
Calcium helps build plant cell walls which in turn allow the transport of other plant nutrients. Macronutrients are foods that help plants grow and function. Calcium is an important plant macronutrient. Milk can be used to help grow tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, and also squash.
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The cooperative extension service in your area or a private soil testing laboratory can perform a soil analysis.Ĭhili peppers growing in pots will benefit from the application of fat-free milk How to use milk in the garden A soil test will tell you if your soil is nutrient deficient.Beans, peas, lettuce, and spinach produce good yields in soil with a low magnesium level.The soil additive Sul-Po-Mag (22 percent sulfur, 22 percent potassium, 11 percent magnesium) which is often added to alkaline soils should negate the need for Epsom salt.Dolomitic lime which is used to raise the pH of acidic soils is rich in magnesium (46 percent calcium carbonate, 38 percent magnesium carbonate).Calcium and potassium compete with magnesium for uptake by plant roots-magnesium can be blocked from plant uptake by calcium and potassium. Alkaline soils with a pH of 7 or greater and acidic soils high in calcium and potassium often have low levels of magnesium.Sulfur is critical for the production of vitamins, amino acids and proteins, and enzymes.Magnesium is critical for seed germination, production of chlorophyll, and fruit development it helps strengthen cell walls and improves plant uptake of nitrogen, phosphorus, and sulfur.Add one or two tablespoons (21.25–42 grams) of Epsom salt to the bottom of each hole before planting seeds or transplants.Įpsom salt is available at the garden center and hardware stores as are most other soil additives.Įpsom salt gets its name from the town of Epsom in Surrey, England where the bitter salt was first produced from a saline spring. Sidedress plants every six weeks beginning soon after leaves appear and continuing through the end of harvest. Work one tablespoon (21.25 grams) of Epsom salt per foot of plant height around the base of each plant. Begin foliar spraying when blooms first appear. Use one tablespoon (21.25 grams) per gallon of water if you apply Epsom salt spray more often than once a month.

Add two tablespoons (42 grams) of Epsom salt to a gallon (3.8 liters) of water and use a tank sprayer to apply the mix once a month substituting the spray for regular watering.

As a soil additive, Epsom salt becomes soluble with soil moisture and is drawn up into plants through the roots.Ī magnesium or sulfur deficiency in the soil can cause tomato and pepper plants to grow small and spindly, leaves to yellow between leaf veins late in the season, and fruit to be slow in maturing and ripening.Įpsom salt for gardening available at Amazon: Epsom salt is highly soluble and easily taken in by plants when combined with water and sprayed on leaves. Early in the season, you can add Epsom salt to the soil to aid germination, early root and cell development, photosynthesis, and plant growth, and prevent blossom-end rot.Įpsom salt is a natural mineral compound of about 10 percent magnesium and about 13 percent sulfur-often referred to as magnesium sulfate. Epsom salt spray can be used late in the growing season to increase tomato and pepper yield and keep plants green and bushy.
