• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
Home Garden Joy
  • Home
  • How to Garden
    • Seed Starting
    • Plant Profiles
    • Tools & Equipment
    • Raised Bed Gardening
  • Vegetables
  • Fruit
  • Herbs
  • About
    • Books & Classes
      • Herbalism Classes
      • Books for Christian Herbalists
      • Privacy Policy

Nabbed the Culprit

July 25, 2010 by Jeanne

I have a small tray of potted seedlings on my front porch. These are the perennials I’ve been nurturing along since my wintertime splurge from Swallow Tail Garden’s seed catalog: cherry Echinacea, Spanish lavender, yellow primrose. Something has been digging up the plants. Not every night; every once in a while, I’ll find one seedling dug up and thrown out of the pot. I’m down to one lavender because something really seemed to enjoy digging in the lavender pots. John blamed Pierre, but I couldn’t imagine that he’d have time on his daily outdoor jaunts to stop and dig in a pot. And besides, why would he? Okay, he’s a cat, and cats can be weird and spiteful. But Pierre isn’t a digger. Biting and pouncing yes, but digging – no.

So it was with surprise when all the pieces of the puzzle fell into place last night.  I stayed up late to watch the season finale of Dr. Who (I have been a huge fan, or Whovian, since they first appeared on the old Channel 9 broadcast station in New York on Saturday mornings when I was a kid; my sister Ann, brother Steve and I used to sit and watch them all morning long together.)  I flipped on the porch light, hooked up Shadow and prepared to take her out for her last potty break. A sudden movement among the pots in the tray caught my eye and soil flew to the left while something leaped to the right with a squeak.

Guess what?

My toad friends.

They were digging down into the moist soil.  I found one small one in a little depression he’d dug in the one remaining healthy pot of lavender. The really large one, the toad the size of a deck of playing cards, had hopped out of the other lavender that I’d noticed dug up the other day. When they leaped out, their strong back legs kicked out huge chunks of soil and uprooted the plants.

After I walked Shadow, I got out my watering can and filled the tray up with water. I left it for the toads, who were now hopping like mad to get off the porch, perhaps fearing for their lives.

We puzzled over their behavior for a while, but I think I’ve found the answer. With daily temperatures soaring over 100 degrees, the soil in the garden is like concrete despite our morning and evening watering regimen. The pots on the deck, however, are nice and moist; I baby them.  The poor toads have been digging down into the moist soil to keep themselves comfortable.

John suggested last night that we put out a tray of mud or plain water for the toads in the evening to keep them away from the pots and so I’m going to hunt through the recycle bin and see what I can come up with for them.  In the meantime, I can take down my “Wanted” poster; we nabbed the culprit who’s been digging up my seedlings!

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Previous Post: « Frugal Watering System
Next Post: Vegetable Gardening Disasters »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. ~Gardener on Sherlock Street

    July 25, 2010 at

    What a great idea to give the toad’s a place to dig instead of your flowers!!! I hope it works so you can live in harmony.

Primary Sidebar

Let’s Connect!

  • Facebook
  • Instagram

As Seen in Porch

 As Seen in Porch

We were featured in Porch.com and answered reader's questions about indoor plants.

Explore All Gardening Articles

a zucchini growing in a raised bed

Growing Zucchini in Raised Beds

kale growing in a raised bed

Replenishing Raised Bed Garden Soil

raised bed garden

How to Build a Vegetable Garden Using Raised Beds

a watering can next to a seed tray on a sidewalk

What Veggies Can I Plant Now?

Herbalism Classes & Supplies

Goods Shop by Herbal Academy – botanically inspired products

Disclosure

Home Garden Joy participates in two affiliate programs: Amazon and The Herbal Academy. Home Garden Joy earns a commission from qualifying purchases as an Amazon Associate. As an Herbal Academy Associate, HGJ also earns a commission when you sign up for classes or purchase herbs or supplies from The Herbal Academy. Herbal information and recipes on this site are provided for educational purposes only.

Footer

butternut squash growing in a raised garden bed

How to Grow Butternut Squash Organically

Learning how to grow butternut squash organically ensures you know how to grow this tasty, nutritious vegetable in your home garden. I’ll share with you some basic information on growing butternut squash, followed by some organic gardening tips that have been helpful for me here at Seven Oaks Farm in dealing with the various pests…

Read More

herbs in a pink dish

How to Make the Perfect Cup of Herbal Tea

Make the perfect cup of herbal tea, right from your own garden! In May, I gave two free talks on how to grow, harvest, dry, and create your very own herbal teas. This lecture proved so popular that I recorded the narration and uploaded it to YouTube. You can view it below: Supplies to Make…

Read More

tent caterpillars on a pear tree

How to Get Rid of Tent Caterpillars

I spent last Saturday morning getting rid of Eastern tent caterpillars from the apple and pear trees in the orchard here on the farm. Malacosoma americanum, the Eastern tent caterpillar, is a regular visitor each spring. We first spot the shimmery webs on a clear spring day. The small ‘tents’ built by the caterpillars quickly…

Read More

kale growing in a raised bed

Replenishing Raised Bed Garden Soil

Raised bed vegetable garden soil soil needs to be replenished periodically. If you’ve done your job right and selected great soil, and amended it with nice compost, you’re going to have super garden soil for the first few years. Because you don’t walk on a raised bed garden the way that you do with typical…

Read More

  • Privacy Policy
  • About
  • Awards

Copyright © 2025 Home Garden Joy on the Foodie Pro Theme