Helpful Hints for How Gardeners Can Use Epsom Salt

Inexpensive way to get healthy and robust plants and flowers

(April 2009) Epsom Salt is an age-old, inexpensive remedy for healthy and robust plants and flowers that can be found at any local drug store or hardware store for just pennies a pound. It helps seeds germinate, makes plants grow bushier, produces more flowers, increases chlorophyll production and deters pests, such as slugs and voles.  It also provides vital micronutrients to supplement your regular fertilizer.
Epsom Salt is recommended by Master Gardeners and used regularly by commercial growers around the world.  Tests by the National Gardening Association confirm that roses fertilized with Epsom Salt grow bushier and produce more flowers, and it also makes pepper plants grow larger than those treated only with commercial fertilizer.
Here are some tips for using Epsom Salt with your plants and garden:

• Houseplants: 2 tablespoons per gallon of water; feed plants monthly.
• Tomatoes: 1 tablespoon per foot of plant height per plant; apply every two weeks.
• 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. Spray with Epsom Salt solution weekly to discourage pests.
• 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.

And if your muscles end up being tired after a long day of gardening, grab your Epsom Salt and head straight for the bathtub. Enjoy a relaxing soak your whole body. Add two cups of Epsom Salt to warm water in a standard-sized bathtub, which will ease muscle pain and fade bruises. Soak for at least 12 minutes.

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