my plants, and a new apparatus!

So, I'm going on vacation soon and have no one to water my plants while I'm gone, so my mom bought me some strange plastic bulbs that you're supposed to fill with water and stick in the dirt. When the plant gets thirsty, it'll suck the water up from the orb.

I wasn't sure if this was actually going to work, but I've been testing them out the past week and it works great! A lot easier than guessing when the plants need water too lol Now they can just drink when they're thirsty so i don't have to accidently over/under water them.

These plants are so pampered lol

(ignore the fact that my windows are cracked. 00')

Below is a close up of one of the bulbs in my ginger plant.

The bulb was full of water when I put it in, so you can see that it did already drink some water!

I put a bigger bulb in my eucalyptus plant since it needs a lot of water. (she looks so rough rn because it's been terribly hot and this plant is meant for cool areas)

I bought the bulbs off amazon and they came in a pack with both a large and a small size. 

I gave the plants that need a lot of water a large bulb and the plants that need less water get a small bulb.

Both sizes of bulbs seem to need to be refilled after about 2 days, but it greatly depends on the plant and how much water it needs. For example, my eucalyptus plant will probably need 2-3 large bulbs to get through my ~10 day vacation. Surprisingly, my mint, sage and thyme plants might just need one large bulb (one in the mint plant's pot and another in the pot shared by the thyme and sage). The mint especially normally needs a ton of water, but it hasn't been draining the water in the bulb as fast as I had assumed it would, though the plant is clearly not dehydrated. 

My snake plant and aloe plant could probably survive not being watered till I get back because they're so resilient, but I'll make sure to water my aloe before I leave and may give my snake plant 2 small bulbs. 

-_-=0=-_-

On another note, my bathroom has been infested with gnats! No, this is not due to my plants. In fact, the gnats seem to avoid my plants for the most part- probably because I intentionally plant plants that repel bugs and don't attract bees. Also it is not entirely due to the moisture of the shower because they showed up even when I was gone for a week and therefore there was no moisture from the shower or anything else. (no I don't have leaky pipes or runny faucets.)

This simply happens every summer when it starts getting hot and humid because I live in a first floor apartment with many many problems. They're coming from the alley and basement that surrounds me. Apparently the soonest the exterminator can come is August 2nd, which is dumb af, though I've long accepted that landlords are parasites and will never do anything competently. 

Good thing I know how to handle an infestation at this point ^^'

So, how do I handle a gnat infestation? I'll tell you!

Step 1. Garlic

(do u like my ghost curtains? lol)

This won't solve the issue, but it helps! It's more of a band-aid solution. It's even better if you can plant an actual garlic plant, but mine unfortunately died..... and the gnat infestation started the next day ToT (coincidence?)

So, in my garlic plant's steed, I just put cloves of garlic in areas I noticed a lot of gnats. It's kept them out of my other bathroom and kitchen, thankfully. I did this when the gnats first popped up to quell them before I could get a more permanent solution (ie the exterminator) and it worked immediately. Garlic also works at repelling rats, roaches, ants, and other critters.

It's not a long-term solution, but it may be a good idea when you first see them popping up and you have spare garlic lying around. 

Step 2. RAID, lots and lots of RAID (or bleach if you don't have RAID)

Spray it wherever you see gnats! Also take note of where the gnats are coming from. In my case, it's likely from cracks in the tiles and caulk. Just be careful not to breath the RAID/bleach in too much and let the area air out after spraying.

Step 3. Limit moisture

Make those showers quick! They definitely pop up more in my shower the day after I shower since they love the moisture and my bathroom doesn't have a fan :p

And of course, call an exterminator and seal any cracks or entry points the gnats are coming from!

Phew! this blog entry was a long one! I hope i didn't lose anyone lol