Cinnamon, Fungus, and Gnats

Fiz 6/22/2017, 8:24 am

Hello everyone, summer is officially here!

I had a question regarding using cinnamon on soil that is growing veggies. I've got a steadily increasing fungus gnat issue in my raised bed with the above normal rain and heat the past couple of months. I have been reading that ground cinnamon is a good funguside the that will destroy the gnats' food supply, but I am curious if sprinkling it on the soil surface might have a negative effect on my plants, particularly the green onions and carrots.

Any insight would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

**sanderson** 6/23/2017, 12:03 am

Interesting question. I hope someone can answer.

**AtlantaMarie** 6/23/2017, 7:35 am

Fiz, I think you may just have to experiment... Try it on a couple & see what happens.

Take good notes!

yolos 6/23/2017, 11:03 am

I have used cinnamon a few times trying to drive the ants out of a garden bed. Worked to make the ants move out but I do not know what effect it has on the soil.

Fiz 6/23/2017, 7:29 pm

I'll give it a shot once the rain subsides. It was torrential last night and this morning and still lots of rain in the forecast over the next week. Will keep you guys posted, thanks!

**Turan** 6/23/2017, 11:28 pm

I sprinkle the soil when starting plants if I think I might have a damping off issue. It has never hurt any plant as far as I know and it is a fungicide.

Fiz 6/28/2017, 8:35 am

I Turan wrote:I sprinkle the soil when starting plants if I think I might have a damping off issue. It has never hurt any plant as far as I know and it is a fungicide.

Great, thanks Turan! Do you reapply after a certain amount of time?

We have a nice sunny day today so I sprinkled the soil. Although it might rain a bit tonight. Hopefully it helps even a little bit to reduce the gnat larvae food supply. I have been turning the soil also so I haven't notice any green growth on the surface, but regardless, I'll let you all know if I notice a decrease in the gnat population down the road! It's not out of control yet but I just want to stay on top of it because I know how fast they multiply.

**Turan** 6/28/2017, 2:07 pm

Hi Fiz, I have only used cinnamon on the surface of potting soil. I never mixed it in to the soil. For dealing with damping off a sprinkle once or twice in a starting plants life seems sufficient.

I was just reading an IPM article on fungus gnat control. It is recommending a Bt, and a nematode Steinernema. I have experience with the nematode Steinernema (Scanmask) for control of various fly maggots that attack my carrots and rutabagas. I prefer the idea of introducing a predator into the ecosystem, rather than trying to eradicate an important element in the ecosystem.

Article http://ipm.ucanr.edu/PMG/PESTNOTES/pn7448.html

Fiz 6/28/2017, 2:16 pm

Turan wrote:Hi Fiz, I have only used cinnamon on the surface of potting soil. I never mixed it in to the soil. For dealing with damping off a sprinkle once or twice in a starting plants life seems sufficient.

I was just reading an IPM article on fungus gnat control. It is recommending a Bt, and a nematode Steinernema. I have experience with the nematode Steinernema (Scanmask) for control of various fly maggots that attack my carrots and rutabagas. I prefer the idea of introducing a predator into the ecosystem, rather than trying to eradicate an important element in the ecosystem.

Article http://ipm.ucanr.edu/PMG/PESTNOTES/pn7448.html

Hi Turan!

Right, I turned the soil a few times this week and the week before prior to adding the cinnamon. I'm not going to be mixing it into the soil.

Thanks for the suggestion and the link, I'll take a look at it! :-) I've been reading about predators as well and I understand the benefits to using them as opposed to killing the fungus. I think that with the rain the way it has been, things got a bit out of control, so I'm just looking to bring things "back to normal", as it were in the short term.

Thanks again!

countrynaturals 12/21/2019, 12:47 pm

AWESOME IDEA! I'm gonna try it right now. bounce

Done!

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