Why You Should Sprinkle Cinnamon Powder on Your Garden This Winter? Gardening Experts Weigh In
Gardening, as therapeutic as it may seem, is a complex task that requires delicate nurturing and optimal attention. Fungal attacks and pests infesting your healthy green plants are a common problem in almost every garden. Experts have weighed in on the issue with a garden-saving hack that utilizes a kitchen staple to protect plants. Cinnamon is an abundantly found spice that tinkers with our taste buds but apparently, it serves an efficient purpose in home gardens, per experts at Gardening KnowHow.
Cinnamon is a natural fungicide and helps tackle the widespread infestation of white mold, a fungal disease that affects nearly 360 species of plant species. It includes peas, lettuce, beans, and other plants from the cabbage family. White mold disease initially appears as water-soaked spots on stems, flowers, leaves, and pods. It eventually causes the plant leaves to wilt and turn yellow before dying. Slime mold and damping off disease is another fungal problem that affects seedlings and can be prevented by cinnamon.
A garden is most susceptible to attack by pests, be it insects, rodents, or other creatures. However, using cinnamon powder on the pest tracks can be a quick fix for the recurring problem that may be killing your precious plants. "If you have a problem with ants in your home or greenhouse, cinnamon is a good deterrent. Ants don't like to walk where cinnamon powder lays, so summer ant problems will be decreased,” the experts said. Moreover, cinnamon as a natural pest deterrent is reassuring as it does not kill or harm pests like insects or rodents, but only prevents them from entering the garden. The powdered spice can be applied both indoors and outdoors in mere sprinkles. Aldi for 65p and Asda for 70p are easily available cinnamon products in the market, per the Express.
Additionally, cinnamon can be used as a rooting agent in the form of willow water and hormone-rooting powder. It instantly stimulates root growth in plant cuttings or stems in a variety of plants. A spoonful of cinnamon can be dabbed on the ends of a damp stem before planting in fresh potting soil. This will help the cutting to quickly grow roots in addition to being protected from fungal attacks. The experts suggested it was best to use a cinnamon spray for optimum fungicide control. A quick stir of cinnamon with warm water and allow it to settle overnight before pouring the mixture into a spray bottle. It can also be applied to potted plants facing mushroom problems.
If not overly fond of cinnamons, though unlikely, the experts recommended using coffee grounds instead. Another kitchen staple, coffee grounds were marked “essential” for gardens as they enrich the soil with nutrients. "The safest way to use coffee grounds in the garden is to add them to compost containers or worm bins. Used grounds rot down well, and homemade compost is superb for improving soil and growing healthy plants,” the report revealed. However, it comes with potential risks if overused.
It is important that coffee grounds be added to the soil in minute quantities because the fine particles tend to clog together and act as a barrier between the plant and soil surface. This would suffocate the plant roots of air and water seeping into the soil ultimately affecting the plant’s health. Coffee grounds are also not equally beneficial for varieties of plants.