Using Epsom salts in the garden is a given…right? I mean it does so many things. Right? In this video I will break down the claims with science and show you which of these claims are false and if there is any reason to ever use Epsom salt in the garden.
MENTIONED VIDEO
Household Ingredient to Transform Your Tomatoes: https://youtu.be/hzzizV1LFds
DIGITAL TABLE OF CONTENTS
01:06 – What are Epsom salts?
01:49 – How do I know if my plants have a magnesium deficiency?
02:19 – How do I know if my plants have a sulfur defeciency?
02:55 – Can I use epsom salt for blossom end rot?
04:09 – Can epsom salt be used as a weed killer?
04:43 – Epsom salt as pesticide or fertilizer
06:00 – Does epsom salt produce for fruit and foliage?
06:14 – Does epsom salt help seeds germinate faster?
06:52 – Does epsom salt increase chlorophyll production?
07:07 – Does using epsom salt allow you to use less fertilizer?
08:12 – How Epsom salt HARMS your garden…THE SCIENCE (studies listed below)
08:59 – Is epsom salt good for ANYTHING in the garden?
SCIENTIFIC STUDIES
Magnesium sulfate is a salt, and excessive levels can cause salt injury to plants (Abid et al. 2008; Ashutosh and Kukadia 2003; Kant et al. 2008; Ramoliya et al. 2004; Velichkova et al. 2011).
Unnecessary applications of magnesium will not increase plant growth (Babu et al. 2007) and might even make growth worse (Ford 1968; Kolukunde et al. 2014).
Excessive use of magnesium sulfate can cause plant deficiencies of boron (Hunter et al. 1986), iron and manganese (Finér 1992), potassium (Bull and Chapas 1956), and calcium (Azizi et al. 2011; Vafaie et al. 2013; Weber-Blaschke and Rehfuess 2002)
Overuse of magnesium sulfate has been linked to reduced root colonization of beneficial microbes such as nitrogen-fixing bacteria (Mazher et al. 2006) and mycorrhizal fungi (Gharineh et al. 2009).
Excessive amounts of soil magnesium can release aluminum from the soil, making this toxic metal available to plants and aquatic systems (Bigelow and Canham 2010; Weber-Blaschke and Rehfuess 2002).
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27 Comments
Have never used, never been curious, never even thought about using epsom salt in my garden of all places. My rule of thumb with fifty years of gardening is to follow nature's lead: whatever comes out of the ground goes back in. Nature has been following this method for millions of years. It's worked great until human beings started interfering – ohhh, those chemical companies 🙁 Thanks as always for your honest good ol' straight up information.
Wow! I must be out of touch, cause I haven't heard all that stuff you named about Epsom Salt in the garden. To not get "Blossom End Rot," I spray my tomato leaves and fruit with a little calcium water made from egg shells, or a calcium tablet. WORKS LIKE A CHARM! 🍅🍅
thank you for this. I have never believed all the hype around epsom salts.
This was great, there’s so much wrong info out there in the garden world. Please do more like this!
Tomatoes and potatoes are native to South America. The soil there has a higher magnesium content than in North America. I use a little (1 teaspoon in a gallon of water) when tomatoes are producing fruit and when potatoes are producing tubers once every 2 weeks. Epsom salts are also a salt. Too much messes up the Ph of the soil and requires more water for that soil after harvest. This is not a problem with hydroponics where you can completely replace the water.
I put epsom salt on the soil around my bell peppers 🫑 when I can find it without fragrance added lol. I haven’t been able to get much done in the garden because I hurt my back. Thankfully it’s been raining most every day 🌧️ 🙂✌🏻
I've never used it in the garden but I have used it to soak my feet after a long day on a concrete floor. 🤭 It's definitely a necessity in a bath for aching muscles!
Perfect timing! I was going to buy some. Not now.
I was watering my seedlings with rain barrel water, kelp and fish emulsion. Wondered why they were pale green. I figured it was lack of calcium so i just put them in the garden. They're greening up well now. I ordered up some calmag to add to my seedling mix for the next rotation. Plenty of calcium and magnezium in my city water but dont like sitting it out to wait for the chlorine to burn off.
I have to say, for me, living in the southeast SC. I learned to use Epson salt. Humidity, with so much rain clay soil & mold. It well help if you use it at the right time.
I’ve never hated Epsom salts so much in my life!! 🤬
😂I don’t add Epsom salt to everything. But I do add them when my blueberry leaves turn red. Yes, I put in acidifier, sulfur, and everything you can think about adding to blueberry(mulch, etc.) FYI, sulfur takes time to acid the soil(up to a year, depending on the temp). Another reason why blueberry leaves turn red is the temperature in the soil. I can't say the temp is high here, and this is a zone 6b near zone 6a. The average temp is 12-13C at night. I know, it is MAY. Anyway, if you know what you are doing, don't be afraid to use Epsom salt.
How do these things get started and gain traction? Sometimes I think people hear tgings like this and can't help themselves, spreading this as true just for the sake of making a comment.
It's like every video that features honey and shows someone dipping a metal spoon into it. People start screaming, "you just deactivated all the enzymes in the honey!" What?????? Stainless steel is non reactive to foods and is food safe. Plus, the equipment to process honey is stainless steel. I will bet 99 percent of these people heard it elsewhere and now consider themselves "experts" and just feel compelled to add their 2 cents.
I've used it in my pots, it didn't really make a difference. I found sometimes it burns the roots. I just use normal fertilizer these days
I sprinkle Epsom salt on plants to get rid of slugs. It works!
The only thing I use Epsom salt for is to soak my feet.
I've never used espon salts outside of the bathtub. I swear by a good organic fertilizer, compost, and regular watering.
It explains why no fertiliser contains epsom salts!
I have never used Epsom Salt and never will.
Thank you for the confirmation Brian.
have you grown full size tomatoes indoors? I only find videos of cherry tomatoes indoors, not sure why
I have never used Epsom salts in my garden and don't intend to. Thank you for that very comprehensive and informative video.
Sounds like bull to me. The bible talks about SALTED EARTH. I have NEVER
seen epson salts sold in any garden center so I think it is trolls hoping we
are dumb enough to try it & kill our plants.
!
First year I used epsom salt and my tomatoes looked amazing. Second year I didn’t and some of them did NOT do well. This is my third year and I decided to do some again this year. We’ll see how it goes.
I KNOW it does with Roses
Sorry only use Epsom Salts in my Bath Bombs 😆
I used it. Full bore. Burnt my plants and grass. Totally unexpected. Thats a myth I'll never follow again. I now have a huge bag of epsom salt so adding essential oils and making bath soak gifts.😂😂
I think I used it years ago with tomato plants, didn't see any difference and never used it again.