How To Get Rid Of Mold, Mildew, & Gnats In Your House Plants

Cinnamon is a natural, safe, and inexpensive anti-fungal as well as bug repellent! We first started using cinnamon in the sand box to keep insects such as ants away from our little ones. After I saw great results from that I had to research other uses. Since then, cinnamon has become one of our most used non-toxic remedies for everything from plant infection to insect repellent. 

I recently noticed one of my favorite house plants has mold and mildew in the soil. I quickly reached in the spice drawer to solve this issue! Sprinkling cinnamon on top of the soil killed the mold and mildew and the gnats disappeared soon after that! YES! Another successful use for cinnamon! 

Here are three other ways we use cinnamon in our garden: 

Protect Seedlings

Many seeds require damp soil in the beginning stages of germination. Sprinkling a little cinnamon over the top can protect the soil from mold and mildew as well as fight off gnats. 

Ant Deterrent 

We mix cinnamon in the sand box to avoid ants and other annoying insects. You can also line the sand box with cinnamon to further repel ants. I've heard this also works for cats, rabbits, and squirrels, but I have never had that issue with our sand box and can't speak to that.

Heal Plant Wounds

This is a new trick that we learned when Brian pruned a little too much off a plant in front of our house. We sprinkled cinnamon on the ends of the branches to encourage healing and prevent infection. This was our first time using cinnamon as a remedy for plant wounds but so far the plant is growing back healthy and strong! 

Read Next...

9 Ways To Use Coffee Grounds In The Garden

Easy Bird Feeders To Make With Your Kids

Last week I shared our Spring Family Bucket List and one of the things on the list is to make bird feeders. Since today is President's Day and Henry is home from kindergarten, I thought it would be the perfect craft to keep them busy. I know Henry and Matilda will either destroy the house or bicker all day if they don't have things to do. We had a four day weekend and they have spent just a little too much time together... Most of the time they are best friends, I swear!

Back to our project!

This didn't take long but they were definitely entertained and excited. They are actually peeking out the window right now hoping the birds have discovered their feeders. I think this is a great project to get kids interested in the outdoors (that's a huge passion of ours). I'm going to take advantage of their excitement and do a bird nature study with them today. We will learn about beaks, nests, prey, and I'll come up with a literacy and math project as well. 

What you'll need

1.  1 lb wild bird seed
2. 2 large pine cones 
3. 1 cup no salt or sugar added peanut butter (we used natural almond butter)
4. String or twine 
5. Scissors 

How to assemble

1. Set up a table with a shallow dish filled with bird seed. Melt the nut butter so it's warm and spreadable and place in a dish with two age appropriate utensils for spreading. My kids are 6 and 4 years old so they used butter knives (actually, they ended up using their fingers).
2. Cut two pieces of string and tie around the top of the pine cones. If your child is old enough to do this step, encourage them to cut and tie the string around the pine cone themselves. 
3. Let the kids spread the nut butter over the pine cones. Help them spread it over each scale if needed. 
4. After they have finished coating the pine cone with nut butter, have them roll the pine cones in the bird seed. 
5. Now that the pine cones are covered in bird seed, they are ready to hang outside. Hang them from a tree limb or on your patio or from your fence. We hung ours from our patio pergola near trees where we see a lot of birds. 
6. This is the hard part! Sometimes you'll get birds right away other times it takes a few hours. Be patient and wait for the birds to discover their delicious treats! 

-Step by Step- 

1. Tie a piece of string around the top of the pine cones.

2. Spread nut butter over the pine cones. Make sure to spread evenly around the scales.

3. Roll the nut butter coated pine cones in the bird seed.

4. Hang outside near a high traffic bird area and wait for your little friends to discover their feeders!

5. Share your pictures with us or post on social media using the hashtag #HHFamilyBucketList

Which Seeds To Start In March & How to Plant Seeds In Eggshells

We are crazy egg people and I'm pretty sure that's well known by now. You can see our love for eggs in our logo (a chicken laying an egg), or in the title of our favorite book Eat The Yolks, and of course, our favorite way to start seeds is in egg shells! Egg shells are cost-free containers that are loaded with nutrients to give your seeds a boost in the beginning of life. Not only do your seeds get a nutritional boost, you can directly plant the shell in your garden when they are ready to be transplanted outdoors. This adds calcium to your soil and protects your plants from harmful critters such as beetles. Read more about the benefits of using egg shells in your garden here.

Here's what you need

• Egg shells, emptied
• Potting soil + a small spoon for scooping
• Seeds
• Egg crate

Method

• Crack your eggs in half and use the contents for a delicious breakfast
• Poke a small hole in the bottom of the egg shell for drainage
• Place the egg shells back in the crate(s)
• Use a small spoon to fill the egg shells 3/4th the way full with soil
• Push a few seeds into the soil in each egg shell. Make sure the soil loosely covers the seeds
• Add just enough water to make the soil damp. 
• Place the crates in a sunny spot and water as needed

Notes

1. Don't forget to label your starters somehow otherwise you won't know what you're watering/planting. As you can see in the first picture at the top of this post, I used a permanent marker and wrote the letter next to the egg shells. For example, "S" is by all the squash, "carrots" was spelled out because I used "C" for the cucumbers, and "Z" was for zucchini. You can also write directly on the egg shell, but you risk the chance that it gets washed off if you accidentally over water. 
2. When your seeds have sprouted and they are mature enough to plant outdoors, make sure you crack the eggshell open. If you plant the eggshells directly in the ground without cracking them open it will restrict growth and your plants will likely die. 

Here's what your starters will look like when they are ready to brave the outdoors. Look at those healthy roots! :)

Which Seeds To Plant In March

• Beans, peas
• Cauliflower, broccoli, cabbage, brussels sprouts
• Beetroot
• Eggplant, Zucchini 
• Peppers, onions, leeks 
• Kale, lettuce, swiss chard, spinach
• Celery 
• Carrots
• Cucumbers
• Radishes
• Chicory 

Follow the directions on the seed packet for transplanting outdoors. Most of these can be transferred outdoors in May depending on where you live and the climate.

How To Use Coffee Grounds In Your Garden

There are many different ways you can use coffee grounds in your garden. I use coffee grounds for composting, homemade fertilizer, natural pest control, and SO much more. If you don't drink coffee, don't worry! The grounds do not have to be brewed in order to work for you. I have used coffee grounds both ways and have always had success. Here are 9 ways coffee grounds can benefit your garden...

1. Composting

Because coffee grounds have a 20 to 1 ratio of nitrogen to carbon, they are ideal for composting.They also provide potassium, phosphorus, magnesium, copper, and other beneficial minerals. 

2. Pest Control

This is the easiest and most beneficial thing you can do for your plants. Simply line your garden with coffee grounds to fight off slugs, snails, ants, rabbits, squirrels and so on. If you notice your fruits & veggies are getting eaten by bugs, make mounds of coffee grounds around the plant for a good defense against the intruders!

3. Worms

I never, ever, ever, like Taylor Swift amounts of never, ever's, thought I would have a worm farm. Yet, here I am, telling you how awesome these little creatures are. Worms do the work for you by turning the soil. All you need to do is put some worms in a bucket with soil and coffee grounds. Let them work for a bit, then spread the mixture evenly around your garden. So simple and kind of gross, but it works and saves you time!

4. Fungus 

Again, this is a super easy trick. All you have to do is sprinkle some coffee grounds on the soil and let nature do the rest! The coffee grounds will fight off harmful fungus and mold that could be attacking your plants. The coffee grounds will create a "helpful" kind of fungus on its own that will benefit your plants.

5. Plant Food (homemade fertilizer)

This is probably the number one way I use coffee grounds in my garden. My plants love it! I love it too, because unlike pricey store bought fertilizer, this is safe for the kids to play in the garden. Method: Measure 1 cup of coffee grounds to 1 gallon of water. Let it sit for at least 24 hours or so. Once the water is dark in color you can pour it directly onto the soil at the base of your plants. I do this a lot for my seedlings to give them a strong start at life. A little goes along way...

6. Roses, Hydrangeas, & Nitrogen Loving Plants

Adding coffee grounds to your soil will make these nitrogen loving plants blossom and thrive. This is beneficial for many of the same reasons I've already listed. The coffee grounds will attract worms while fighting off harmful fungus and pests. 

7. Carrots, Tomatoes, & Acid Loving Plants 

Place coffee grounds around the soil of your acid loving plants such as raspberries or blueberries. The acid from the grounds will boost the acid level in your soil and stimulate your produce. This boost of energy will cause your plants to flourish. The neutral to acidic pH level is heaven for your flower beds!

8. Cats

I love cats and  think this might be the first time I have ever NOT wanted cats around;) If you have a cat "problem," try putting coffee grounds in the soil to safely turn cats away from digging in your garden. 

9. Gophers 

This is something I haven't actually tried myself. We have never had a gopher problem, but a close friend of mine did. She used her brewed coffee grounds to fill the gopher holes and apparently that worked! If anyone has tried this, feel free to let me know about your experience in the comments below. 

Books To Help You Get Started With Your Urban Farm

This book, or the author really, is how I first realized farming in the city was possible. Hannah Litt was my midwife and delivered our sweet son three years ago. Before we decided to choose her as our midwife, I researched her to make sure we had the same views and opinions. This book was one of the first things to pop up, and I knew instantly that I would love her. Throughout my pregnancy I grew a belly of course, but also a huge love for the wonderful Litt family. I never really thought having chickens in the city was something I would want or could even do. This book was a huge inspiration and has all the information you need to prepare for your urban chickens! I made a list of the other books that we've read to help us prepare for our journey to sustainability. Hopefully they are as helpful and insightful for all of you as they were to us! 

-The Good Life: Helen and Scott Nearing's Sixty Years of Self-Sufficient Living by Scott and Helen Nearing

-Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life by Barbara Kingsolver

-Bringing It to the Table: On Farming and Food by Wendell Berry

-Four-Season Harvest: Organic Vegetables from Your House Garden All Year Long by Eliot Coleman (Chelsea Green) 

-The New Organic Grower by Eliot Coleman (Chelsea Green)

and if you're interested in beekeeping (like me!) you need to read The Backyard Beekeeper by Kim Flottam