I have been fighting fungus gnats in my houseplants. They’re these tiny flying insects that lay eggs in the soil, then hatch and eat fungus, then grow into more tiny flying insects. They are completely harmless, but really annoying.

I had previously gotten some sticky traps. They sort of worked, but not really.

Then I read about nematodes. Nematodes are tiny creatures that also live in the soil and eat the fungus gnat younglings. The gnat cycle is broken, and the gnats disappear. I ordered some.

They were in a pouch and looked like powder

I mixed them with a gallon of water, then transferred them to my watering can and watered all my houseplants.

It worked! I can’t believe it! I have NO fungus gnats! Good job, nematodes!

I finally worked in the back yard yesterday. It has been my intention for a while to move my potted plants from the west side of the pool to the east side. The pool equipment is on the east side, so the plants should go there and the (eventual) table and chairs should go on the west side.

But I wanted to get some shelving for the plants to sit on, and the pool piping was problematic. But I figured it out! I got some wire shelving, which is adjustable, and I could set the shelf height just right:

Adding a tiered shelf on the other side, gives me all kinds of plant space:

Moving the plants was hard, because they were heavy and because I had to decide where they would go. I still don’t like the arrangement because it looks too busy, but I can work on it in spare moments and maybe get it more to my liking.

Since the plants aren’t on the west side of the pool anymore, there is a big empty space there. It’s time to start saving for some patio furniture. Here’s the before and after:

My amaryllis plants are blooming, and moving one of them caused one of its flower stalks to snap. D’oh! But it does look very nice with the oriental lilies I got the other day: