Guenther_Amanita

I also saw the other pics. If you zoom in closely, you can see fat aphids. Those white flakes are their exoskeletons they shed when maturing.

Get some neem oil and silicate, that will get rid of them and make the plant more resistant for upcoming generations of the pest.

Jep. I had this one for exactly one year now in semi-hydro.

The old roots rotted off, and new ones from fresh bulbs formed and adapted to the new conditions :)

You can collect tree resin and turn that into pitch/ tar.

It makes such a great glue, that it was used for millennia by stone age men and many generations after that, until recent.

You can use it to reinforce the tip of the feather shaft or attach the tip.

For the tip, I recommend using metal of some sort. Sure, it could also work with (flint) stone, but there’s a reason copper, later bronze, later iron, dominated for that use case. It can be mined and processed relatively “easy”, even without a smeltering furnace, especially copper and bronze.
But that is all another level :)

Fungus gnats are, as the name suggests, attracted by fungi.
Soil works by releasing nutrients when it decomposes, mainly by fungi.
Therefore, you have to get rid of soil as a substrate. No soil, no problems.

There are quite a few soil-less media out there.

The most common one is coco coir.
It behaves quite similar to soil, so you don’t have to change anything regarding how you water etc.

You have to pre-treat it sometimes however, or else it might harm your plant. If you don’t wanna do that, get hydroponic grade and not the cheap one.

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My substrate of choice is LECA (expaned clay balls). The method is called “semi-hydro”. The inner pot is submerged 1/3 into nutrient solution, and you have a water level indicator that tells you when to water again.

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Pon is also popular. It behaves like a mix of the two above.
It’s a mix of zeolith, pumice and lava rock.

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The said substrates are all inert however, so they don’t absorb or contain any nutrients. You have to use synthetic, full spectrum fertilizer for hydroponics.

Additional, I have a few carnivorous plants around. Pinguicula are my favourite, since they are super easy to take care of.

Nepenthes are also amazing if you have the light and RO water for them :)

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my dirty secret is I always have some gnat infestation

I would say they count more as pets 🥸 They aren’t really that damaging for plants. They are more of a side effect of fungal decomposition, mostly anaerobic conditions due to overwatering, root rot or the wrong substrate.

What substrate do you use? Soil? If so, maybe try another substrate (coco coir, LECA, pon, etc.) and synthetic fertiliser. They are inert and don’t compose, so they don’t attract gnats.

im guessing the boiling water did the trick?

It was mostly out of hate 😤

sucks you lost all your plants, I would have been devistated, im so sorry :(

I’m glad it were just a few, and not much of worth for me.

But I learnt something.

1. Don’t put houseplants outside, especially not onto the ground or when it rains
2. LECA (expanded clay balls) are perfect homes for slugs. It’s constantly moist, and the gaps between the balls are a perfect shelter 🥴

Make sure you don’t bring any pests inside. I did that once and thought it was a good idea.

Spoiler: it wasn’t. Some slugs got into my substrate (expanded clay balls) and ate all roots. I couldn’t get rid of them and then decided to pour boiling water into the pots because the plants were dead anyway 🤷

… or some phosphate/ fertilizer for some extra fun 👀

And just in case society collapses, you can make some quick buck in the meantime selling your selfmade soilent green to the starving masses ☺️✨