Did you know that you can use Epsom salt in your garden? It’s a great garden addition for your plants, and you can reap the benefits with these simple and easy to use ideas.
Nightshades Love It — 1 tablespoon sprinkled around the base of nightshade plants, like potatoes, tomatoes and eggplants gives them more magnesium to produce higher yields. Do this every 2 weeks, and they will taste better too!
Sweet Fruit — Everyone loves sweeter fruit, and any plant that produces fruit will benefit from adding Epsom salt. The reason is that Epsom salt boosts chlorophyll production, and more chlorophyll means a sweeter taste. It also keeps leaves greener too.
Chase Away Pests — Ground loving pests like slugs and snails do not like Epsom salt. It irritates their skin, and they won’t go near the plants where the salt is present. Try sprinkling Epsom salt at plant bases if your are troubled by these pests. Repeat often because Epsom salt is water soluble, so rain or watering will dissipate its effectiveness.
Weeds — Two cups of Epsom salt mixed in with a gallon of vinegar and a splash of dish detergent makes a great eco-friendly weed killer. Spray this on weeds around your garden, and they will wither away. Make sure not to get any on plants you want to keep, and you’ll be good to go.
Stump Killer — Drill holes into an unsightly tree stump and pour in the Epsom salt. Use a large drill bit, fill the holes with Epsom salt and within weeks the stump will begin rotting away.
Magnesium Deficiency Cure — Leaf curling, dull looking ferns and even the “frizzle tops” on palm trees are caused by a lack of magnesium. The cure is to fertilize them with Epsom salt. Add 1 tablespoon to a gallon of water, and either spray on the leaves or use it as a general fertilizer by pouring it around the base of the plant. You’ll save on fertilizer and the plants will green up fast.
Transplant Shock — The bane of many gardeners is how to stop newly planted plants from going into shock. The easy way is to add in some Epsom salt to the water you are transplanting with. Then sprinkle some on the top of the soil and you’ll not only be taking care of transplant shock, but you’ll also be giving the plant a nutritional boost at the same time.
Roses are Red — Epsom salt, when added to the soil of roses, actually increases the color and makes the flowers larger. Add Epsom salt during planting and then again when the roses begin to bloom. You’ll notice a difference with deeper and darker colors, no matter if they are red, white or blue.
Slivers — If you work around plants, trees, shrubs and virtually any garden, you are going to pick up a sliver now and again. But there is an easy way to remove it without tweezers, pins or needles. Just soak the area in an Epsom salt solution of about 2 tablespoons of salt in a couple of cups of water. Sit back, relax, watch a movie, and in about 2 hours, the sliver will, literally, pop right out.
Who would have known that such a common mineral like Epsom salt, could be so useful for your garden? But truly, its the gardeners friend, and next time you think planting and fertilizing, think Epsom salt too!