I CAN'T BELIEVE WHAT I'VE FOUND! / EMMA'S ALLOTMENT DIARIES

4.5 centimeters 5.5 cm= 6.5cm = 7.5cm= 8.5 cm= 9.5 cm= 11.5 cm = 14.5 cm = 15.5 cm= 16.5 cm = 17.5 centimeters Good morning everyone Welcome back to my allotment diary I'm diving straight into the exciting news because I don't want to be accused of clickbaiting on this vlog I have some incredibly exciting news for you so I won’t keep you in suspense Yesterday I was here for quite a while tending to the allotment doing all sorts of tasks and then I had to leave I had things to do and needed to get home so I wrapped up the vlog and headed to my pond And I took a quick peek into the pond just to check out jobs for next time I'm here And I saw this—I saw it in my pond and at first I thought there's no way that's what I think it is And then after a few minutes I was like no it actually is It's a tadpole It's a tadpole in my pond It's an actual tadpole in my pond I couldn't believe it I was in a state of shock I filmed it on my phone and thought right I'll come back tomorrow and investigate it further Here we are It's the next day We're going to look into it further Those of you who've been following me for a while know I've never had a frog in my pond I dug a wildlife pond when I first got my allotment plot six years ago It was during lockdown and I remember making a joke while I was doing it Oh you know the world's falling apart and I'm just here digging a pond That was just really funny to me at the time That's how I knew when I dug my pond—the pond I dug was too small And so actually at the end of last year I decided to completely redo my entire pond I took everything out redid the pond made it larger and deeper Then I broke some ice with my hoe and punctured the liner So I had to rebuild the entire pond from scratch So the pond is quite new It's no longer actually a six-year-old pond It's about three and a half months old That means there aren't many plants on it and it's not well covered It's a relatively new pond so it needs time to settle in develop and allow everything to grow I think the rule of thumb for a wildlife pond is that 70% of it should be covered with plants to provide a good habitat for wildlife and unfortunately mine is nowhere near that I only have about three small plants in it so I'm not sure how the tadpole would survive if it's even in there Of course that's exactly what we're going to check first Let's go see if my little friend the tadpole is still there I have a feeling the birds He was so visible to the birds I have a feeling Einstein could have just gone down and pecked him right out But let's go take a look anyway Let's try to hold onto a little optimism—it's Friday after all So here's the new and improved pond A lot of you have pointed out that it looks quite nice on camera right now We have plenty of spring bulbs emerging around it which I believe I planted before I redid the pond And I think I got quite lucky that I didn’t end up burying them We have plenty of rocks and other features surrounding it You can see a few pond plants in there but not as many as there should be But it's definitely a nice-looking pond There's quite a bit of haze I don't think you'll be able to see through it The weather isn't right today Yesterday with the sun you could see right through it There's a fair amount of pond weed in there which really shouldn't be I think that's likely due to leaves falling in and also these large logs So I might have to take those out today This is where I saw him yesterday He was just around here He's not here now but maybe he's sleeping I don't know What time do they wake up What time in the morning do tad bidder He might be hiding under all that 以为 I do think the pond needs a bit of maintenance I do think it needs a bit of a cleanup So maybe we could start with that today That's probably not a good thing I decide that Oh god I found him There's more I don't think I should touch the pond I don't think I can be trusted I' ve got my hand over the reflection That's a tadpole That's not the one I saw yesterday This is a much smaller tadpole Oh my goodness There are tadpoles in here Look who's shown up Wanting all the attention It's not about you today Einstein It's about the tadpoles Don't you eat them Don't you dare Don't you even think about it Actually I'd better feed him or else he' s going to have them You know what this is don't you This is your food Can I take it out of my hand It's on the table He doesn 't want it from my hand You just knocked my camera Einstein get off the camera Come off the camera because that's a camera Oh my gosh Einstein I can't stand the attention not being on me It's playing well today Can you believe that Just because the spotlight isn't on him for once Just because I' m more interested in the pond He's perched on the fence just staring at me right now That 's the most confident he's been in weeks and weeks and weeks And it's all because I found a tadpole Anyway it looks like there are several tadpoles in the pond I don’t know what to do—I feel like crying I also want to jump up and down I'm just in a bit of a state of shock It's been nearly six years It's been six years and I 've not had one frog or one even No wildlife at all in my pond and all of a sudden I've got tadpoles—actual tadpoles Which means there was probably a frog around at some point right So I really don’t know anything about them I don’t know anything about them at all I’m not sure what I need to do to make sure Oh he’s swimming now He's swimming Oh my gosh he's amazing He's so beautiful I don't know how to keep them healthy or take proper care of them In fact we need to do a quick Google search right away Right so this is exactly what Google is for It's for when you don't know something and you' re on the go and you need to know the information immediately because this is just something I have no idea So I've just asked Google I' ve asked the robot the AI thing The artificial the AI Should I remove pond weed If I see tadpoles and it says no it's best to leave pond weed alone while tadpoles are small as it provides essential food shelter from predators and oxygen for them You can safely thin out excess blanket weed or duckweed later in the season once the tadpoles have grown legs or transformed into froglets and left the water Okay I'm really glad I checked that because obviously there's not much cover over the pond so the pond weed is really vital for them—more vital even than on another pond Oh my God guys we've got tadpoles We've got tadpoles We're going to have frogs We're going to have Real frogs Oh my gosh I'm a parent I'm a mum again I'm a mum to tadpoles Yesterday I literally just saw One and then I had to leave Like I said I had to go and I was so devastated that I had to walk away And then I got home and I was so worried there was only one left in the pond and I was just thinking maybe the cat ate them all or maybe the birds came dow And I got them all or maybe they 've all died But seeing another one I know there's more and I'm not going to disturb them and start trying to fish around for them and stuff I'm just going to leave them alone I know there's more in there now and that's all I need to know We're going to get frogs Oh my gosh But anyway yeah if you've followed me for a long time from the beginning You'll understand from the first pond just how big a deal this is to me Everyone said I'd get loads of frogs but I've never seen a single one All of a sudden we've got loads of tadpoles It's happening guys Six years I've been patient for six years See patience —patience pays off in the end Six years I've been waiting Oh fantastic Right let's get on with a few jobs today Oh my goodness is that rhubarb That's rhubarb Why is there random rhubarb growing here Did I plant rhubarb here at some point Oh my gosh Right well we've got some rhubarb It's very very tiny but it actually Looks super healthy doesn' t it In a weird kind of way That's amazing So I do have rhubarb Wow it's like a day Full of surprises today I've also noticed that tree has finally fallen down We had quite strong winds the other day And I was thinking every time we get wind I'm like That tree was going to fall at some point And it finally did Finally it's down I didn't notice it because I was too busy with my tadpoles But yeah the whole thing has come down I'm really glad I wasn't here when that happened That's why I don't come to the allotment when it's windy I mean you guys know me—I'm not a fair-weather gardener at all I come out here in all kinds of weather but the wind is something else I'd never come here when it's windy because it's just too dangerous I've had a bit of a disaster here with the peas—lots of them have been eaten which I'm guessing is by slugs and snails And they all just look a little sad and kind of awkwardly long-limbed They don’t look healthy at all Really not They’re flopping all over the place A few of them are still clinging on Most of them have already been eaten So I'm really glad I've got plenty more peas On the go These are definitely a waste of money I should have held out for my own peas because the ones germinating in the greenhouse are far better than these They look incredibly healthy If this is slugs and snails guys then I don't think the wall pellets have been working Yeah this is the work of the slugs and snails and these wall pellets I've put down—I don't think they're working unfortunately I think they're just recovering from it We've had a lot of rain so they've done what they're supposed to do which is form a kind of barrier It's obviously not working very well Poor souls Why would you come in here Why would you do that Don't come in here Go that way That's it It's because the door's open It's an open invitation for you Bee Luckily my peas that I'm growing from seed these are the Meteor variety which is a really great early pea variety to grow They're doing fantastic They're not leggy at all They're all coming up Well not all of them I've got one two—two that haven't germinated Three that haven't germinated at all But a couple of them have two each It kind of makes up for it Yeah these are doing great So I'm just going to hold out for these ones I think I think I might go and ge A wall barrier made of wood chips I know It was coming It was always going to happen There's just not much I can do here Today I really just came dici to check on the tadpoles But I think we might as well take advantage of the fact that no one's here It's cloudy and a bit windy so no one wants to come down I think I should take advantage of the fact that there's plenty of wood chips there—go get some Boost one of my pathways and then at least I’ve been a little productive today you know I might actually put my jacket back on because it’s a bit chilly Not quite as warm as I somehow think it is in my head for some reason Right let's go get that wood chip Music I have to admit it's not quite as pretty here when it's cloudy like this a bit windy and a touch grey All of the allotments a little bit messy and it's not anyone 's fault—it's just that the sun seems to make everything look so much nicer And when it's grey like this and cloudy I look around the allotment and it's just a load of junk Like even my plot it all just looks like a load of junk It sometimes sort of reminds me of a post-apocalyptic world and we've all just kind of gathered on this small patch of land trying to build little shelters from whatever we can find and make a life here and live off the land It's like a post -apocalyptic world allotments They 're such strange places It's just so funny because it looks so beautiful Here in the sunshine even if nothing's growing I look around and go wow this is beautiful And then when it's grey it's just like It's quite ugly It's really hard to get any good shots But you know what I mean It's nobody's fault It's not like any one particular allotment plot It's just that all these mismatched sheds and assorted clutter and piles of plastic and scattered equipment lying around around and stuff It just all looks a little bit sad and kind of I don't know a little bit post-apocalyptic You know what I mean Look over there— all these random buildings and sheds and things made from random scraps of wood and bits of material It's so strange sn't it It's also one of the things I love about allotments—everyone kind of starts from scratch and creates things using whatever they have on hand you can find And that's one of the things I love about it because I always felt like you don't have to be the best person at DIY and you don't have to know ow to make a shed You just put some pallets together and give it a go It's very freeing It's very fun I love it I mean I give it a shot I keep trying to do it myself but it never works for me But who cares Besides a few selected people in the comments But we don't worry about them Alright I've topped up outside my shed I was kind of debating where to do it and where to place it since I'm taking my time loading the wheelbarrow with wood chips one at a time and focusing only on high-traffic areas that see a lot of foot traffic That should really be my priority I think In front of the shed and also in front of the greenhouse Maybe I need to get some more over there Are they all talking to each other What's going on They're just chatting back and forth from tree to tree It's so funny My lovely trees in the middle of my plot are about to bloom any second It's about mid-April now I think the blossoms will start coming in We're already seeing all the buds and it's going to be absolutely stunning honestly Oh there you are Einstein The whole tree is just going to bloom It's going to beautiful Right I think I'm going to pot up some of my cosmos This is cosmos I've been growing for a little while now—since February actually It's doing so well but obviously there's a lot in each pot so I think we need to pot them up Yeah I've got some of these empty packaging from my peas and also from the e brassicas I bought So I'm going to go fill these up with some soil straight from somewhere on the allotment and pot them into these I think They should be big enough just to keep the cosmos content for a little bit longer But who knows Plants are very you know up and down We don't know—really don't know—when they'll be happy and when they'll be sad because they can't speak Alright Repeat after me everyone Do not destroy the universe Emma Those of you who've been following this channel for a while also know this is a task I really dislike doing I hate doing this job Wow look at those roots Okay I just go for it and hope for the best because I don' t really know what I 'm doing and I'm convinced I'm just killing everything So I'm supposed to Hold by the leaves I don't usually show you much of this job on my channel but I'm sharing a bit more this year because I keep getting asked when I'm going to do it planting things out that's what I'm doing am I potting things on So I thought this year I'd share a little bit more with you It's really just a job I I don't enjoy doing it I just don't share it that much Just so you know I'm potting on my cosmos now They seem to be doing fine They're being moved into different soil because it's just dirt from outside So I hope they'll be okay with that and not be too fussy But they're looking alright aren't they Alright there we go The cosmos are potting on I've got these ones and then I've also got those ones up there Do you think I've got enough Sunflowers are looking oh actually a little bit sad I've just given them more water But yeah they're looking exciting Yeah it's all coming along really well but the most exciting part of this vlog is that I'm going to be planting some of these since we do have tadpoles Oh my gosh every time I remember tha I just get so excited I can't believe I've got tadpoles I've ordered a couple of things for the pond I've ordered some duckweed because it provides excellent pond coverage without looking unsightly I think it's quite beautiful duckweed I do think you need to keep it under control I think it will provide excellent coverage for the pond to benefit the tadpoles I've also ordered some barley straw which comes in small bundles and you simply place it into your pond and it just prevents any further pondweed from developing And then I'm also going to pick up some more pond plants and really try and get that pond planted up as quickly as possible and also around the edge of it because once we have frogs I'd like the frogs to stay and I don't know if they're going to want to stay If there's nowhere for them to hide But yeah it's so exciting I've got tadpoles guys It means we're going to get frogs This is just great Anyway I really hope you've enjoyed my little mini vlog today I wasn't supposed to come down but I saw the tadpole and just thought I had to come back so We've got things to do I hope you' ve enjoyed my vlog today If you have please subscribe to my channel I'll be back on Sunday with a home diary or Monday at the allotment plot See you when I see you Thanks for watching Bye For those of you who've been following this channel for a while you also know this is a task I truly hate doing I absolutely loathe this job Wow look at those roots Alright I just go for it and hope for the best because I don’t really know what I’m doing and I’m convinced I’m just killing everything Carefully separate them It's supposed to hold by the leaves It's probably as good as it's going to get