Brookn's "Saves the Day" recipe

[zuri]

Does anyone have a copy of brookn's recipe handy? I searched without luck. Apparently I am not a very good forum searcher.

[articuno75]

The title of the thread is The Best Stuff EVER !!!

[zuri]

Thank you, Jenny!

[dtje2000]

Hey, I'm assuming the cinnamon extract is a liquid? I'm web-surfing and I'm finding tablets and such...and oil. The cinnamon extract for cooking...is that the stuff?

[brookn]

Yes the extract I get comes straight from the spice aisle.

[lmartiny]

I didn't find it in our local grocery store but found it in WalMart and Target super stores.

[dtje2000]

Very good to know, lmartiny! Didn't find it at Publix so was hoping I wouldn't have to mail-order! Off to Tar-get` I go! La, la, la...

[lmartiny]

I just made a batch for a friend in a spray bottle with the recipe written on the bottle and a new bottle of extract to go with it. I had all orchids back in the house for the latest cold snap (30's) and one had black ants big time. I was giving everybody a good soak before they went back outside and this guy had ants grouping all along the hanger escaping the water. I hit them with Brookn's mix and they died. Good stuff. I just wish the orchids could tell you if treatments are helping their spots and such. Bug death is pretty much instantaneous gratification. The rest is a guessing game.

Back to the first story, I dropped off the spray and a couple of succculents at my friend's back door to find a dormant Plumeria and rooted cutting of a reed stem Epi I'd given her 2-3 months ago. Exactly where I'd left them. (she's been very busy) And I must say, reed stem Epis must be pretty damn hearty because it was 1) alive 2) putting out new aerial roots and 3) just a tad purpley from light. Not to mention we had two nights into the 20's and recently a couple of nights into the 30's.
Noting the total neglect my husband said "yea, and I bet that one will bloom."

[articuno75]

I just killed a wasp today with this stuff. I just can't believe I seen a wasp already.

[dtje2000]

It kills spiders, too! While I admit I'm pretty much respectful of the nature, I must assert my position on the food web when they build their stupid webs at FACE LEVEL in my path! EWWW! They are probably harmless to me, but their crab-like shape and funny little red points just give me the creeps. So...having just mixed up a nice double-batch of the brookn wonder spray I drenched a bird's nest fern that had suspicious white pin-dots on the leaves...then migrated to the lime tree of which something is really working the leaves over...then turned and came eye-to eye with Mr. Spider. Sorry dude...spritz, spritz... RIP buster. Alas, it wasn't immediate...but it was final. :O

A mighty big thanks to brookn for this bug-be-gone elixir!

[dtje2000]

Ok, I have to rescind the 'kills spiders' claim...it may have stunned them, but they shook it off and reclaimed their spot on their webs. Oh well...

[jay]

That's ok. I like to see spiders around my orchids (except for spider mites) because they will eat other little nasties.

[tansyflower]

This cinnamon extract stuff. Does anyone know if we can get it in Australia?

Also I have seen mention of using cinnamon in different ways (like when removing keikis).Are you referring to the powdered cinnamon like you get in the cooking aisle at the supermarket or this cinnamon extract. Also, why is it used, is it a fungicide?

[lmartiny]

The powdered is used to seal cuts on roots and leaves. The extract goes into the soap mixture.
FL members, I'm with you on the crab type spiders. I think they are harmless as to bites, etc but creepy and their webs are super strong. Not fun to run into.

[beautifulbunny]

Ooh, what I wouldn't give if it just worked on scorpions! Last year there was one on the outside of the house where the dog walks...I put her inside, got the Ortho and strode back into the dark. I sprayed it over 20 times and the thing just waited for me to stop spraying, curled it's tail, stood up on it's legs with sort of a "so what?" look and scrambled up the wall. I walked pup out every night after that for a week, with a flashlight (interesting note: did you guys know that spiders eyes shine red as ruby lasers by flashlight?)

Hopefully I'm making the recipe right, I've been using the kind of liquid cinnamon extract that's next to the vanilla extract for cookie-making. The powdered stuff I keep around for wounds and cuts.

The 2 dram bottle-size of cinnamon extract we keep around just for candy making : )

[dtje2000]

Jay, I can't disagree with you on the benefits of spiders as a general rule. I'm actually rather fond of those I've always called garden spiders and wolf spiders...but those crab things...well, if they can't learn to put their webs in places I don't walk...

And, beautifulbunny, thanks for making spiders seem not so bad. If we could just get rid of the Bufo (Buffo?) toads, then I'd be happy as a clam in wet sand. They are big like bullfrogs and they secrete a poison that is lethal to dogs if not treated immediately after contact. Having two mini-schnauzers with great rodent-chasing instincts, I'm constantly worried they'll snag one in the yard when I'm not looking. Thank goodness they hibernate so I can relax during the cooler months...

[FLaCo]

I wonder if growing garlic will do anything for pests.

[articuno75]

Originally Posted by dtje2000

Ok, I have to rescind the 'kills spiders' claim...it may have stunned them, but they shook it off and reclaimed their spot on their webs. Oh well...

Remember the recipe is flexible. I make mine stronger. It does kill spiders.

[fancy]

does anyone know where I can get cinnamon extract in Canada?
or is cinnamon leaf essential oil the same thing?
Thanks

[fancy]

I found the extract at the last store to try, for any other Canadians, it was at Extra foods, ( loblaw's)

[katsrevenge]

Can the powdered stuff be wet down and subbed for the liquid? It may not be as effective though...

*goes to try it*

[brookn]

I find the powder tends to clump and float-not very effective. It also leaves residue on the plant, and if left too long will stain it.

[katsrevenge]

Yeah, I noticed that. I just waited till it was dry and brushed it off.

It also clogged my spray bottle.

Nothing ventured, nothing gained though.

[jensan]

For those of you with pets lemon dish det. will kill fleas and is way less toxic than pesticides. Or you can use reg. dog shampoo and add a few drops of tea tree oil. Now I'm going to try cinn in shampoo to see if that will also kill fleas

[brookn]

Lemon dish detergent, nice one! I will have to try that, it's a constant battle of the fleas here. I have one dog that even Frontline won't kill the fleas on him-so weird. Be careful of the dosage of the cinnamon it can irritate the skin a little. What I notice is it feels really warm, and turns really red (this is from spilling the straight extract on my hands). I also had a friend that decided he loved the smell of my cinnamon oil that I used for bath salts, so he took a few drops and rubbed them in his hands and applied to his neck. That was funny, he kept asking if it was warm in my house, and his neck looked like a tomato lol. He smelled really good though!

[tinabee]

OK...as far as application of this goes, do you thoroughly soak the media with this if critters are embedded in it, then rinse with clear water afterwards? Or do you just use it as a spray?

Does this take the place of something like Physan 20?

I'm all for anything that isn't a toxic chemical.

[oncidiumlover]

This stuff is great! In the midst of a heatwave, I saw my first fungus gnat yesterday, I sprayed that sucker with Brooke's best stuff ever, dead on contact! How fabulous!

[mreckner]

can this be sprayed on the blossoms? My oncidium has what look to be aphids crawling around on it....

[fred]

as I have not used brookn's recipe myself I thought I would bump this thread for one of you geeks that have
thanks

[brookn]

I have never sprayed blossoms with it, but if you have a lot of bugs it might be worth a try just to get rid of them. Anyone sprayed the blossoms before?

[articuno75]

I've sprayed the blossoms on a couple of Dendrobiums. The flowers discolored a little. (They were white) Other than that they were okay. I do make my mix stronger than the standard too.

[brookn]

Hee hee Jenny, I make mine strong too. I want the bugs dead yesterday lol.

[dr_frnkblck]

Has anybody used it on mealies?

[shellbell75]

Kills mealy's dead and appears to be working on the fungal gnats too

Originally Posted by katsrevenge

Can the powdered stuff be wet down and subbed for the liquid? It may not be as effective though...

*goes to try it*

I couldn't find the extract, so I steeped the powdered cinnamon in boiling water for about an hour and then strained it through a coffee filter before adding to the Brookn's recipe and it worked like a charm - no residue, discoloration, or clogged spray bottle. I think I tripled the amount the recipe called for, though, since I thought my homemade stuff probably wasn't as strong as true cinnamon extract.

[benetay]

Hmm! Sounds like an idea!

Cheers!

[beautifulbunny]

Re: Just how good the recipe is... : )

4 or 5 months ago the neighbors across the street moved and in exchange for putting out their trash on trash-day (good deed : ) ) she said I could have anything I saw. Most of it was beyond junk, except...She had one of those "Congrats/Welcome to your new home" floral baskets set against a cement wall (sorry if I've told this story, it's feeling familiar.) Anyway, they'd begun to bake (that day we hit 100) so I took them home and gave each plant an *extended* dip in this magic mix (our Springtime sort of begins in Jan., and black widdows love Springtime.) Each plant was completely submerged in a home depot bucket of the stuff for roughly 1/2 hr, then given a very through rinsing and a bit of Superthrive once potted up for resiliance. Of 8 plants, 5 survived and are *thriving* (lost a small vine and two mostly-baked raniculus (sp) )

To this day I haven't seen *anything* touch them at all (and this, monsoon season, is when *everything* crawls into the house.) What are they growing in? : ) Soil didn't do the trick and just leca didn't either, but a combination of leca and water pearls (adjusted as needed) has some of them trippled in size : )

My orchid, Uni, on the other hand is doing great--considering her circumstances : ) She lost *all* of her original roots due to the way she'd originally been potted up (fern leaf litter around the roots, bark on the outside)--I always waited to water her until she felt "light", but come to find out her roots were rotting due to the fern bits holding so much moisture.) What she *has* done is put up so good, strong, beautiful leaves *and*, miraculous to me : ) , she's re-growing all new roots! It's fantastic to watch--bright green, a bit velvety... : ) Also, right now, the house and the weather is extremely arid, so her leaves began to pucker from dryness. So she's spent the week in a closed ziplock bag with just a damp paper towel in there and her leaves are now fully restored (the roots have even grown a little, too.)


So, yes, this humble mix works wonders : ) I'll never be without it : )