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Simple Habitat Cheats for Happy Coturnix Quail
One of the greatest enjoyments of keeping Coturnix Quail is watching their quirky behaviors when they are happy and healthy. The following habitat features create a healthier, cleaner environment that may reduce stress and aggression within the covey. BeddingThe key to good bedding is finding something with small enough particles that the quail can organically turn over as they scratch around. Large flake pine shavings are too large and will lead to poop that spreads over the flakes and then…
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Ultimate Guide to Keeping Frogs in a Koi Pond
As we dreamed of building a larger pond for the koi that rapidly outgrew their little stock tank pond, we wanted it to support the larger community of insects and animals native to our area. Specifically, I really wanted frogs. When we installed our first pond, the stock tank pond, we also added a few bullfrog tadpoles and tree frog tadpoles, which grew into adults.
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The Big Dig – Building Our Backyard Pond
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Resolutions for 2017 – Habitat for Birds
One of my favorite winter pastimes is backyard bird watching. We typically keep a steady supply of seed in the feeders, and occasionally put out a block of suet. Last week my youngest son and I made a fresh batch of peanut butter pine cone feeders, which the chickadees especially love. While I love putting out food for the birds, it doesn’t make me as giddy as seeing a bird land in a newly planted tree for the first time.…
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Single Serve Garden
As a harvest of beans has been steadily coming in for several weeks now and the heirloom tomatoes are starting to blush, I’ve been thinking on the idea of a single serve garden. Some days we haul in a grocery bag of beans, squash and cucumbers, and other days it’s just a handful here, and a sprig of something there. Several weekends ago I wanted to saute squash for guests and didn’t have enough for everyone, so I threw in…
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The importance of interplanting and biodiversity in the vegetable garden
Companion planting, or interplanting is the practice of growing crops together so that one or both may be benefited by the presence of the other or planting crops together that at the very least won’t commit unspeakable crimes on each other. Conventional home garden methods are to plant crops in orderly blocks or rows, which makes navigation and harvesting much simpler. Here’s the problem, when you don’t interplant, your rows are essentially a buffet for whatever pest or disease takes…
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Taking care of the bumbles
I’ve always been skittish around flying insects with stingers. I blame my parents who potty trained me in the buff on the side porch, during which I was stung on the bumkin by a bee. When approached by a yellow jacket, I will actually take off in flight until I lose him. However, in the garden, there is one stinger I’ve found peace with – bumble bees! Mind you, the carpenter bees are still evil assassins that chase me for…
