Potted Succulent Mix at Home Depot

I saw these beautifully arranged potted succulents at our local Home Depot for only $19.98.  They have some interesting combinations.  If you have time, you should swing by and see what they have in stock.
 

How to Create a Naturalistic Vivarium

Photo: My Poison Dart Frog Vivarium 

In my last post, I introduced you to Blue, my pet poison dart frog.  In this post, I will describe how to successfully create a natural habitat for your dart frog.  You can still apply the basic principles for creating setups for other reptiles/amphibians (e.g., geckos, small lizards, etc.).  Just be sure to research climate conditions, native plants, and so forth that are unique to your pet. 

The Terrarium

• I chose an acrylic terrarium made by Zoo Med with a front access.  
• Pros: Easy front-access, lighter weight than glass aquariums, sturdier than glass
• Cons: Difficult to clean hard deposits off of acrylic without scratching surface, air flow holes and screen top make it a challenge to keep the humidity level high.
• I still love the Zoo Med Terrarium because the front access makes it super easy to trim back my plants, feed my frog, etc.  I solved the humidity issue by bringing the soil up past the air flow lines, covering most of the screen with a uv light fixture, and using a fogger machine. 

 Create a Drainage Layer

• You need to create a drainage Layer for your plants. If the plant's roots are left in standing water, then the roots may rot, causing you problems. You can avoid this by using a layer of pea gravel, lava rock, or clay balls to create a drainage area for your plants.  My drainage layer is between 1" to 1.5" deep.  
• I used Hydroton (LECA) clay balls.  These things are great because unlike gravel, they are SUPER light.  Not all pet stores carry these, and if they do they may provide a small quantity at a higher price.  I would try your local garden center first and/or compare online prices.  

Protective Mesh

• You are going to want to provide a porous, protective sheet on top of your drainage medium to prevent your soil from settling into the cracks of your drainage layer.
• You can re-purpose old window screens.   If you don't have any old ones, you can get a whole roll of New York Wire 30117 Fiberglass Screen Cloth Ready Rolls for less than $10 at your local hardware store or online.    

Non-Toxic Substrate

• The quality of the substrate you grow your plants in is very important! You do NOT want to get ordinary potting soil. Potting soil is filled with fertilizers and other additives that is great for plants, but can be harmful and sometimes fatal to your herp. 
• I know a zoo keeper who uses "Edna's Best Potting Soil" to create vivariums for the zoo's herps. It can be difficult finding a retailer that sells it so please visit their website and type in your zip code to find a store near you that will carry their soil. Their website is http://www.ebstone.org/13_ednas.php.
• You can use other organic soils that do not contain those white pellets.  The white pellets can be harmful if ingested by your herp.  I have used "Organic Choice" (made by Miracle Gro) without any problems.  
• I have about about a 3" layer of soil on top of the screen mesh.

Choosing Plants 

• Dart frogs live in humid climates and are often found in bromeliads or in leaf litter.  
• For my dart frog, I used a bromeliad, a few different ferns, blue star creeper, and a Korean rock fern.  
• When selecting your plants, try to choose plants of varying height.  For example, I chose tall ferns as a background plant.  Then I chose different ferns as a mid-ground plant.  Then I chose the blue star creeper and Korean rock fern as foreground plant.  You can always trim back plants to the desired height, but you will have to do less maintenance if you put low-growing plants in the front.  

Planting Plants

• I do not recommend sticking the pots directly in the soil unless you personally grew these plants or you are certain the plants have not been treated with synthetic fertilizers or pesticides.  Your dart frog has sensitive skin and it can fall seriously ill or even die from exposure to these chemicals. 
• Please remove the plant from its pot, and gently pull away as much soil as you can from the roots. Then rinse away the dirt from the roots in room temperature water. I prefer to treat my water by putting a few drops of de-chlorinator. If you don't have this, you can leave your water out in a sterile, non-metallic open container for about 24 hours. This will allow the chlorine and the fluoride to evaporate.  

Fertilizer 

Do NOT use synthetic fertilizers! As I mentioned before, it can be fatal to your herp. If your plant is in serious need of a pick me up, I would suggest using an organic fertilizer.

Pest Control

Do NOT ever use pesticides on your plants.  It can be fatal to your herp.  Instead physically remove unwanted pests.  If there are too many to kill, you can try removing your dart frog and then flushing your terrarium with carbon dioxide to kill the pests.  You are supposed to seal the terrarium so the CO2 cannot escape.  I have never done this myself, but there are people who say this works.  Just remember to remove your dart frog first or you will end up killing it too.

Background

I used a pre-made vivarium foam background by Exo Terra for about $14.00.  However, a cork/bark tile background or natural wood tile background would also look nice.

Lighting

The plants need UV lighting to grow.  I chose a low-heat emitting aquarium lamp with a uv fluorescent light bulb.

Water & Special Effects

Although dart frogs need humid environments, they do not need pools of water to survive.  Deep ponds should be avoided because dart frogs cannot swim and will drown.  If you would like to create a waterfall or pond feature, then make sure the pool is shallow enough so that the dart frog can stand in it with its head out of the water or create a pondless waterfall.  I chose to embed a shallow dish of water in the soil, and then used a fogging system to help keep the humidity levels up.  I also water my plants because the fogger alone does not provide enough moisture for my plants.  I always use room-temperature, pre-treated water.        

Maintenance 
My favorite part of this process is landscaping my dart frog's habitat.  You can shape your landscape by religiously trimming and training your plants.  I use small scissors to trim my plants, and remove any browning foliage.

Meet Blue, My Poison Dart Frog

Photo: Blue is hanging out in her bromeliad

I have a pet "poison" dart frog.  She's a beautiful, tiny little thing (~2" at her adult size) and she is actually not poisonous at all.  Dart frogs get their skin toxins from eating a diet of ants, termites, small beetles and other small insects found in leaf litter.  I only feed her a diet of flightless fruit flies or pin head crickets so she is harmless.  

People often think she is just a toy I stuck in my vivarium until they see her jump around.  Her vivid colors and small stature makes her surreal.   They do not require a lot of space so they would be perfect apartment pets.  They are also easy to take care of, make excellent display pets, and are a great conversation piece.  You will also have an opportunity to use your gardening skills to create a naturalistic vivarium for your frog to enjoy.     

B-Eye

Have you ever wondered how bees see the world?  If so, check out Andrew Giger's B-Eye simulation.

In The Garden: New Seedlings

I planted some seeds in my re-useable seedling containers about a couple of weeks ago and left them outside.  I was afraid I might have jumped the gun on planting season because I was not seeing any signs of life the first week, but on the eighth day I discovered most of my seeds have sprouted.  The Cosmos and Calendulas were the first to emerge.  Now my African Daisies, Poppies and Gysophilas have also peeked through the soil.

Going Native Garden Tour 2010

Registration for Going Native Garden Tour 2010 is open. This is a free tour of native gardens in Santa Clara Valley & Peninsula and San Francisco Bay Area. It will be held on Sunday, April 18, 2010, 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Registration will close on Sun, April 18, 2010, 3:00pm or when the tour reaches capacity, whichever comes first. The tour materials will be available on Sun, April 4, 2010, 9:01pm. To register click here or visit their site at http://www.goingnativegardentour.org/.

Don't Throw Away Those Bulbs!

Last year one of my friends received a beautiful container full of beautiful, blooming tulips as a Valentine's Day gift. After the flowers died back, she innocently threw the pot away along with the tulip bulbs thinking her poor plant had died! She did not know that the tulips would bloom again the following year.

It just goes to show that you cannot take gardening information for granted. I wonder how many people accidentally threw away perfectly good plants or bulbs that have gone dormant. The next time you gift a live plant, you may want to explain what to expect to the gift recipient so she does not make the same mistake my friend did.

Organic Counts - Calculate Your Impact by Buying Organic

Organic Valley has a tool on their website that supposedly calculates how much toxins you are keeping away from earth by buying organic produce.

According to their Organic Counts tool, purchasing a gallon of Organic Valley milk per week will result in the prevention of 9.5 lbs of synthetic nitrogen and 2.1 oz of herbicides & pesticides from being used! The tool also offers links to learn more about synthetic nitrogen, herbicides and pesticides and their impact on Earth and our health. It's a fun tool to use and definitely worth checking out.

Organic Rising Sweepstakes

Enter Organic Valley's Organic Rising Sweepstakes for a chance to win:

• A year of free organic produce;
• Healthy Lifestyle Magazine subscriptions; or
• Grand Prize of Trek Bicycle

Contest ends March 31, 2010.

You must be at least 13 years of age. For more information on contest rules, click here.

Local Harvest

Do you crave fresh, organic produce, but lack the time or space to create your own garden? Visit Local Harvest's website at http://www.localharvest.org/. This website is a public nationwide directory of small farms, farmer markets, and other local food sources. You can find CSA farms that will either deliver food to you or make produce available for pickup at regular intervals. You can also shop at their store for fresh produce, meats, heirloom seeds, flowers, syrups, preserves and more.

Neat Honey Bee Facts

Did you know crops such as apples, cherries and avocados are 90% dependent on honey bee pollination or that the most expensive honey is believed to be the Tregothnan manuka honey from Britain and estimated to cost about 5 GBP (or $7.83) per teaspoon? You can learn more neat honey bee facts by reading the Fast Company's article, "A Taste of the Honey Bees" by Anne C. Lee.

Free Vegetable Garden Course by Utah State University

Utah State University Extension offers a free vegetable gardening online course. The course consists of a series of online videos that explains how best to take care of your vegetable garden.

Topics Covered:

• Soil Preparation
• The Vegetable Garden
• Turf Grass & Water Use
• Q&A's

To find more free courses on a various subjects, visit Open Courseware Consortium.

Green Apps

There was an article in CNN that featured “Green” iPhone Apps. It is pretty neat.

Get Green ($0.99): Provides you daily “green” tips.

A Real Tree ($0.99): Promises to plant a real tree when you buy this virtual tree app.

Find Green (Free): Allows you to search for environmentally friendly businesses in your area. You can also visit gengreenlife.com to search for environmentally friendly businesses in your area.

To read more about each app, including a list of pros and cons, click here or visit the links above.

Natural Home "Fresh Finds" Sweepstakes

Natural Home magazine is having a sweepstakes. One (1) winner will receive the following:

6 Kettle Cuisine Soup Boxes 1 Sunshine Burger Sampler Pack 1 18-spice Mountain Rose Herbs Epicurean Organics herb set 1 box JK Soul Salts Organic Herbal Dryer Sachets 1 Linda & Harriet 2010 Calendar 1 ChicoBag Sling rePETe messenger bag 1 LaundryTree Soapnut Starter Kit 1 gallon Vermont Natural Coatings PolyWhey Natural Floor Finish 1 gallon Farrow & Ball No-VOC Wall and Ceiling Primer 3 rolls Graham & Brown FSC-certified Wallpaper 1 Electrolux Ultrasilencer Green Vacuum

Click Here to Enter now. Contest ends on February 16, 2010.

The Herb Companion Sweepstakes

The Herb Companion is having a "List of Likes" sweepstakes. One (1) winner will receive a bunch of goodies, and ten (10) other winners will receive a "Making Herbs Simple" dvd by Bulk Herb store. The sweepstakes ends on January 12, 2010! You must be at least 18 years old to enter. Click here to enter.