Frogs out of pond!

 

This evening I have been laying down cardboard in the pathways between the raised beds to suppress the grass. As I was pulling up some of the longer grass, I spotted one of the froglets hopping around. We put him back carefully in the pond, but now, attuned to the little jumers, we see that there are several more out in the garden, so I guess that they don't need to be put back. Much excitement for Dara and Leo, and the undergardener to see and hold them.

We saw a ladybird as well - would hope to see lots more of them. The mizuna has been ravaged by a nice looking caterpillar (or 6) - we have put all the caterpillars in a jar, and they will be going to Leo's creche tomorrow, so the kids can all get a good look at them. And if they don't survive the journey home, well that's too bad ;-)

It has stayed wet since the last post, so any squash plants that were not big and strong have been munched by the slugs (come on, frogs!), and some lettuce plants are gone too. However, it's looking better than this time last year. I may have given away all my spare squash plants a bit too soon - but maybe I'll get back some of the fruit.

Note for next year - lettuce a bit safer in vegetable chips, almost no point planting in the ground if the weather is wet. Also, the Brassicas - specifically broc. are overpowering their neighbours. Maybe I should only plant one per sq. ft.