Epsom table salt is say to advance turfgrass growth , but is it actually efficacious ?
Bob Stefko
Key Takeaways
You may have heard claims that Epsom Strategic Arms Limitation Talks — widely used as a restorative bath product — can also reestablish your lawn . But isEpsom salinity actually undecomposed for turfgrass ? It ’s judicious to oppugn advice that involve using common household products in the landscape — especially chemicals — to determine if it is garden myth or fact . In this pillow slip , the inquiry on Epsom salt and plants is middling readable . Here ’s what you should jazz about using it on your lawn .
What Is Epsom Salt?
Epsom salinity , also know as magnesium sulfate , helps lighten huffy muscles and soothe irritated skin when added to bathwater . Some people claim the granular mathematical product ’s welfare extend beyond the bath to the landscape . Here ’s the connection : Epsom salt contains atomic number 12 . Magnesium is an essential part of chlorophyll ; it absorbs the sunlight during photosynthesis to make energy for industrial plant .
The mentation is that plant life can not grow without magnesium , and Epsom table salt is a vehicle for present this nutrient . However , while Mg is necessary for plant life , it is seldom substandard in most dwelling house landscape painting soil .
Average dirt contains plenty of Mg for vigorous growth of everything from turfgrass to flowering bush to veg .
Credit:Bob Stefko
Extremely sandy soilthat drain rapidly — ordinarily bump in the Southwest — sometimes miss Mg . leaden clay can also pose a challenge . plant grow inheavy claymight develop yellow between leaf veins — a sign of magnesium want . The clay soil likely has plenty of atomic number 12 , but the macronutrient is n’t available to the plant roots due to the unique make-up of the dirt .
Epsom Salt and Your Lawn
Is there any case when spreading Epsom salt over turfgrass is good ? The short answer is no . The necessary amount of magnesium for your lawn is almost always useable to Gunter Wilhelm Grass root word .
Applying Epsom salt to your lawn can contribute to soil and weewee pollution , much like fertilizers applied when they are n’t needed .
A soil test is a surefire method to know the nutrient pauperization of your soil so you’re able to make an effective and environmentally friendly fertilizer program . There are many on-line soil examination services . A reputable soil testing facility will provide elaborated instructions for repair your dirt for the best ontogeny .
Epsom salt is n’t an effective plant food for any landscape painting industrial plant . garden myths advise that itprevents efflorescence oddment molder on Lycopersicon esculentum , thwarts pest on roses , and even boosts blossom on annuals and perennials . There is no scientific evidence for these claim . Do not use Epsom salt in the landscape ; keep it in the bathing tub .
Effective Lawn Fertilizer Tips
Epsom salt is n’t utile as a lawn fertilizer , but you’re able to employ other simple scheme for greener grass . Grow great turf and sustain the surrounding surroundings with these tips from top university turfgrass research programs .
Recycle Lawn Clippings
Do n’t bag clippings when mowing . Instead , let them fall back onto the lawn . The clippings quickly decay and come back worthful nutrients to the soil . scientist have see thatreturning clipping to the lawnfor one year give birth the nutritious value of one fertiliser program program .
Fertilize in Late Summer or Fall
Weather and soil conditions at the end of the growing time of year are first-class for turfgrass growth , specifically root growth . Fertilizer practice in late summer or fallleads to sizable antecedent outgrowth , which makes for a solid , resilient plant . If you only fertilize turfgrass once a twelvemonth , late summer or fall is the best time . void fertilise turfgrass exclusively in spring , as it promotes shoot ontogeny at the disbursement of base growth .
Use Slow-Release Products
Look for lawn fertiliser that containslow - release nitrogenas fight down to quick - dismission . dim - dismissal fertilizers advance sustained , metrical growth ( rather than a riotous rush of growth thatdemands frequent mowing . They are also less likely to burn turfgrass and less likely to percolate into groundwater . irksome - passing fertilizers boost strong radical ontogenesis .
Water Fertilizer Into the Soil
Most fertilizer function best when they are watered into the ground after software . Read product recording label instructions for specific directions . If the fertilizer is overspread on turf growing in moist soil , water it in by applying about ¼-inch of water . If the fertilizer is propagate over ironical territory , gazump the lawn with about an column inch of water .
Embrace Dormancy
Turfgrass naturallytransitions into dormancyto withstand heating , drought , or cold . No amount of plant food will take the lawn out of dormancy ; the produce condition must alter . rather of featherbed eatage with irrigation and plant food to prevent it from going hibernating , hug this natural reaction . Be quick to fortify greensward with deadening - button plant food when it start to originate again .
