How to use Epsom Salt in the Garden and on Your Potted Plants

so now the questions are really rolling in and you guys want answers so i thought why don't i answer some questions to the best of my ability and today it was pointed out that i talked about epsom salt in some of those other videos but when i was talking about the epsom salt i didn't give any numbers i didn't tell you how much to put on your plants so let's talk a little about let's talk a little bit about epsom salt and how much to put on your plant to get the results that you want first of all i first learned about epsom salt from my dad where else do you learn about epsom salt from from our parents from our grandparents right they pass this information down through generations there must be a good reason if there wasn't they wouldn't pass it down so the first comment comes from crystal sabin how should you apply the epsom salt i must have missed that part no crystal you didn't miss anything i completely forgot to even mention that part so we're going to talk about it and then i got another question same question basically doggy mama she said how much epsom salt i have a hydrangea that has one big beautiful bloom each year lol one big beautiful bloom well at least it's big and beautiful thank you doggy mama so how much epsom salt do i add well we're going to look at that right now here is the epsom salt that i have i bought this stuff a couple of years ago i believe it's still about three quarters full or at least two-thirds full i can do fractions and uh it lasts forever so i've used this a little bit on outdoor plants but not a whole lot i mainly use this on my indoor plants for my house plants that i've got going on you guys have seen my videos through the winter then this is what i add into my my fertilizer mixes and i usually do always almost always like 99 of the time add this stuff into my indoor fertilizers why do i do that because epsom salt is basically magnesium and sulfur and those two nutrients have a tendency to become depleted in soil especially in potting soil and indoor plants because there's nowhere else for that nutrient to come from you know there's no other soil around so you've got to supply everything that that plant needs right in whatever fertilizer you're giving them however it's easy to apply it the stuff's cheap and there's really no reason to be deficient in that mineral or those minerals because you can get it really easy right at your grocery store so let's just call this a little bit of insurance so what do i do for my indoor house plants i make up my fertilizer like i make it up for anything else i just make a gallon at a time and i follow the labels i've done different fertilizers i've got some videos to those fertilizers that i make up i'll put links in the description if you're interested in going there and haven't seen them yet but when i make up those fertilizers the last thing i do is i put one teaspoon of this epsom salt right into the gallon of water and mix it on in i do it almost every single time i make fertilizer all 99 of the time i don't know why i don't do it that one percent i'm sure i have a really good reason but uh yeah most of the time i put it in there now a lot of fertilizers contain some magnesium and sulfur but i will tell you by adding extra right here like i said it's a little bit of insurance and i've never seen ever in any of my plants indoors a magnesium or sulfur toxicity so it's very safe to add and if you want a little bit more insurance maybe every third or fourth watering just water real well with just plain tap water to kind of wash out some of those salts i've never had a problem though so one teaspoon per gallon of water and it actually says that right here on this label so let's talk about outdoor plants because it actually says that right here on this label as well and in fact it goes through lawns tomatoes and roses evergreens garden plants and shrubs trees all of it but the main thing is you don't have to get too crazy about it when you're talking about outdoor plants and i'm not talking about potted plants i'm talking about outdoor plants planted in the ground when they're out planted in the ground you know you've got the entire earth going on around you and so there's a massive buffer on what will work you've got all the soil microbes and worms and beetles and bacteria and fungi and bugs and everything that just works together in there and you've got huge amounts of land to deal with and you've got depth of that soil and so when you throw some fertilizer on it or throw some epsom salt on it you know if you get a little bit too much or a little bit too little it doesn't matter because the soil is a massive buffer against any errors that you might make versus potted plants you do a little too much or a little too little you're going to notice it because you're supplying everything for that plant so there's really different amounts based on how large the plant is but a good rule of thumb is just a couple tablespoons i don't even measure that i just take like a medium handful you know of a little bit of epsom salt i i don't know here let's just let's just do it man so i would say just something like this guys can you see that can you see that in my hand there we go open that up yeah two tablespoons about something like that you just get it in your hand and just sprinkle it around the roots not right at the stock of the plant but all around the base there and then you can water it and just let it slowly break down and leach into the soil over time that's all you need to do if you're talking about a massive tree heck you might need a couple big handfuls of this stuff but you know by then the tree has got strong good roots and it's growing great right into the ground so you really don't need to do much anything with that but uh just for your basic shrubs and things around the house if you're trying to make sure they've got what they need or you want to green up a little bit more or just make sure they've got enough magnesium and sulfur just sprinkle a little bit around them you don't need to measure that out so there you go how much epsom salt to add to your plants potted versus outdoor plants i've done this a lot i've never once seen a magnesium or sulfur toxicity it's very safe stuff to use you can use it on any plants because it's like in our bodies we need vitamins and minerals the plants do too this is just a vitamin or mineral it's not a macronutrient it's a catalyst that helps the plant to take up and use the macronutrients that it needs to grow and produce so if you haven't used this stuff just stop by your local grocery store pick up a bag and you guys cannot go wrong with this stuff i've seen a lot of great things with it in fact we're gonna have to do a video a fertilizer comparison video with epsom salt we've done one in the past i'll put a link in the description below but it wasn't specifically focused on epsom salt and i think it's getting to be about time because i know that this is such a massive huge topic that people love to talk about and have different opinions on so go get you some epsom salt and have some fun well i hope you guys like that one if you did hit the like button subscribe if you want to follow along because this is a fantastic gardening channel and you want to see more videos have an awesome week guys and i'll see in the next video adios [Music]

Channel: Mike Kincaid

Views: 1,191,034

Keywords: magnesium sulfate, epsom salt for plants, natural fertilizer for plants at home, epsom salt, uses of epsom salt, magnesium for plants, epsom salt benefits, use of epsom salt in garden, benefits of epsom salt, epsom salts in the garden, uses of epsom salt in gardening, gardening with epsom salt, how to use epsom salt, epsom salt in the garden, epsom salt for potted plants, epsom salt for houseplants, can i sprinkle epsom salt around plants, how to use epsom salt on plants

Id: 1cyBhOjIkW0

Length: 7min 42sec (462 seconds)

Published: Mon Aug 10 2020