I actually did a little repotting today...

I actually did a little repotting today. I started small:  On my 3 nursery trays of Teddy Bear Cholla, Opuntia Little Rita, and Agave offsets. I wasn't up for it earlier in the day, but after Bear went to bed (because he ALWAYS gets hurt with the prickly plants around), I brought the plants in and did it in front of the TV. 😂

You would think that with as many plants as I have that I would be really great at caring for them by now, but I don't think I have been. They are succulents, so aren't necessarily very picky, but that doesn't mean I don't feel bad for incorrect soil mixes or lack of fertilizer. There is a difference between surviving and thriving. In any case, I want to be better.

This part may be controversial:  I used Gemini to get a plan in place to help me fine-tune my care. I'm aware of the environmental impacts of using AI, but it's not going anywhere, and I personally do not use it in a way that I believe to be frivolous. I hope I don't lose friends over that, but I'm not going to lie or omit the truth. I literally feel like I can't NOT tell y'all. I don't know why. But it feels very dishonest and I can't function like that.

I let it know what soil components I have, as well as what types of plants I have. Taking the greenhouse and the dry weather/high altitude into account, it gave me ratios for what soil to mix and use and told me in foot candles the type of light the plant needs. I have a light meter, so now I can find the best placement for everyone, be it in the greenhouse or the house house. I also have a schedule for when to apply pesticide and fertilizer. I can generally tell when they need water, so I don't need too much help on that.

I don't yet know if I have ADHD and/or Autism, but having a care guide with specific instructions that take into consideration all of the factors I provided feels like a huge relief. I've always preferred written instructions/lists because then I can just follow the rules and be ok. I've been researching plant care for years and have made enough progress that I don't lose many these days, but some have clearly been struggling and/or not doing as well as I would expect/hope, and I wanted to fix that. Using Gemini helped me see where I was going wrong without more YEARS of research and trial and error on living things. It always hurts my heart to kill a plant, so I'm trying very hard to avoid it.

Anyway, that's all I managed to do today. I hope I can go hard and get everyone that needs repotting repotted by Monday. That would be nice.