Competition Time!

The plot is slowly getting established...so time for sonething new; I've had a suggestion that I should have a competition to name some of the things on the plot.
1) The shed
2) The fish
3) The plot as a whole
4) The pond?
So if you have any suggestions for any names (and a reasoning perhaps behind the choice) - make a comment, or send to my email address if you know it!!
Would probably be best not to call anything something ending in "-tastic", as even I'm getting a bit bored with that!
There is no prize to be awarded, but you get to think up some good names, and as a bonus you don't need to spend any money on mobile phone/landline/postcard costs.

Fin-tastic

The fish are in the pond today, hurrah!
Headed off to the aquarium shop near to where I work, and chose 4 little Sarassa Comets. Pictured just before moving into there new residence. They don't eat too much, about 3-4 little (red lentil size) granules a day each - so the 500g bag will probably last a few years!!!
The food is good for Koi type fish too, so will help them keep their nice red colour.

My neighbour was looking at his pond this morning, before we went to pick up the fish, he was a bit worried about the water quality. The pond has changed from clear/green to reddish brown in only a few days! The fish seemed fine though.

I asked at the aquarium shop, and he sold me some bags of Daphia (water fleas?). Weird stuff to buy, a little plastic tube all chilled down in a fridge, moving around like crazy. The water fleas eat single cell plant life, which the shop-owner thought might be the problem. They won't do any harm to the other creatures in the pond, so we'll see if things improve over the next week or so.

I put some in my pond too, hopefully they'll feed on all the mini-algae, get the water clear and then keep it that way. Which needs to happen, because as soon as the fish went in the pond they became a lot harder to see (which is why there is no photo!). I knew the water wasn't clear - but was surprised by how hard the bright red fish were to spot! Guess it was a good job I got the Comets, as they are a much deeper colour than regular goldfish.

I decided not to plant out the sweetcorn yet. I'm going to harden it off a bit more...and avoid the last of the frosty nights.

Pond-tastic!

Hole is dug and the liner sits nice and snug, got all the way down to some London clay. Don't want to be doing that again in a hurry, heavy, wet and uncooperative! Next off to the garden centre to eye up some possible future fishy residents.


Back from the garden centre, apologies for shadow! Pond filled with water, some from the water tank which, as the water sits around in it for a while should have some healthy bacteria and microbes. The rest was hosed in. The oxygenating plants are in place - two types, both with very long Latin names that I can't remember or will ever need to know again!

The plan for Mr Pond is to now leave nature to get to work building up some normal pond type plant life, and in a couple of weeks the walls of the pond should have a covering of green stuff - which will hopefully indicate the fish can go in.
I'm planning on putting four goldfish - Comets I think, that will be about 3 or 4 inches long to start with. Comets are a goldfish variety that look pretty much like a regular river fish - no soppy fan tails, or big bulging eyes or other deformities - just fish that enjoy a swim, and look very red. Not had a pond previously so I'm hoping all goes well.

Had an offer of a toad or two from a neighbouring allotmenteer, which is very nice - the toad will need to be bussed in from her garden at home -her plot doesn't have a pond (yet). Hopefully I'll get other pond-life joining too, of their own free will. There are plenty of them on the site. Think there are at least four ponds where I've seen frogs, or tadpoles or frogspawn, there are sure to be more ponds tucked away. My neighbour has got newts in his pond too ( or was it salamanders?).

I've got the netting in place over the pond. Think I may put something else over later - although the netting is up to the job - which is keeping birds like herons out of the pond and helping themselves to the fish (once they arrive), and the frogs.

Guess a bit further along the line I'll put some other plants on the different levels in the pond, irises, lilies etc...but that can wait for the moment...

If I get down to the plot for any length of time next week I'll clear some weeds, which have died back now, and get the ground ready for the sweet corn and peas to be planted out.

That was a very successful weekend, plot now has a shed and a pond!