Monday, April 23, 2018

Cinnamon in Your Garden

With origins dating back to as early as 2700 B.C., cinnamon is a popular spice all over the world for uses in cooking and medicine. Once a very valuable trade commodity, you can find ground cinnamon and cinnamon sticks at most grocery stores at a fair price.

1. Deter ants
Cinnamon will actually kill ants. The powdery substance will suffocate the bugs when inhaled. The aroma can also make it hard for ants to smell food sources, but it's nontoxic for kids and pets. 

2. Defeat fungus
When you sprinkle ground cinnamon on soil, it kills fungi. The cinnamon targets surface-level fungi, so you might need to use other solutions in addition to this one, according to Indoor Gardening. You can use cinnamon to kill wild mushrooms too.
How to do it: dust a layer of cinnamon on the top of the soil; cinnamon is known to repel female gnats (rather than lay eggs on the cinnamon they'll fly around to try to find somewhere else).

 3. Protect seedlings from disease
The antifungal properties in cinnamon make it a great tool for protecting seedlings from rot and disease, also known as damping off. Keeping moisture at bay is key; dusting the seeds with cinnamon and using a doming tactic can protect the seeds until they grow. Check out a comprehensive how-to from The Rusted Vegetable Garden.

4. Root and graft plants
You can make your roses (or other plants) sturdier after cutting and replanting by first dipping them in cinnamon powder, which works like a rooting hormone, a bit. The cinnamon kills off the competition, so to speak, so that your flower can grow better. 

5. Heal sick plants
Try sprinkling cinnamon on a plant wound (from cutting or other damage) to speed up the healing process and protect it from further damage or disease.

6. Keep mosquitoes away from the garden
Sprinkle a bit of cinnamon around your plants to keep mosquitoes and other bugs away. They don't like the strong smell of cinnamon, so you can enjoy your garden (even at night) in peace.


http://www.indoorgardener.org/2014/07/getting-rid-of-fungus-gnats-with-drying.html
https://therustedgarden.blogspot.ca/2013/02/using-cinnamon-on-seedlings-stop.html
http://gardeningtips.diyeverywhere.com/2017/05/22/cinnamon-isnt-just-for-the-kitchen-here-are-6-reasons-to-use-cinnamon-in-your-garden
http://diyeverywhere.com/2017/03/20/dont-throw-away-your-teabags-heres-10-reasons-why-you-should-plant-them-instead

 

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