CINNAMON from your kitchen cupboard will be the killer !! I hate using chemicals so I chose this option . I guess I was over watering and the result for that WAS fungus gnats . ICK !!! Somewhere in one of these fungus gnats forums, Peggy suggested cinnamon . All though she had never tried it , I did . I already knew cinnamon is a natural fungicide and very good for humans but not for plants . It was available and ready to use . When I eye-balled these little buggers I was watering my plants . They come to the surface for air due to the water . I had no idea what they were or how they got in the soil . I hopped on-line and found out right away . I handled the problem by sprinkling quit a bit of cinnamon on the surface of the soil , then used the handle of a spoon to mix it into the soil . Also I sprayed a paper towel with water, then sprinkled cinnamon on the towel and wiped the rims and inside edges of each planter. ( Use a separate towel for each pot ). I love an experiment so I was on my way . I then had to wait for all of my 10 plants to dry out quit well . Some took a few days longer due to the size of the planter . In all about 3-weeks . I sprinkled cinnamon again on the surface ,not too much this time , then watered only half the amount that I had been watering . My plants are very happy now , they are loving every minute of it !!! Also they all have new growth . Thanks to this forum , Peggy and a little research , the buggers are GONE !!!!!!

Hans and I have differing opinions when it comes to soils and watering technique... and that's fine... what works for Hans doesn't work for me. We live and garden in different environments, halfway around the globe from one another. In any growing situation, if we want optimal results, we must ask ourselves why we use the materials and methods we use, and we must understand how they work. It helps immensely if we know what the functions of soil are, how water moves through soil, and what actually happens under the surface of soil in a containerized environment, with respect to the roots of a plant. Aeration and drainage are the most important considerations in a container planting... the soil is the foundation. Past experience and learning have shown me that quite a bit of the more commonly accepted and circulated information about growing plants is riddled with fallacy, misinformation and half truths. The medium I use is a larger particulate that holds its structure and aeration very well, is sharp draining, mostly inorganic in nature, and provides the roots of my plants with the environment they need to be healthy... with a little help from a good watering and nutrition regimen. Bottom watering wouldn't work very well in my situation because of the medium I use, and because I want to flush the medium of gases created at the root zone and allow for fresh, and needed, oxygen to enter the soil. The action of thorough watering from the top does this quite well. It also helps flush out any accumulated salts. That's not to say that Hans is wrong... for his situation, his methods give him the results he feels happy with. But most of us aren't consummate growers with quite so much experience, or the exact same environmental variables in place. I'm a huge believer in going with what basic science and physics tell me, and when I add the science and physical aspects that I've learned about soils and water movement to the other pieces of my own growing puzzle, it calls for a more open soil watered from the top, thoroughly, when necessary. The roots of my plants colonize the entire pot... not just the sides or bottom, or close to the surface. It is my belief that successful bottom watering comes with a few caveats... one must have the proper knowledge of how and why such methods work, and have the right materials and other factors in place. I've tried the peat and cocopeat based soils, and I've used bottom watering in the past. Such methods weren't workable for my growing situation, so I abandoned the finer soils prone to compaction and holding perched water, and opted for a more fast draining medium that allows the roots the proper exchange of oxygen and gases, good root function, metabolism and growth. I would pose the question to Hans... have you ever read the article I frequently link? And if so, what is your opinion of the ideas contained therein?

Actually Karyn, I read on those, they eat fungus in the soil and occasionally the roots. Because the fungus grows on the roots, which would indicate A PROBLEM why I lost a couple. Grrrrrrrrr. . . . Of course, that article could be wrong. In either case, I used that smell-o-stink-bomb nasty whatever and I don't have a problem with gnats now. Hardly any. And they're more interested in a couple little traps full of water under the pots. (I know, those aren't honeycombed with holes.) But whatever dripped into them, no gnats there either. Found a brug in a cup with roots growing into one. Yelled at it "oh fine, just great. I'm not supposed to over water you and you grow in to this 1" little piece of stagnant WATER?!?!?!? What is the MATTER with you!?!?!"

Just wanted to give an update---- after treating all my plants with bti, my two seedlings are finally seeing growth! Fungus gnats aren't gone by any means but I am just happy the baby plants are growing after weeks and weeks of doing nothing. The two plants that weren't growing so well in the mixture of soils is finally seeming to grow! Yay! I believe the problem was with fertilizer. After adding fish emulsion & a lot of mg tomato fertilizer, they seem to be much happier in just a week. The other two plants in 100% mg moisture control are huge, perhaps 5-6 times larger than the others plants, all of the same age. Unfortunately I planted them too close together and the leaves are touching so I will expect disease later in the season and plant further apart next time. I leave for vacation next week, so I'm excited to see what will happen in the 2 weeks that I'll be gone. Will update. I will def do another fish emulsion treatment before I leave. Weather in SoCal has been amazing. :) Btw I have been pinching off all the flowers and suckers off every plant, big or small. Should I start leaving the flowers on the larger plants? They're about a foot and a half tall now, not exactly huge but I wouldn't mind getting some tomatoes first ;)