Epsom salt is not only used for aches and pains. Although people usually use Epsom salt in baths to relieve aches and pains due to high magnesium content, it is also a great garden additive that expert gardeners use!
Most commercially-farmed plants are being grown in soil that are severely depleted in magnesium. This is one of the main reasons we as consumers are also deficient in magnesium for eating foods depleted in this mineral that is required for over 300 enzymatic activities in the body.
Epsom salt, when used correctly in your garden, will help produce healthy, bountiful and rich plants due to the rich minerals obtained from the salt.
Is Epsom Salt Good for Plants?
Yes, there seem to be good, relevant reasons for using Epsom salts for plants. Epsom salt helps improve flower blooming and enhances a plant’s green color. It can even help plants grow bushier. Epsom salt is made up of hydrated magnesium sulfate (magnesium and sulfur), which is important to healthy plant growth.
Why Put Epsom Salts on Plants?
Why not? Even if you don’t believe in its effectiveness, it never hurts to try it. Magnesium allows plants to better take in valuable nutrients, like nitrogen and phosphorus. It also helps in the creation of chlorophyll, which is vital for photosynthesis. In addition, magnesium greatly improves a plant’s ability to produce flowers and fruit.
If the soil becomes depleted of magnesium, adding Epsom salt will help; and since it poses little danger of overuse like most commercial fertilizers, you can use it safely on nearly all your garden plants.
How to Use It Epsom Salt In Garden
- Houseplants: 2 tablespoons per gallon of water; feed plants monthly.
- Roses: 1 tablespoon per foot of plant height per plant; apply every two weeks. Also scratch 1/2 cup into soil at base to encourage flowering canes and healthy new basal cane growth. Soak unplanted bushes in 1 cup of Epsom Salt per gallon of water to help roots recover. Add a tablespoon of Epsom Salt to each hole at planting time.
- Shrubs (evergreens, azaleas, rhododendron): 1 tablespoon per 9 square feet. Apply over root zone every 2-4 weeks.
- Lawns: Apply 3 pounds for every 1,250 square feet with a spreader, or dilute in water and apply with a sprayer.
- Trees: Apply 2 tablespoons per 9 square feet. Apply over the root zone 3 times annually.
- Garden Startup: Sprinkle 1 cup per 100 square feet. Mix into soil before planting.