Cinnamon in The Garden
Several foods and beverages contain cinnamon, including cookies, cakes and many other desserts, but for gardeners, it has so much more. You can use this versatile spice to keep insects away from your home, to preclude fungi from killing small seedlings, and even to root cuttings. You’ll be thinking twice about harsh chemicals once you learn about cinnamon powder’s abilities to promote plant health.
The garden can benefit greatly from the use of cinnamon. It is an organic anti-fungal treatment which is not only effective but is also economical and simple to use. You have probably used cinnamon on seedlings to prevent damping off disease, but there are many other benefits to cinnamon in your garden that you may not have considered. Check out these cinnamon uses in the garden, and the power of cinnamon will be at your side.
Cinnamon has numerous benefits for plants and you may reach for it almost daily. Below are some common applications for cinnamon in gardens:
Cinnamon for rust
You’ll need to get rid of all rust-infected plants to get rid of the rust. You don’t need to compost them. You should dispose of them away from your garden. Plants can become infected with rust, so good spacing between plants is essential. Water plants at their bases rather than above them.
Cinnamon sprinkled on the soil before planting can hinder rust from spreading, so new seedlings could live longer. A preventative garden spray can be made with cinnamon as it is anti-fungal. The best way to use cinnamon is to give plants as many chances as possible to grow, by eliminating damp conditions and wet foliage and reducing fungus-like conditions.
The remaining healthy plants can be treated with a cinnamon spray once the infected plants have been removed to prevent the spread of the rust. A foliar spray made with powdered cinnamon can be prepared by making a strong cinnamon tea, strain the cinnamon tea through a fine sieve, or using a cloth. Use a spray bottle to spray any remaining plants with the cinnamon tea. Make sure you also spray the undersides of leaves.
How to Make
Cinnamon should be added to a heat-resistant glass container.
Add hot water over the cinnamon. Cover so the volatile oils don’t dissipate. Let stand for 30 minutes.
The liquid should then be poured through a fine cloth or sieve. Place the liquid in a spray bottle to prevent the mist from spreading fungi on leaves and stems to keep diseases like rust and powdery mildew at bay.
Cinnamon for pests
If you have a problem with ants in your greenhouse or home, cinnamon can deter them. Ants avoid places where cinnamon powder lays, so those summer ant problems will be reduced.
Cinnamon will not kill the ants in your home, but it will help you to keep them out. Find their entryway and sprinkle cinnamon powder on it. Cinnamon will not kill the ants in your home, but it will help keep them out. If you have a problem with ants in your child’s sandbox, take an appropriate amount of cinnamon powder and mix it well with the sand. This will discourage ants from moving into the sand.
Ants
Ants do not like cinnamon. If you sprinkle cinnamon around plants, they will not cross it. It confuses their sense of smell and their communication within the colony. Around plants, under trees, at the base of stakes holding your hummingbird feeders, and around the basement entrance of your house, sprinkle cinnamon to prevent ants from getting in.
Rabbits, mice, and other rodents
Because of its strong scent, cinnamon inhibits rabbits and mice from entering the garden. It misleads animals that are near the ground by overwhelming their sense of smell, causing them to avoid an area, without harming them, so that it can be used in the garden to deter rodents, rabbits, and other small mammals.
Spider mites, whiteflies, and other pests
Plants and greenhouses are subject to infestation by spider mites. Cinnamon kills spider mites and prevents the spread of the mites on your house plants and greenhouse. Use a light touch to sprinkle cinnamon on the soil surfaces around plants along with the leaves of plants.
Cinnamon as rooting agent
When you use those powdered rooting hormones, have you ever had the sulphur smell catch in your throat? Like sulphur, cinnamon facilitates rooting, while inhibiting the growth of fungi that cause rot in stem cuttings. To stimulate root growth use cinnamon on the stems prior to planting. It is an easy to use, inexpensive way to encourage root growth.
Almost all plant species respond favorably to the rooting agent cinnamon. A small amount applied to the stem at planting time will stimulate root growth in most kinds of plants.
Plant stems in new potting soil after spreading a spoonful of cinnamon on some paper towels and rubbing damp stem ends into it. This will encourage the plant to produce more stems, while preventing the disease caused by a fungus called damping-off.
Cinnamon for fungicide control
A fungus-based problem, damping off disease hits young seedlings as soon as they begin to grow. Cinnamon works to prevent this problem by killing the fungus. Take advantage of cinnamon fungicide control by making a cinnamon spray for plants to prevent slime mold, and make a cinnamon spray to deter mushrooms in planters. The cinnamon mixture can be steeped overnight in warm water, filtered through a coffee filter and transferred to a spray bottle. Plants with mushroom problems need to be sprayed on the stems and leaves, and the soil needs to be sprayed.
Where to find cinnamon?
The ground cinnamon is available in bulk at Asian spice stores, or in restaurant supply stores online. It doesn’t matter if you use Cassia cinnamon or Ceylon cinnamon . Both are effective for garden use. Since Cassia cinnamon is more plentiful, it is generally cheaper than Ceylon cinnamon.
Use what you already have
In Fall, when I replace my baking and cooking spices, I do not throw out the older ones. I use them in the garden to deter pests, prevent plant diseases, and make me a better gardener. If you will be dealing with a persistent fungal issue, I recommend starting with a fresh cinnamon in order to be certain of the strongest anti-fungal properties cinnamon can provide. Fresher cinnamon will be stronger in antibacterial and antifungal effects because its essential oils are dominant when it is first ground, then slowly dissipate over time.
The use of cinnamon can solve many garden problems, but it isn’t the only helpful spice you can find in your spice cabinet. You have a full complement of garden aids in your spice cabinet.