For years I've given advice on what to do with frog and toad
population explosions in the pond.
One of those bits of advice is to feed them lightly boiled
organic lettuce.

So I figured I ought to try this advice myself.

One batch of the Pacific Treefrog eggs I adopted from
jan went into one of my pondlets on the kitchen windowsill.
I decided I would add some lightly boiled organic lettuce
to their habitat.

I went to the store to purchase the lettuce. I noted that organic
romaine costs twice as much as 'regular' romaine. It was packaged
in plastic with those little holes. The edges were brown, there was
mold, the cut edge was really brown and the outer leaves were
wilted. To top it all off there was a dead fly in the package!
That herbicide and pesticide romaine was looking better all the time!

Once home I lightly boiled some leaves.
Warning, boiling organic romaine smells yukky and
teenagers will view it in extreme alarm if you boil it close to the
dinner hour. It is not true that teenage boys will eat anything, like
bullfrogs, that they can cram in their mouths. Boiled organic romaine
lettuce leaves proves that.

I think you can get the same effect from letting the leaves hang
out in a dish of expensive bottled water. (Gotta watch out for
chlorine and other nastiness ~ though I've heard a lot of bottled
water comes from effervescent county and city water supplies,
gushing from pipes deep within the water treatment plant, but
that's another story...)

Once the leaves were cooled I put a piece of one into the pondlet.
The tadpoles ignored it. Ungrateful little critters, this stuff is like
gold!

I've only used up one small piece of lettuce. I have tons left.
So the experiment will continue. I just have to get rid of the moldy
parts, put the dead fly in the pondlet for some protein and find a
corner of the fridge for the stuff to continue rotting in.

k30a

"K30a" wrote in message
...

For years I've given advice on what to do with frog and toad
population explosions in the pond.
One of those bits of advice is to feed them lightly boiled
organic lettuce.
snip

I have a friend that worked for one of the largest organic farms in the US,
when he was in college. He said part of his weekly tasks was to drive the
perimeter of the farm with a 55 gallon drum of round up, in order to kill
anything "near" the farm that might harm the "organic" crops.

I bet you toads will do just fine with the non-organic lettuce. I don't
believe the organic to be much more then hype.

Flame away.

BV.

I'll bet the mommy and daddy frogs and toads would be grateful for the care
their kids are receiving.

Think how robust toads are...born in good to awful water. Growing up fast,
eating almost anything in their race to mature before the pond dries up.
Lettuce is cool...We have fed them our staple catfish food and/or let them
fend for themselves in the pond. Our neighborhood is now infested with
toads....

Jim

--
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______________________________________________
"K30a" wrote in message
...

For years I've given advice on what to do with frog and toad
population explosions in the pond.
One of those bits of advice is to feed them lightly boiled
organic lettuce.

So I figured I ought to try this advice myself.

One batch of the Pacific Treefrog eggs I adopted from
jan went into one of my pondlets on the kitchen windowsill.
I decided I would add some lightly boiled organic lettuce
to their habitat.

I went to the store to purchase the lettuce. I noted that organic
romaine costs twice as much as 'regular' romaine. It was packaged
in plastic with those little holes. The edges were brown, there was
mold, the cut edge was really brown and the outer leaves were
wilted. To top it all off there was a dead fly in the package!
That herbicide and pesticide romaine was looking better all the time!

Once home I lightly boiled some leaves.
Warning, boiling organic romaine smells yukky and
teenagers will view it in extreme alarm if you boil it close to the
dinner hour. It is not true that teenage boys will eat anything, like
bullfrogs, that they can cram in their mouths. Boiled organic romaine
lettuce leaves proves that.

I think you can get the same effect from letting the leaves hang
out in a dish of expensive bottled water. (Gotta watch out for
chlorine and other nastiness ~ though I've heard a lot of bottled
water comes from effervescent county and city water supplies,
gushing from pipes deep within the water treatment plant, but
that's another story...)

Once the leaves were cooled I put a piece of one into the pondlet.
The tadpoles ignored it. Ungrateful little critters, this stuff is like
gold!

I've only used up one small piece of lettuce. I have tons left.
So the experiment will continue. I just have to get rid of the moldy
parts, put the dead fly in the pondlet for some protein and find a
corner of the fridge for the stuff to continue rotting in.

k30a

Honest, I did not see this when I posted similar on another thread, but you
have the agreement of this Master Gardener and the local Extension Agent I
learned it from. ~ jan ;o)

I bet you toads will do just fine with the non-organic lettuce. I don't
believe the organic to be much more then hype.

Flame away.

BV.



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Tri-Cities WA Zone 7a
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