Hello Everyone!!! Here is a post that Al posted on the Plumeria forum for some of us... I use Foliage Pro and it has the Ca and Mg that the trees need. I thought you all would like to read since it was mentioned up thread... Enjoy!!! Laura Posted by tapla z5b-6a mid-MI (My Page) on Fri, Dec 27, 13 at 15:55 Rox - Epsom salts are indeed a salt. While it's true that plants take up all nutrients (from soil) in the form of salts, too much total salt or too much of any one salt is not good for a plant. The measure of everything dissolved in the soil solution = the water's TDS (total dissolved solids). As the TDS increases, the plant's ability to absorb both water and nutrients decreases. If you have a very high level of TDS in the soil solution, water can actually be pulled out of cells, causing the cells to collapse and plasma to be pulled from cell walls (plasmolysis/ fertilizer burn). This is especially true if the salts are applied in granular form. Epsom salts are rich in Mg, and Mg is an important nutrient to the plant, no question, but an excess of Mg can not only be limiting in terms of TDS, it can also make it more difficult for the plant to take up potassium, phosphorous, and calcium, but particularly calcium - IOW, it can cause antagonistic deficiencies of other important nutrients when applied in excess. The bottom line is, an excess of magnesium (Epsom salts), iron, or manganese can have the effect of making your plant nice and green, but the nice green color doesn't necessarily mean your plant is as healthy as it should be. Your plant will grow best when the soil solution contains all the essential nutrients plants take from the soil, in the same ratio at which the plant actually uses those nutrients, and at a concentration high enough to ensure no deficiencies yet low enough that the plant isn't inhibited in its ability take up water and nutrients. In most cases, when you start second guessing what your plants need and start adding elements or compounds that are designed to supply only 1 or 2 nutrients (like Epsom salts - [magnesium and sulfur]), the potential to limit your plant is much greater than the potential to benefit it. Choosing a fertilizer that has all the essential elements in a favorable ratio and sticking with that program is much easier and far less likely to result in unexpected complications. Al Thank you!!! Laura

I do not use any fertizer applications at all once plants are old enought to bloom. Miracle Grow is a fairly well balanced foliar feed, but it is designed to give the plant a boost. At any rate your problem as described is that the plant goes into vine production mode instead of seed production as a result of overfeeding. Even a phosphate based foliar fertilizer such as bloom booster, I would not recommend at this stage of growth. Incorporate slow release nutrients into the soil before planting and if you have thin soil that leeches badly, add a feeding when they are 3-6 inches tall. Peas are not heavy feeders so don't overdo it.

I may be mistaken, but I think the salt in Epsom salt is magnesium sulfate. It adds magnesium and sulfur and has a slight acidifying effect (but not as much as soil sulfur has). If your soil already has enough Mg in it, the additional Mg could impact the salinity, but I think the salinity in our soils comes more from other sources.

Previous posts have eluded to the idea of determining first-off if you have a need for Magnesium (Mg) in the soil. If that is the case and you will need to also adjust pH (which almost all of us in the NE need) then epsom salts is less benefital and almost always the more expensive when comparing to dolomitic limestone. I would be careful to keep track of the other important soil cations, especially calcium and potassium. Just adding Mg repeatedly without the other 2 can lead to other problems.