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Vegetable Gardening

using epsom salt for peppers and eggplant

8 years ago

Hello all,

Is anyone familiar with using Epsom salt as a supplement feeding for peppers and eggplant? If so, how to use and what quantities?

thanks,

Bruce (aka Ref) Daytona Beach, Fla

Featured Answer

daninthedirt (USDA 9a, HZ9, CentTX, Sunset z30, Cfa)

8 years ago

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

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Comments (9)

digdirt2
8 years ago
Good info from Dan. I use it as a supplement because my soil is very low in Mag so my plants always show the symptoms. But most soils don't need it. A commonly used dilution is 1 T in 1 gallon of water used as a root drench IF needed. But there is also a condition in plants called magnesium toxicity so if commonly used when it is not needed it just creates other problems.

If you type 'epsom salts ' in the search here you find many previous discussions about it.

Dave
thestripedone thanked digdirt2
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While many add Epsom salts to their planting holes or root drench their plants with a mix of it, especially if they know their soil is magnesium deficient or that their soil is too alkaline to enable good magnesium uptake, use of it as a spray is usually restricted to specific times and needs. In other words it isn't a 'routine' use of it. Foliar feeding magnesium is usually only used when the plant is showing clear sings of magnesium deficiency and is applied only in the early AM, out of the direct sun (like most sprays) to avoid damage to the plants. And yes it can be used on many different vegetables. When applied correctly it produces a pronounced darkening of the green leaf color. So could you clarify or link to what you read and why that source was recommending its use? Do you feel your plants or soil are magnesium deficient? See link below and scroll down to pic 255. DaPS: if you type 'epsom salts' into the search bar here you find many additional discussions about it. Here is a link that might be useful: Mineral deficiency in plants
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I mostly agree with Ceterum, at least to the extent that I'm not inclined to try Epsom Salts on my own roses, but still I see no harm in someone else trying a tbs or so on his roses. Consider the following quote from a National Gardening Association article: "To get a first-hand look at the effectiveness of Epsom salts in the garden, we asked six of our testers (in California, Colorado, Iowa, Pennsylvania, and Tennessee) to try Epsom salts on peppers and roses. Testers each grew six 'Gypsy' peppers. They applied 1 tablespoon of Epsom salts mixed with a gallon of water as a foliar spray to three plants at bloom time and again 10 days later. They also selected two established rose bushes of the same variety and sprayed the same amount of Epsom salts mixed with water to one bush every 6 weeks, starting when leaves came out and continuing through the summer (about 4 applications). We asked them to record the number of pepper fruits and rose blooms, and to note any differences they saw.' 'Four out of the six testers reported that the Epsom salts-treated pepper plants and fruits were larger than the controls. For the treated roses, testers reported greener foliage, bushier plants, and more roses than on the control plants." Here is a link that might be useful: National Gardening Association Article
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if you were to look through all the old posts there have been several heated debates about epsom salts. i have used it and like it but have no direct proof my results were from the epsom. i just add to the water or put on the soil and then water, but will spray plants indoors. Michael
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I'm a constant user of Dolomite Lime. I mix a handfull in my potting mixes. It's slow reacting and a lot of pepper plants like extra calcium when they fruit-especially habaneros from what I've read and seen with my plants. I use Bone meal(root growth) and lime added to all my planting mixes and it really seems to help out my plants. Both are slow release nutrients in that form. I keep an eye on the PH of my pots and usually they want to go acid so I add lime before I water every so often.It takes a while to get results but it works for me. I use Epsom salts but only once in a while.I think you only need it in small amounts. I water my plants heavily and use faster soil mixes so I don't have much of a problem with salt buildup or overwatering this year so far. All my plants are in containers.
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thestripedone
Original Author
8 years ago
Thanks for the info guys... very helpful..years ago when planting peppers up north, I'd put matchsticks in the bottom of the hole... the sulfur seemed to help the plant... not sure why though...
daninthedirt (USDA 9a, HZ9, CentTX, Sunset z30, Cfa)
8 years ago
I've heard that match trick, but be aware that modern matches don't have any sulfur in them anymore. So that old wives tale only worked for old wives, maybe when they were young. Modern safety matches now use some phosphorus compound instead. So I guess it's possible that adding extra phosphorus to the soil is helpful, but again, any fertilizer (in NPK, phosphorus is the "P") will have it, in quantities that probably far exceed that in a match head.
thestripedone thanked daninthedirt (USDA 9a, HZ9, CentTX, Sunset z30, Cfa)
thestripedone
Original Author
8 years ago
hey dan, you sound like a chemist...lol... tx for the info
Richard Brennan
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago

FYI - Beware adding Mg to clay soils. Clay soils tend to hold Mg naturally and this causes the clay to "bind up" so that water won't drain and nutrients do not penetrate. (Clay soil with high Mg is perfect for making pottery, though.) Mg also displaces the clay's ability to provide potassium to plants. In this case adding more K won't help, you will have to leach out the Mg first (usually with gypsum).
thestripedone thanked Richard Brennan
thestripedone
Original Author
8 years ago
thanks Richard..... good info.... clay soil not an issue where I live in Fla....sand is :-)
daninthedirt (USDA 9a, HZ9, CentTX, Sunset z30, Cfa)
8 years ago
That's a really good point about excess magnesium making clay soils "tight". But be aware that even sandy soils will tend to pack down and harden when magnesium levels are excessive. Also, magnesium tends to make the soil more alkaline, and that tends to make nitrogen gassify.

But the bottom line is ... only apply magnesium if your soil needs it. It isn't a magic fertilizer. Too much is as bad as too little.
thestripedone thanked daninthedirt (USDA 9a, HZ9, CentTX, Sunset z30, Cfa)
thestripedone
Original Author
8 years ago
thanks dan

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