How frequently can you use Epsom Salt?
Carol love_the_yard (Zone 9A Jacksonville, FL)
12 years ago
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Carol love_the_yard (Zone 9A Jacksonville, FL)
12 years agoTruscifi
12 years agoRelated Discussions
Anyone have experience with using epsom salt on succulents?
Comments (30)Magnesium issues can be a problem on some plants and a cause of chlorosis on unfertilized or underfertilized ones occasionally and hardly a myth, but certainly quite uncommon. You can look up the symptoms online, but as a general rule, any time plant leaves start to yellow, it's time to do some digging (so to speak!) So I keep a small bag around and have for the last decade, but I can absolutely state I've used about five ounces out of it in that decade, including the entire property of 12,000 square feet total. If you're using most versions of Miracle-Gro to fertilize, Mg shortages shouldn't be much of an issue, nor should any lack of green leaves. But still, underfertilization may occasionally rear its ugly head. As a general rule, low nitrogen, iron, or magnesium problems can all be a cause of yellowing leaves (among many others, but those tend to be the primary resource-related ones, in that order), so definitely go investigate if these are showing up on your plants. But never, never blindly toss Epsom salts or any other resource on plants just to cure a problem that isn't there. Magnesium can cause tightening of soils, even very loose and sandy ones, and that's the last thing you want in a succulent pot or any other soil. Too much magnesium also make it harder for the plant to absorb some other resources if amounts rise too high due to simple resource antagonism. I tend to follow the "feed weakly, weekly" method on most plants during their growing seasons because simply put, it works and maintains a constant regular flow of nutrients. If the plant doesn't want it, it has ways of letting you know. If it does want it, it also has ways of letting you know--usually by not growing and turning funny colors. I'd rather avoid that, thanks. But I also tend to avoid that on anything but N, P, and K and only allow maintenance levels of anything else to avoid some of the discussed problems above. So you can walk a fine line over the years even feeding regularly. That's why regular repotting is recommended--and why some of us do some organic feeding even in our pots....See Morewater before you use the Epsom Salts mix?
Comments (2)You may be under-thinking things. Why are you applying Epsom salts? Do you have reason to suspect a deficiency of Mg (magnesium)? If Mg is NOT deficient, adding Epsom salts cannot help and carries the potential to be a limiting factor for 2 reasons. One is, if Mg isn't deficient in the soil, it will add unnecessarily to the EC/TDS (salt levels) of the soil, which makes it more difficult for your plants to take up water and therefore all the nutrients dissolved in the soil solution. The second is, adding Mg to your soil w/o adding Ca(lcium) can make it more difficult, or in extreme cases impossible for your plant to take up Ca (called an antagonistic deficiency). 'Nice & green' doesn't always equate to 'nice & healthy'. There are several nutrients that, being present in soils at toxicity levels, can make your plants extra green - Mg being one of them. What are you using for fertilizer, what are you using for soil, and how long have your plants been in that soil? The answers to that question will probably determine if a Mg deficiency is even a possibility. Al...See MoreTo Epsom Salts or not to Epsom Salts,
Comments (1)No, I'm not, I've never found a reason why, a bit of rose food twice a year, or chook manure; blood and bone; some dolamite lime; rose food if you like. My roses thrive on that. Overuse of inorganic substances, I understand, can help over salinate the soil....See Moreusing epsom salt for peppers and eggplant
Comments (9)That's a much talked about "home remedy" for gardening. Not completely clear what it's remediating though, in that if your soil magnesium is fine, it won't really do any good. Also, most fertilizers include it. FWIW, tomatoes, peppers, and eggplant really do need magnesium. I'd just do a soil test before wasting your time on this. Do you see evidence of magnesium deficiency in the plants you grow? That could be yellowing of leaves starting with the lowest older ones and moving upward. Also yellow stripes on veins (chlorosis) may indicate Mg deficiency. Strongly acid soils are more frequently magnesium deficient, and I believe that Florida soils are often only slightly acidic. Soils over limestone (like mine) never are. Pretty easy to OD on epsom salt, though, which can burn your plants. So if you do decide that your soil really has a magnesium deficiency (that's the first step), use it carefully. It is *not* a general purpose fertilizer...See MoreMinderella
12 years agokatkin_gw
12 years agoCarol love_the_yard (Zone 9A Jacksonville, FL)
12 years agoCarol love_the_yard (Zone 9A Jacksonville, FL)
12 years agoCarol love_the_yard (Zone 9A Jacksonville, FL)
12 years agosumala
12 years agoTruscifi
12 years agoCarol love_the_yard (Zone 9A Jacksonville, FL)
12 years agoTruscifi
12 years agolordoyen
5 years agodirtygardener
5 years agodirtygardener
5 years agobea (zone 9a -Jax area)
5 years ago
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