Epsom Salts anyone?

11 years ago

I have been growing tomatoes in SW Florida for about 15 years or more, and so far this is one of my best years...and I haven't even had any ripen yet. I used epsom salts for the first time in my containers and my plants are all healthy full of flowers and green fruit and looking quite productive. I grow everything from Beefs to pears and cherries. Currently 12-15 varieties of heirlooms and hybrids. Since the epsom salts is the only difference from previous years, I am wondering if others have had amazing results using it along with their regular potting mix and fert. Thanks in advance for your comments.
Cindee

Comments (9)

junktruck
11 years ago
yeah ive used it for yrs / now if i could only make it rain / hehe
digdirt2
11 years ago
Fairly common practice that is often discussed here. The benefits, or lack thereof, depends in great part on the nature of the soil or potting mix used and its pH.

Dave
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cindeea
Original Author
11 years ago
Thanks guys-I did a search for Epsom salts but did not see too many newer tomato growing related posts. Dave-I grow all my maters in containers and do provide fresh and healthy soil every year. I am DONE with nematodes, containers are my friends. Junk-we badly need the rain here too. I appreciate your comments. I should post some pics of my plants. They really do look great.
carolyn137
11 years ago
Cindee, the only way to know if Mgsulfate, Epsoms salts, does anything is in the same season to grow at least two plants of the same variety and not that close, and treat one with Epsom and not the matching one.That's theonly way you canmake adirect comparison.

Epsom Salts has been used in the past to spray the palm trees in Fl to green them up b'c Mg++ is the central part of the chlorophyll molecule. LOL

Carolyn
cindeea
Original Author
11 years ago
Great comparison idea Carolyn, I think I will try that. Thanks
rnewste
11 years ago
cindee,

I added 1/4 cup Epsom Salts to my Fall plantings - tomatoes, Snow Peas, and Sugar Snap Peas and so far, good results.

I also added in 1/4 cup Calcium Nitrate mixed into the potting mix along with the Epsom Salts.

Raybo
barrie2m_(6a, central PA)
11 years ago
Previous posts have eluded to the idea of determining first-off if you have a need for Magnesium (Mg) in the soil. If that is the case and you will need to also adjust pH (which almost all of us in the NE need) then epsom salts is less benefital and almost always the more expensive when comparing to dolomitic limestone. I would be careful to keep track of the other important soil cations, especially calcium and potassium. Just adding Mg repeatedly without the other 2 can lead to other problems.
cindeea
Original Author
11 years ago
Nice photos Raybo! I have the hardest time with peas and beans in SW FL. Yours look great. Good points bmoser...by all means I did not mean to over look the other soil contents. I just happened to have a bag of Epsom around, I was trying to make my own herbal bath soak...which failed...so I thought I'd put the salts to some use rather than just dump em.
ticodxb
11 years ago
ooh, I just planted three tomato plants in their final pots and will be doing another tomorrow... I think I will try the epsom salt test.. two with epsom salt, two without.

I think my containers are 45 gallon... how much epsom salt should I add to each?