Epsom Salt

 Epsom salt in the garden for a variety of uses, starting with your garden startup and including chillies,  tomatoes, fruit and roses. They say Epsom salt can also help with house plants, as well as lawns, trees and shrubs.

Magnesium and sulfur, two naturally occurring minerals that are major components of Epsom salt, may help plants grow greener with higher yields and more blooms. Magnesium creates an environment conducive to growth by helping seeds to germinate, increasing chlorophyll production and improving phosphorus and nitrogen uptake. Sulfur is also a key element in plant growth, helping produce vitamins.

Test results show that Epsom salt helps produce more flowers and makes pepper plants grow larger. And experts say Epsom salt reduces the total amounts of fertilizers needed and makes the fertilizers used more effective.

Usage :

House Plants

• Feed house plants monthly by adding 2 tablespoons Epsom salt per gallon of water.

Peppers

• Spray your peppers at bloom time.
• Combine 1 tablespoon of Epsom salt with a gallon of water.
• Ten days later, repeat the foliar spray again.

Tomatoes

• Tomatoes can benefit from Epsom salt every 2 weeks.
• Apply 1 tablespoon diluted in water per foot of plant height per plant.

Roses

• Soak unplanted bushes in 1/2 cup of Epsom salt per gallon of water to help roots recover. Then add a tablespoon of Epsom salt to each hole at planting time.
• To encourage flowering canes and healthy new basal cane growth, scratch 1/2 cup of Epsom salt into soil at the plant base. Add 1 tablespoon diluted in a gallon of water per foot of plant height every two weeks.
• Spray roses with Epsom salt solution weekly (1 tablespoon per gallon of water) to help discourage pests.

Fruit

• Mix Epsom salt with water at a ratio of about a quarter-cup of Epsom salt per 500 square feet when you irrigate your plants.
• Fertilizer can cause salt buildup in soil, and the Epsom salt helps separate fertilizer bound to the soil, making the nutrients more available to the plants.
• Commercial growers say it reduces the total amounts of fertilizers you need, and makes the fertilizers you use more effective.
• Some growers swear that the use of Epsom salt as a secondary nutrient makes their fruit sweeter.