1 Cup Epsom Salts Per Plant - REALLY??

[rnewste]

Our old friend "Bingster" has had excellent success growing tomatoes in 18 gallon SWCs over the past years. One of his "secrets" was to add, in addition to the Lime and fertilizers, 2 Cups - YES, TWO CUPS of Epsom Salts per 18 gallon container.

So, for my Fall plantings, I thought I would give it a try. Being cautious, I used 2 Cups Epsom Salts per my 31 gallon EarthTainers. The results to date, have been beyond belief:



These are a pair of Early Girls, planted as 8 inch high seedlings on August 1. On September 18, they measured 69 inches tall - - a net gain of 61 inches growth in just 49 days!! I've even picked one ripe fruit from the plant yesterday.

So far, the plants look quite healthy. To prove to myself that this wasn't just a fluke, I've repeated the 2 Cups Epsom Salts in my MarNar F2 Fall grow-out:



These were planted out as 12 inch seedlings on August 30. About a foot of new growth in the past 19 days. Again, nice thick stems and healthy leaves.

While it is too early to tell if this treatment is a lasting success, I am encouraged to date. I would really like to understand the "chemistry" as to why this treatment is showing so much success at this point.

Raybo

[lakelady]

I know tomatoes need magnesium and other minerals, but I wonder if they really need that much? So, if you have 2 plants in a 31 gallon container, how many did he put in an 18 gallon? I am just wondering if that 2 cups was for one tomato plant or two.

Very interesting results! And here I've been using 2 tablespoons per plant! ha!

[rnewste]

Bingster jammed in 2 Big Beef plants per 18 gallon SWC.

I would NOT recommend pouring on a cup of Epsom Salts, as that would surely shock or probably kill the plant. I simply mixed into the Grow Media, the 2 cups Epsom Salts, along with the 2 cups Dolomite Lime when replanting for the Fall crop. So, those 2 cups of each are pretty evenly distributed throughout the 3 cubic feet of Mix.

Raybo

[RayR]

I'd like to understand the chemistry of that too! Epsom salts are highly soluble in water, in the ground or a standard container most of it would leach away, but in a closed system like an SWC on top of the Dolomite Lime content? Huh?

[rnewste]

Ray,

I dispersed the Dolomite Lime and Epsom Salts in small batches as I filled the EarthTainers with the 3:2:1 Combo Mix. I did not "layer" the ingredients, but made a conscious effort to evenly mix in these additives from bottom to the top of the refilled Mix.

Bingster has apparently been doing this for years, with impressive results (at the GW Tomato Forum).

Raybo

[carolyn137]

OK, Epsom Salts is magnesium sulfate. The central part of the chlorophyll molecue has Mg++ in it so the moro chlorophyl molecules the greater the growth rate due to increased synthsis and thus greater production mainly in the form of ATP with also some GTP.

What effect such rapid growth, which is a stress, has on pollination and fruit production and possible BER I can only mention some possibilities b'c in my mind that way too much magnesium sulfate than I've ever seen anyone use and few of my tomato friends ever use it. And I don't either.

it's the main reason why the folks in FL and elsewhere spray Epsom Salts on the Palm trees so they green up and don't look so tatty when the tourists arrive.

[rnewste]

Carolyn,

I agree that it seems to defy common logic - and maybe in the SWC "eco-system" something different is going on. My plants are loaded up with fruit, so it is not all leaf growth as you would experience with an excessive amount of Nitrogen fertilizer.

On a couple of the Fall 'Tainers, I dialed it back to 2 cups Dolomite Lime, and only 1 cup Epsom Salts, so I'll observe any "deltas" between the 2 dose amounts.

Fun stuff (and I haven't even posted the results of my Mythbusters Challenge with the Calcium Nitrate "Snack", as of today)....... Stay tuned on this one.

Raybo

[RayR]

Originally Posted by rnewste

Ray,

I dispersed the Dolomite Lime and Epsom Salts in small batches as I filled the EarthTainers with the 3:2:1 Combo Mix. I did not "layer" the ingredients, but made a conscious effort to evenly mix in these additives from bottom to the top of the refilled Mix.
Raybo

I understand what you did Raybo, when I said "on top of" I didn't mean layered, I meant in addition too.
That would make a very interesting subject for a comprehensive soil test to see exactly what is going on chemically in that mix.

[Dutch]

I have followed Bingster with his 18 gallon SWCs at the GW Tomato Forum for several years now and he has had a lot of BER problems when not growing Big Beefs or Lemon Boys. I believe he is only growing Big Beef now. I think that most OPs have a tough time handling the unnatural growth rates that large amount of Epsom salts (magnesium sulfate) creates.
Dutch

[rnewste]

Dutch,

That is why I am experimenting with 1 cup, as well as 2 cups of Epsom Salts in my EarthTainers. If I followed Bingster's ratio, I would have needed to use 3.75 cups of Epsom Salts in my 31 gallon EarthTainers to have the same percentage per cubic inch as in his 18 gallon SWCs.

I think backing off to about one-half of his number which is about 2 cups, is about as high as I wanted to experiment with. In any event, I am getting a plethora of blossoms and developing fruit:



Again, VERY early in the trials of this experiment - - but so far, it is looking quite interesting!

Raybo

[Structure]

Thanks once again for sharing Raybo. Interesting stuff as usual.

I dosed most of my plants (in ground and in SWC) with Epsom salt this year. Only about 1/2 cup per plant or container. Afterwards, I thought for sure I'd overdone it. But nothing negative to report so far. Better year than usual despite the cool summer. After reading your post, I'm thinking the 1/2 cup was nothing to worry about...!

[rnewste]

Hey Structure - - How is the "good life" there in SLO?

I think dispersing the Epsom Salts in the Mix volume prior to planting is far less intrusive than topping off the plants later on. In other words - while adding in one cup of Epsom Salts in the Mix may be fine, I would suggest a Tablespoon or so at a time, may be more appropriate for after-planting application. Just my "nose" telling me that.

Raybo

[TexasSue]

WOW Raybo , I am really impressed !!
Your plants are just beautiful !

[Dewayne mater]

Very interesting topic and loving the input from Carolyn and others. Since my falls are already cooking along, I wonder if I could spray them with Epsom salts in water? Or add some to the water reservoir?

I have read that some folks who add salts to the ground can end up with an accumulation of too much in the soil over time. I guess that won't be an issue with turning over the grow medium every 3rd year...?

Have to say those results are astounding and if repeatable, could be another game changer for us in Texas and other 2 short season growers. Thanks Raybo!

[rnewste]

Dewayne,

I just want to make sure that the 1 (or 2) cups of Epsom Salts does NO harm - - before others experiment with this dosage. There could be some "toxicity bomb" that hits the plants later on into the Season, and yes, I also am concerned about salt buildup in the Potting Mix.

Having said that, I figured at the end of the Season Fall crop, it was worth taking a flyer on seeing if I could repeat Bingster's impressive growth and production results in 6 EarthTainers. So, stay tuned.....

Raybo