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Cinnamon is ordinarily commend as a lifelike antifungal for nurseryman wanting to avoid various fungous diseases . lease ’s look at whether there is any skill to back up the claim and if it has other welfare in the garden .
For more on preventing fungal trouble , seeDamping - Off — How To Deal With This Seed Starting Problem .
Ground Cinnamon
Using Cinnamon As A Fungicide
Have you heard the advice to sprinkle cinnamon on your potting mix or seed starting admixture ? The idea is that it might facilitate preventfungal disease like damping - off from forming . Some nurseryman routinely do this whenstarting seeds indoors .
Cinnamon is just one of many home remediation from the kitchen closet that gardeners divvy up with one another — whether they are proven effective or not . We ’ve looked at a bunch of them includingquestionable uses for Epsom saltsandmisleading data about eggshells .
So , does Ceylon cinnamon work ? Can it kill fungi ?
The short reply is , we do n’t know . I ’d love it if there was a authoritative reply because so many multitude postulate this interrogative sentence , but we just do n’t sleep together .
Yes , laboratory studies show thatcinnamon can act as a antimycotic in certain conditions . It ’s not the most efficient fungicide but it has been repeatedly demonstrated that it can kill fungus .
So what ’s the problem ?
There are no study involving cinnamon as a antimycotic agent for seeded player come out at home .
The research we have involves different types of cinnamon , various fungi , and other conditions that make it impossible to take over what works for one would mold for the other .
So , we do n’t have the science to say yes it works . But once you do it what ’s involved you’re able to decide if it ’s something you still want to try .
For my own gardening I always postulate , could this aid and will it do any harm ?
Most Microfungi Are Beneficial Or Harmless
We incline to think of microscopic fungi as bad but it ’s just not so .
Yes , powdery mold , dampen - off diseases , andhollyhock rustcan be frustrating .
But there are many thousands of fungal mintage and most are either harmless or doing good work for life on globe .
This is why it ’s authoritative to know specifically what any antimycotic might affect or toss off as well as any residual damage they can cause .
Contents
What Is Cinnamon?
Cinnamon is a broad term for a spiciness that comes from the bark of trees in theCinnamomumgenus which is part of theLauraceaefamily .
These trees are native to warm climates like Sri Lanka , Indonesia , southerly China , and Vietnam .
Different Types of Cinnamon
There are over 300 specie of Cinnamomum trees but just a few are used to make cinnamon spice .
Two main I are :
1)Cinnamomum cassia| This is the most uncouth specie used for the low-toned - cost cinnamon gunpowder and stick found in our grocery stores and the Ceylon cinnamon used on baked good like Ceylon cinnamon rolls .
2)Cinnamomum verumor “ true Ceylon cinnamon tree ” is an expensive , premium cinnamon bark , sold as a speciality detail .
If you check Cartesian product label , most just say “ solid ground cinnamon ” with no mention of which coinage you are scram , but you’re able to put on if the price is reasonable that it ’s not the premium one .
TheWashington Postdid a taste test a few years ago and most multitude did n’t have a preference between the two , but there areCinnamomum verumaficionados felicitous to pay the premium price .
Related : How To Deal With Fungus Gnats On Houseplants ( What Works )
Lab Studies Versus Home Use
While quite a few laboratory study have been done on the effects of cinnamons as fungicides — with good upshot — there are differences between the study and what we do at habitation .
Remember , cinnamonis a all-encompassing terminus , not just one matter .
Researchers are not testing the same cinnamon you have from the grocery store and sprinkling it on soil ( or other growing mediums ) in a home - like circumstance .
rather , most habituate gamey concentrations of cinnamon extracts , essential oil , or other suspensions or filtrates . These may be from variousCinnamomumspecies and extracted from barque or leaves .
Each bailiwick applies unlike compositions and active ingredient to dissimilar fungus kingdom .
In other words , not our cinnamon , our kingdom Fungi , or our situation .
Perhaps there is one common thread between everything that makes it plausible , but at this head we just do n’t live .
Should I try it?
We know what ’s used in research is different from our home conditions , but perhaps even store - bought cinnamon powder has some fungicidal attribute we can take advantage of .
Or maybe cinnamon essential oils could work on ? But again , who lie with what ’s really in your essential oil ?
There are spate of gardeners who make it a routine to splosh some grocery memory cinnamon on theirpotting mixorseed starting mixas a preventative measure .
Is it really prevent deaden - off or other fungal problems ?
We have no way of knowing for certain . It ’s possible but unproven .
relate : The difficulty With Anecdotal Garden Tips ( but it shape for me ! )
Could it do harm?
We do n’t know if any trauma could come in from go for cinnamon to growing medium . It would be large if we had counselling on what shape and how much to apply under what conditions , but it ’s all a guesswork at this point .
It seems logical that too little would be ineffective and too much could be detrimental — but how much is just right-hand ?
We ’re all trying dissimilar applications in different configurations without any control .
It ’s also unknown whether cinnamon could affect other beneficial fungi or bacteria our plants need as they arise .
We just haveanecdotalreports saying some gardener are happy using cinnamon with their seedling and do n’t seem to have outcome with it .
Others may find no appreciable deviation .
Related : Popular Garden Myths We ’ve All fall For
Frequently Asked Questions
There are all sort of claims about the power of Cinnamomum zeylanicum in the garden but few have any science to back them up .
The innumerable ways cinnamon is recommended remind me of the saying , when you have a hammer , everything look like a nail .
Also , as we discussed , the wordcinnamonis used for various species , excerpt , oil , and processing methods for plants in theCinnamomumgenus . This imply each grade may have a different authorship and active ingredients .
Plus , the studies we do have are conducted in laboratories under operate preferences . This is unspoilt for science in cosmopolitan but it also means the end do not translate to the countless variable conditions in our home gardens .
Laboratory survey show that cinnamon can act as a antimycotic agent in certain conditions . It ’s not the most effective fungicide but it has been repeatedly demonstrated that it can wipe out fungi . There are no studies to reference for its efficaciousness in home preferences .
Cinnamon is not arooting hormoneand will not energise antecedent growth . However , the anti - fungal property could protect young antecedent from disease . Cinnamon could also stop other fungi doing important and good workplace — we just do n’t have it away . This has more data ontypes of root internal secretion powdersand how they work .
There are studies designate cinnamon can shoot down mosquito larvae , thrips , flea , diamondback moths , crimson wanderer mites ( which are arachnids , not dirt ball ) , and more . These written report , however , are conduct in controlled laboratory options , not home garden . It is also considered irresponsible to indiscriminately vote down insects without understanding the greater forking . Most are full of life to the web of life .
We could not find any studies about deterring or killing emmet at home with foodstuff storage cinnamon powder . There are other studies ask direct contact with a cinnamon petroleum dressed ore in laboratory background which is a whole other matter .
We could not determine any inquiry about Ceylon cinnamon deterring various mammals we have in our gardens including squirrels . Some people swear it works , others share images of squirrel munch on cinnamon control stick at the birdie feeder , so who knows?Related to this , any advice to use a burning agent like a raging capsicum spice to deter squirrels or other animals is considered cruelty to animate being and inhumane .
Related : When to Use rootle Hormone for Plant Propagation
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