If you have a garden pond one thing to consider is local frogs. You may find that each spring frogs visit your pond to breed and the reuslting frog spawn may swamp your pond.

That may be fine if you want a natural pond that attracts local wildlife but not if you want a pristine clean fish pond.

But the 21st Century has seen the UK frog population declining and simply throwing the spawn away will not stop frogs using your pond each year though it will not help increase the number of frogs either.

These small amphibians, frogs, often fascinate people so it would be sad if they became extinct and after all every creature has its place in this world.

Over the last few years the U.K. population of frogs has been hit by disease which has meant a rapid decline in their number. In 2010 a killer virus wiped out thousands of frogs.

For this blogger though frogs are alive and well, enjoying life in the city

We moved into our current home in 1999. It is in a northern city of Yorkshire in the U.K. The relatively small garden already had a pond in situ which had a small stock of fish and each spring a teaming population of frogs.

Throughout the year the frogs would seemingly vanish.

Move a plant's leaves in summer though and you were liable to glimpse a frog or even have one jump out at you and in spring each year the frogs would become visible. A veritable orgy would be on going for weeks in our pond, with so much frog spawn that some had to be removed.

Following local flooding in 2007 and extensive renovation works of our home it was decided that it would be prudent to fill in our pond. Sadly neighbours had been doing the same for years resulting in more and more frogs filling our garden and pond each spring.

On a mild evening the garden was, as far as noise went, reminiscent of the Deep South of the U.S.A. and the frog chorus.

Frogs however must have a "die hard “attitude to life.

Almost ten years later the frogs are still around.

In May 2015 some frogs returned to their proverbial spring home. There may be few ponds locally now but they were looking for a good place to breed and their desire strong.

The odd frog was spotted in our garden like the one shown in the image above.

Opening the door early in the morning this frog was looking up at me. It had plonked itself in our dog's food dish that had been left outdoors to soak in water overnight.

There the frog stayed all day then vanished.

Conclusion: We need to put more thought into building city ponds and more importantly into filling them in.

Frogs, once they have found a forever breeding ground will return year after year after year to breed. If the U.K. frog population is declining we can all play a part in halting that.

For this blogger it is going to be providing a temporary wet area for the frogs to "play".

Now March 1, 2017, may be a good day to start that project.

​Gardener's friend?
​Make your garden frog friendly
​Save the Frogs

Did you know that Radishes are classed as one of the super-foods? This small peppery tasting salad vegetable is often maligned and under used but it should be eaten liberally when in season.

What can be most health giving though are the roots and the leaves of these small plants. These are almost always discarded when you prepare radishes for eating by top, tail and washing them.

The leaves of the plant though contain more Vitamin-C, protein and calcium than their roots. Radishes contain Vitamin-C, zinc, B-complex vitamins and phosphorus. In fact you can find a wide range of uses and health benefits detailed here. Apart from eating radishes, they may become part of your beauty regime.

What we love about radishes though is their distinctive taste added to the fact that they are quick and easy to grow. You will not need a huge garden or plot of land. If you monitor the radishes growth and plant new seeds at regular intervals you will have a bountiful crop.

Here is one of our earlier articles regarding growing radishes from seed:

Well let's get started. First let's make sure we all know what radishes are. They are those small round red. pink or white, slightly peppery tasting salad vegetables. Good radishes are firm and crunchy to bite into.

As with most vegetables radishes have quite a few different varieties. What all radishes have in common though is that they are all quick and easy to grow. You do not need a large garden as they can be grown from seed in trugs, troughs, planters and the like. Convinced?

The seeds

You can buy a packet of radish seeds fairly cheaply from garden centres or supermarkets. As a rough amount a packet of seeds containing 500 seeds will cost you about 40p. We opted for a packet of seeds from Asda for £1 that contained lettuce, spring onion and two different varieties of radish seeds.

Containers

You can grow vegetables such as radishes even if you do not have a garden, They do not require a massive amount of space. Plastic round trugs which retail from between £2 to £8 are perfect for the job in hand. Remember to drill a couple of drainage holes in the bottom though before planting.

Compost

Radishes grow so easily that a basic multi-purpose compost will be fine. Buy a huge bag as it works out cheaper.

Best location

Radishes will thrive in a sunny spot. Summer in the UK can be a hit and miss affair so choose an area that has the most sunlight. Ensure though that they will not get too much sun on a daily basis. Radishes might like sun but they do not want to get too hot.

Planting
Ideally plant in rows at a depth of around 1/2 an inch. Cover with soil or compost.

Aim to leave a space between each seed. Some radish seeds are a fair size and this is easy to do with these seeds.

Helpful advice

• Within about 10 days your seedlings will be strong enough to thin out.
• Ideally try to plant the seeds with enough room so that the thinning out needed is minimal.
• If you do thin them out discard weak underdeveloped seedlings in order for the strongest to survive.
• Keep weeds and other plants away from your radishes if you have planted directly into your garden.
• In Summer the radishes will ready to eat in a month or less.
• Radishes need plenty of water and so are perfect for a normal British Summer.
• In hot and dry conditions water liberally each evening.
• Watch out for slugs, pests and birds who may want to eat your crop before you can.
• If you want a continuing crop of radishes throughout the Summer sow seeds from the end of April, every couple of weeks.
• Radishes will be tastier if eaten as soon as ready rather than left in the ground.

Harvesting

Take care not to disturb ant surrounding radishes that are not yet ready to harvest. Gently put your hand around the radish under the soil or compost. You will be able to assess if the radish is large and mature. If it is gently pull up. Snap the top leaves and bottom root of for washing and eating. Throw the discarded leaves and roots into your composter.

Overall

As radishes are so easy and quick to grow they are perfect for beginners and children to grow. So? What are you waiting for?

​Grow radish from seed
Grow lettuce from seed