Weeze, so nice to hear from you again. I think you always give good advice. You've relieved my mind on this one. I've been using the dryer sheets under the bottom of the pots and when I repot I might try them on top as well. The sand is a pain, that's for sure. But it did a nice job against the gnats. Also your idea of the "death chamber" where you use pest strips in a small area for a few hours on the plants is a life saver for killing gnats also. There's some sad, hungry spiders living in the room now.

lipps, thanks for the reply. When I repot I'm going to Ocean Forest and hoping that will help out a lot. I'm using perlite, not vermiculite and it holds air. But you're right, the soil seems too dense and holds water too long. The sand on top may also add to that.

Anyone use Grow Big as their fert? I'm wondering if I should feed them every time since I water/feed only every 6 days. I'm also wondering what the best amounts (tsp. per gallon) to use on 1 gallon pots, and also on 3 gallon pots.