Rosy Reds, the Frogs and the Vegetable Garden

The Adventure

American bees mysteriously dying off

Somethings about Me and This Blog

I live in a small rural township in Erie County, Pennsylvania. For the most part, I am a freelance writer (sometimes times are good and other times poor as a church mouse). Luckily, I have about 30 acres of property, much of it is timber.

I enjoy just about anything outdoors; hiking, camping, fishing, some hunting, outdoor photography.

I also enjoy a vegetable garden in the backyard and grow and can or preserve a lot of my own food. I am strictly an organic gardener. The garden is about fifty feet square, with raised beds constructed from old concrete blocks, and fenced in to keep a lot of critters out. Well, the fence serves another purpose' it's great for pole beans, peas and cukes.

The center of the garden is a small pond. There is always something happening there. I placed about 200 rosy red minnows in the pond, which was already home to frogs, salamanders, some turtles, and a wide variety of native bog and water plants.

A wooden footbridge connects the gardens which include pollinator gardens, asparagus and garlic beds.

Hopefully, this can be a zone where everyone can share thier insights, thoughts, suggestions and experiences. The pond is a natural fit for the garden and adds a tone of peace and relaxtion as well as a sense of wonder about our natural world.

Besides all this activity, I enjoy reading, the Internet and am interested in history. Please check out my blog for more information and feel free to add comments. The blogs' focus is on the issues, concerns and general musing on rural living with an emphasis on our environment, quality of life and touches briefly on the rich history of the general northwestern region of Pennsylvania.

http://koyotehill.blogspot.com/

I also have a second writing site at My Hub which deals more in depth with the local history of northwestern Pennsylvania. Give it a read if you have the time. http://hubpages.com/author/solokoyote/hot/

I also have quite a few garden articles posted at Helium; these can be found at Helium.com http://www.helium.com/users/396412

You might want to consider....

Upcoming Month: Notes, Reminders, Facts and other fun stuff.

April

The month usually brings a lot of rain but it is also International Guitar Month, National Humor Month and National Garden Month. According to the National Garden Association, an ambitious and well kept 20 foot by 30 foot vegetable garden can produce some 300 pounds of produce valued at more than $600. With Earth Day set for April 22, it's time to go Green around the house and the yard.

1) April Fools Day (be careful)

3) National Walk to Work Day

5) Palm Sunday

9) Full Moon -called the Full Pink Moon because the herb moss or wild phlox is blooming. It is also known as the Full Grass Sprouting Moon, Full Egg Moon and the Full Fish Moon.

10) Good Friday

12) Easter

15) Tax Day

19) Passover

20) Patriots Day

22) Earth Day – Go Green

23) Take your Daughter to Work Day

 

Patriots Day on April 20^th commemorates the start of the American Revolution with the Battles of Lexington and Concord. It is also a day set to honor Paul Revere's ride.

Garlic Day is observed on April 19^th, not too sure why it was set for that day. Whatever, eat some garlic anyway.

My Favorite YouTube Video

The Frog Bog

     Noah!                                                                                                                                                               

The March flood was a little unexpected. With warmer temperatures and heavy rains the first week of the month, there was water everywhere. Some areas around the footbridge were under nearly a foot or more of water. There really was no damage. But, as can be seen from the photos, there are some flood control projects I am going to have get done as soon as I can.

While having a small pond area surrounded by a vegetable and herb garden has a lot of advantages, it does require some additional planning. The photos should be adequate proof. It is going to take a few hours with a shovel and a few more drainage pipes to correct.

There was no real damage. The vegetable beds are all raised beds, so that wasn't an issue. It was more an unexpected inconvenience. I suspect the same situation will arise during heavy rains during the summer, so this is something to get ready to control.

One advantage is that, for the most part, the minnows should not be able to escape or be washed out and away. And I certainly am not worried about the frogs. My largest concern at the moment is the wooden footbridge and safety. Hopefully, it will remain stable and everyone, including me, will be able to stay dry getting across it.

As mentioned earlier, the minnows are a type of flatheads, called Rosy Reds. They are a goldfish, bright orange color and a great addition. One advantage is that they do like mosquitoes. I am thinking the place will be a nightmare for those pesky insects. Another advantage is they do like left over stale bread crumbs. My only question will be if I should add some type of supplemental food for them. Right now my thinking is I should not have to feed them, though, I'll likely get some type of fish food later in the spring.

Another question is over-population. Rosy Reds breed once the water temperature rises into the upper sixties and every twenty days. And as mentioned earlier, about 200 of them were placed in the pond in October. That could mean a real surplus of tiny fry.

But for now, I had better get out there with the shovel.