard to see even in close up. Its the tiny little disks.
All three are a great feed and the last 2 are a great salad vegetable, much easier to grow than lettuce or cabbages.
You get many times the crop from the same area of land, its much more nutritious, and there are no insect pests to worry about.
They grow from division so the replication rate is a very very steep curve.
1 plant turns to 2, then 4, 8, 16, 32, 64, 128, 256 individual plants in a month as long as the water is clean and the temp is reasonable.

If you guys ever see any similar plants, I would love some new ones from your end of the earth...

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[Frog Pajamas]

A friend in the flowers last year.

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[Greentoe]

Frog on ayahuasca

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[Frog Pajamas]

This little guy jumped on my hand while watering yesterday. <3

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[psykinetic]

Great photos! Ive loved frogs and toads since i was a little boy even have a smalk frog tatoo on my collar bone(I know, I know...Im just too cool for school. JK;-) more like i was intoxicated for the 90's and ended up with lots of small tatoos) im so gelous of everyone! I live in a pretty ghetto overpopulated part of boston(chelsea). Ive got to travel miles from home to find the little guys and even then only 3-4months a year. Im actualy realy happy for you folks and glad to see you alk providing shelter and love for some very special creatures.
P.S. there were toads(not alverous unfortunately) around im some yards in my area when i wad younger but i havent come across any in atleast 20years...holy shit I got old! How did that happen..,;-)
Light and Love my friends

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[fairdinkumseeds]

The dog doesn't mind sharing, he just drinks around them...

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[Frog Pajamas]

I love this thread! Fairdinkum, those are the cutest pics.

Tell you what psykinetic, if there are any frogs around where you live, expanding an outdoor garden will bring them to you. There's one I see every few days who's always chilling in my watering can or around the soil bags. He sits a few feet away while I play with my plants. Never saw them before I had plants out there.

Fairdinkum, how do you attach a water hose to the kiddy pools? Heat up the plastic and push in a connector? Im moving in the next couple months and want to do this as soon as I do.

[fairdinkumseeds]

I have a a couple different types of pond. The tarp/melted blue mesh plastic sheeting ones I don't mess with anymore as they are a bit delicate and even if you do a great job, it will leak after 6-12months. I used to melt a hole and attach a fitting but now I just syphon.  I tie a piece of metal bar to the end of the hose and have it sticking out a couple cm longer than the hose. then I wrap the lot in course bug mesh as per dodgy picture below


                                                                                                       
                                                                                                        -------------------------------------------------
____________________________________________________________________garden hose___                   -
                                                                                                        --        ________steel bar________         --
                                                                                                        -------------------------------------------------
                                                                                                       
                                                                                                         

The bar stops the mesh getting clogged over the end of the hose and weighs it in the bottom. The mesh is a couple mm so it lets mozzies and algae etc through, but not tadpoles.
The balcony has a slight lean so I put the hose in at the lowest end and tap the sides a couple times as I syphon to make the mossie larvae scoot to the bottom and get sucked out.

The second type I have are round rubber plastic sheeting ones. I just punched a hole through them using a section of sharpened steel curtain rod like a cookie cutter.
I then used a normal tap connector fitting and screwed it on half on the inside half on the outside and a big lump of silicone around the edges.

If you are going to melt the plastic go really slowly and use a much smaller piece of heated metal than you think you will need first.
Better to melt the hole too small and have to have another go than to totally stuff it up and have the hole too big...
Guess how I learnt that lesson 

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