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Tiny Toads

June 9th, 2011

I’ve been watching the pond daily and keeping track of the growth of the toad poles. There are hundreds if not thousands in there. There may be some frogs as well, I haven’t been able to tell yet if any of the tadpoles are frogs. It truly is amazing how a small 70 gallon pond will increase the biodiversity in your garden and capture your interest as well.


I’ve been watching these little guys since they were about the size of a grain of rice. Now they’re the size of a very large pea. About a week ago I noticed that they started getting legs and yesterday I noticed a few of them had started to lose their tails and were crawling out of the water.

Soon my garden will be overrun with tiny toads. Many of them will become food for birds but a few will survive to wage war on the slugs and other insects in the garden.

Any interesting thing in your garden you’re keeping an eye on? rabbit or bird nest? insect eggs?

15 Comments to “Tiny Toads”
  1. Brittany on June 9, 2011 at 7:26 am

    So cool!

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  2. Jennifer Fisk on June 9, 2011 at 7:48 am

    Every summer I seem to have a toad living in my garden. Do they really eat slugs? I’ve surrounded my broccoli and kale with wood ashes for them. I’d hate to deprive Toad a delicacy.

    Reply to Jennifer Fisk's comment

    • Susy on June 9, 2011 at 8:12 am

      They do, since a toad showed up in garden 6-7 years ago I hardly see a slug or an earwig any more. They seem to keep them under control and slugs and earwigs were to infestation levels before the toad moved in .

      Reply to Susy's comment

  3. Katrina on June 9, 2011 at 8:03 am

    That’s really neat! I’ve noticed this year that I have lots of lizards in my garden…and fewer bad bugs. Finally a little balance between the good guys and the bad guys!

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  4. kristin @ going country on June 9, 2011 at 8:23 am

    There had BETTER NOT be a rabbit’s nest in the garden. I’ve already lost most of my spinach and a couple of rows of peas to those little buggers. The dogs are not earning their kibble this spring.

    There is a big snake living in the compost pile. I’m not a great lover of snakes, but none of the ones around here are venomous, so I can live with it. And there’s a large toad living in and around the early potatoes. Along with the cucumber beetles that are living ON the potatoes. Punks.

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  5. Bell Pepper on June 9, 2011 at 8:38 am

    I was late in trimming back my rhododendrons and before I knew it a robin had made a nest. The cats and watch as the wee little birds hatch and grew feathers and began hopping around the branches. They flew then nest,the bush is pruned, and the cats are back watching the fish in the tank.

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  6. Donna B. on June 9, 2011 at 10:03 am

    Robin’s like to nest in a dwarf alberta spruce by my kitchen window. I love hearing the male serenade while I make my morning toast. Sadly I lack the “Water” element in my yard… my township requires a permit for a pond, I believe. Maybe I can get away with something a bit on the small side, and hidden! Mwahahaha.
    For three years now I’ve been telling myself to make a small pond. Seventy gallons sounds like a lot, but I guess it determines how deep the pond is. Do you run any pumps/filtration to keep the water clean? Or do you let the elements duke it out with plants and wildlife in the water?
    Oh, I just want to go home now and dig another hole in the ground…

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  7. MAYBELLINE on June 9, 2011 at 10:27 am

    Wish I had just one toad.

    Reply to MAYBELLINE's comment

  8. Barefeet In The Kitchen on June 9, 2011 at 11:12 am

    My husband has been talking about adding a small pond to our garden next year. Before he started talking about it, I had no idea it would do so much for us. I love seeing your pics. My boys would be in heaven!!

    Reply to Barefeet In The Kitchen's comment

  9. Dana on June 9, 2011 at 11:24 am

    There’s so many!! I’ve always loved watching toad/tadpoles. There’s something so amazing about seeing legs grow. As a patio container gardener with really limited space, I don’t have room for a pond, but I’ve seen some butterflies lately!

    Reply to Dana's comment

  10. Susan Lea on June 9, 2011 at 2:19 pm

    Lovely photos! Really amazing close-ups! A toad scared me last night when I went to shut the chickens up. It moved right under my feet in the dark–anything that moves under my feet in the dark scares me! :)

    I’m enjoying watching our Muscovy ducks grow–and the flies in the barnyard disappear! I have more flies in the house than in the barnyard. Hmm, maybe I should bring a duck into the house!

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  11. Kathi on June 9, 2011 at 3:43 pm

    Adorable!

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  12. Sincerely, Emily on June 9, 2011 at 7:01 pm

    Oh how fun to watch the toad poles (and tadpoles too). We used to watch that process every year when I was younger and we lived in Wisconsin. Great memories. I have toads and I am thrilled about it. I have a whole commune living under the air conditioning slab. I can’t figure out where there was enough fresh water for them to breed and increase their family size, but I am happy they are there. I posted about them here.

    http://emilysincerely.wordpress.com/2011/06/03/mr-toad-returns/

    Reply to Sincerely, Emily's comment

  13. marcyincny on June 9, 2011 at 9:53 pm

    I now know I should never make a pond here. I would spend so much time watching any amphibians that show up that I wouldn’t get anything else done. Wonderful photos.

    I have one less critter in the yard now after I relocated a big groundhog earlier this evening. I still have the fledgling crows for whom I seem to have become some sort of a babysitter. They have taken to perching on the fence while I work in the garden and sometimes I find it a little unsettling.

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  14. Kelly (The Sorry Gardener) on June 9, 2011 at 11:44 pm

    When I was a kid, I brought some tadpoles home and watched them grow in an aquarium in my room with shallow water and rocks. It was amazing to see them change. One day I came home from school and some had crawled out so I released them outside. When I left for college and we moved my furniture, I found one of the poor desiccated things under the dresser and felt like a murderer.

    Reply to Kelly (The Sorry Gardener)'s comment

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This is a daily journal of my efforts to cultivate a more simple life, through local eating, gardening and so many other things. We used to live in a small suburban neighborhood Ohio but moved to 153 acres in Liberty, Maine in 2012.

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