Garden Law Discussion

philj · Joined: 16 Mar 2008 Posts: 79 Location: NW

Last year the Herons took the goldfish from my pond and for some reason the last of my koi carp of about 25 years old keeled over.

Earlier this year my pond developed a lot of duck weed, or whatever it's called, but because of the amount of frogspawn I put off clearing the weed. I did try netting it in the summer but kept catching tadpoles so I left it again.

I tried again last week but the first scoop caught some tadpoles. Is this normal for this time of year - I thought tthey would have well hopped it by now.

My Holly tree has never produced as many berries before. An old friend of mine would say this is nature providing food for the birds for a long hard winter, I hope not.

appledore · Joined: 12 Apr 2006 Posts: 1425

I think the tadpoles are probably confused by the weather. We have plants flowering that usually flower in the middle of summer, and the black birds appear to be courting. Smile

I think the fact that there are a lot of berries is more likely to mean that weather conditions have been right for holly and other shrubs, rather than it's going to be a long hard winter. I could be wrong though. Laughing

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Keep calm and carry on.

despair · Joined: 14 Mar 2005 Posts: 11141

I do know thay pyracanthas around my area are laden with berries
normally by this time of year they have been stripped clean by the birds

everything is topsy turvy

philj · Joined: 16 Mar 2008 Posts: 79 Location: NW

A month or so ago the hardy fuchsias seemmed to have finished flowering and I think each had about two flowers. Since then they have grown about a foot and and are covered in flowers.

The upright yews have noticeably had more berries than usual but the Blckbirds are making short work of them.

I haven't put any food in the bird feeders as yet, one shopkeeper told me off for buying seed in the summer. Does anyone feed all year or just during the hard weather.

WILL*REMAIN*STRONG · Posted: Sat Nov 07, 2009 12:41 pm Post subject:

Mojisola · Joined: 05 Apr 2009 Posts: 237

The RSPB recommend feeding all year round.

Why was the shopkeeper selling bird seed and then telling people off for buying it Confused

appledore · Joined: 12 Apr 2006 Posts: 1425

We feed the birds all year round. I think it's important to feed them when there are lots of babies.
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Keep calm and carry on.

philj · Joined: 16 Mar 2008 Posts: 79 Location: NW

The shopkeeper was saying, and I think I have heard it elsewhere, that the birds should forage for their natural foods in the summer and that some of the foods we put out may not provide a good diet for the young, or even choke on certain foods.

ukmicky · Joined: 27 Sep 2008 Posts: 1711 Location: London

Birds require a varied diet and young birds also need to hone their food finding abilities whilst natural food is a plenty.

Feeding birds to much and all the time during the summer can lead to an incomplete diet and my lead to some young birds relying on your food source and will not sufficiently learn all or hone there foraging skills to the necessary level to survive in an environment that does not include free handouts.

philj · Joined: 16 Mar 2008 Posts: 79 Location: NW

I am sure you are right ukmicky, last summer we left some suet balls out which surely can not be the correct food for youg birds.

This thread was originally posted to see if anyone had any ideas on how to get rid of the duck weed. It will be Spring before we know it (hopefully) and the cycle of the frogs will start again.

Please do not jest by suggesting a duck - I have known one or two people who have kept a duck in their garden but it was not long before they did not hve any gardenleft, just a mud patch.

kipper · Joined: 02 Sep 2009 Posts: 424

Unlikely that you will get rid of it completely, but some advice on control here.

philj · Joined: 16 Mar 2008 Posts: 79 Location: NW

I was looking out at my pond last week which was frozen over and had an idea of how to get rid of the duckweed as it was frozen into the ice.

Simply break the ice and lift out in sheets, weed and all and throw in to the compost bin.

It must have taken about four hours as my pond is a 20ft x 10ft kidney shape, but I managed to clear a good three quarters of it on a freezing cold day.

This would not be recommended if the pond was stocked with fish.

MX to all

Emulated · Joined: 02 Jul 2006 Posts: 568 Location: Exeter

Is it duckweed or blanket weed? Duckweed is not usualy a problem but blanket weed is a nightmare. If it is blanket weed this stuff works a treat. Considered the best by many pond keepers.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Cloverleaf-Blanket-Weed-Answer-Koi-Fish-Pond-Treatment_W0QQitemZ110463245458QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Pet_Supplies_Fish?hash=item19b81f5c92

philj · Joined: 16 Mar 2008 Posts: 79 Location: NW

Emulated - no, blanket weed is totally different and I do not think it persists through the winter.

This is the floating duckweed which is more of a problem to control, but thanks for the link.

stringrae · Joined: 24 Oct 2007 Posts: 615

Philj - there is a website just-green.com - sells all kinds of eco stuff and they have a duckweed remover which is safe for fish, pets, plants etc. You can also ask advice. I found it when looking for an eco friendly deck cleaner - our deck is slippy slimy but all the cleaning products look really costic and when brushed off would harm our plants surrounding the deck. Take a look.