Honey

Honey is probably the worlds first “medicine”, and has been used by humans to treat a variety of ailments for thousands of years, and we still use it.

It took equally as many thousands of years for the "Experts", to recognize the antiseptic and antibacterial properties of honey and explain them.

We can add to the above, two more properties:

1. Honey is hygroscopic, (has the ability to absorb moisture directly from the air).

2. Honey has a low pH, between 3.5 and 4.5. This low pH level prevents many bacteria from growing.

The properties above are a good reason to use honey in a potting mix; however, honey is used because Honey is a well known “compost activator”.

Its antibacterial and antifungal properties may allow the plant to fend off attacks by bacteria and microbes in the soil while it develops roots.

It is also assumed that it contains a property that acts as a rooting stimulant.

Honey is used in very small amounts, a teaspoon or less.

You do not use honey when fungi and bacteria are important to the plant, as it is the case in many terrestrial orchids; you use Sugar (protein) to help them out.