Thanks for that, Tracey. Lots of good experiential information.
Those of us that have seen damping off disease know that it (usually) starts with one plant keeling over and then radiates from there out to the rest of the seedlings. I've never found anything even concretish about how much cinnamon to use before. I remember once when I had damping off in a pot of alpine non-lily species - I am always reluctant to put anything on seedlings at this very dainty stage, but it was clear that the disease's progression across the pot would not cease, and I would lose them all anyway. I used a fine strainer to powder the surface with cinnamon, and of course, powdering the actual seedlings was unavoidable. I can't tell you how instant the results were, but the next day, every remaining seedling was dead, and the disease could not have progressed that quickly to the other side of the pot. Post mortem examination did not reveal any variations; death by cinnamon was the conclusion. I think I probably over did it, too, but had I powdered the surface before germination, I might have been okay.
The correct moisture content is what I futz over the most, and it is often difficult in enclosed environments (like a baggy), as opposed to sowings on the surface or upper layer of a stable medium in a pot.
