Sand or gravel...?

[JoeyV]

My last grow I had a mix of Ocean Forest and some "organic" Miracle Grow soil and ended up battling gnats for weeks during flowering, thanks to the Miracle Grow soil. A few treatments with Azamax helped keep their numbers down, as did a friendly spider which took up residence nearby the gnats breeding ground. By the number of gnat carcasses he had discarded, it seems he was feasting on gnats at will.

I was just wondering if there would be any advantage to using sand and/or gravel in the bottom of the pot. Or perhaps on top? I seem to remember reading about it somewhere on these boards.

 

[greasemonkeymann]

My last grow I had a mix of Ocean Forest and some "organic" Miracle Grow soil and ended up battling gnats for weeks during flowering, thanks to the Miracle Grow soil. A few treatments with Azamax helped keep their numbers down, as did a friendly spider which took up residence nearby the gnats breeding ground. By the number of gnat carcasses he had discarded, it seems he was feasting on gnats at will.

I was just wondering if there would be any advantage to using sand and/or gravel in the bottom of the pot. Or perhaps on top? I seem to remember reading about it somewhere on these boards.

the best thing to do would be to make a topdress of DM, neem meal, and sand, that should take care of it.
teaspoon of neem
cup of sand,
cup of DM.
Even just straight sand usually prevent the gnats from laying their eggs/larvae.
they don't dig well.
really good airflow can keep em down too, they don't fly well either, fuckers don't do anything well except procreate and eat your soil

 

[JoeyV]

In small numbers, they don't seem to be much more than a nuisance, but they multiply fast. Thanks for the tip. BTW, what's DM?

 

[greasemonkeymann]

In small numbers, they don't seem to be much more than a nuisance, but they multiply fast. Thanks for the tip. BTW, what's DM?

oh, sorry its diatomaceous earth.
Works well but don't overdue it, acts like a physical barrier that the bugs can't go through, think of it as millions of coral pieces.
Essentially it's the fossils of diatoms, little hard shelled microorganisms

 

[JoeyV]

oh, sorry its diatomaceous earth.
Works well but don't overdue it, acts like a physical barrier that the bugs can't go through, think of it as millions of coral pieces.
Essentially it's the fossils of diatoms, little hard shelled microorganisms

Ok, cool. Thanks