If you’re looking for ways to keep your garden looking its best, it can be quite overwhelming. Some methods can be effective but expensive, but there are also simple and cheap ways of maintaining your plants and flowers.
There’s one thing you already have in your kitchen that can be used for a number of things in your garden – cinnamon. The spice, which is derived from the inner bark of several tree species, isn’t just tasty in food, but also has a number of health benefits, from improving blood sugar and reducing inflammation. But it turns out it’s also a gardener’s best friend, as it has numerous uses in the garden.
TikTok user @PlantingWithE, a beginner gardener who is sharing tips and information as she learns how to take care of her outdoor space, recently shared the tips with her followers. She said she had “no idea” cinnamon could be used for so many things in the garden, and even called it a “game-changer”.
In a recent clip to her TikTok account, the gardening novice shared: “I was today years old when I learned this cinnamon gardening hack. This everyday spice does way more than smell good.” She then recommended sprinkling it on damp soil to prevent damping off diseases, adding that it stops fungus on seedlings.
She also advised it “repels ants and fungus gnats” because they “hate the smell”. You can simply sprinkle it around plant bases to ward them off. Cinnnamon can also protect cuttings from rot. The gardener suggests dipping “fresh cuttings in cinnamon as a natural rooting aid”.
Commenting on the video, some starting sharing their own uses for cinnamon in the garden. “Most bugs and rodents hate the smell too!” commented one person. “It also helps deter stray cats that like to use raised beds as litter boxes!” added another.
Others had no idea you could use cinnamon in the garden and couldn’t wait to try it out themselves. “Get outtaaa hereeee! I’m going to do this tonight!!! Appreciate it!” said one person. “I love it! Thanks for sharing!” added another.
If you don’t already have cinnamon in your kitchen, you can pick up ground cinnamon in Tesco and most other supermarkets for around £1.
Plantura Magazine also previously said it can be “used as a base for ecological plant protection and pest control”. According to the outlet, the spice has been shown to prevent grey mould and some water moulds.
Fiona Jenkins, houseplant expert at MyJobQuote.co.uk previously explained cinnamon is a natural fungicide that’s great at repairing broken stems.
The houseplant expert recommended making “a clean cut on the broken stem and sprinkle cinnamon powder on it, this will stop it from becoming infected”.
“Mixing cinnamon powder into the soil of your houseplant will also help to prevent mould and fungus,” she added.
