Epsom Salt

When I started putting things away in case SHTF I bought Epsom salt. Why? Because my grandma always had Epsom Salt. Grandma grew up in the depression and was what we would consider a prepper but to her it was just the way it is. Epsom Salt has been around for years but I never realized how many benefits it has. Not only for your health but also for your garden. Epsom salt is magnesium sulfate. More and more I am reading articles and finding that lacking magnesium can take a toll on your health.

Health- Most often I read of Epsom Salt being used for a soak, either in a bath or just feet or hands

Here are two other sites that list on why you should stock Epsom Salt.
21 Healthy Uses for Epsom Salt
20 Epsom Salt Uses - Why You Need It In Your Home
Please note some say you can ingest Epsom Salt for a laxative. If you do please make sure you research and it wouldn't hurt to consult your Doc especially if you have another condition.

For the Garden:
I added Epson Salt into my planter boxes this Spring. And will be getting more to use throughout the growing season. I copied a few gardening benefits for using Epsom Salt plus there are more gardening uses if you follow the link.

PS- Epsom Salt can also be used for your horse's health.

 

I've used it for my garden and for soaking but it never occurred to me to stock up on it.

Cheap you can buy from walgreens and Walmart cheaper than Amazon. Good call Motomom34
Ultra Epsom® Salt - Wholesale & Bulk

 

I mix it in with my compost tea. There have been more and more studies on Magnesium deficiency lately.Never thought about ingesting it. I will have to look it up!

 

Yup, we use it! Bought the wife a heated foot bath/massage and Both of us will add salts to a bath. It really does help. I've never used it in any other way though.

 

I have tons on hand, mostly to make bath salts with for gifties. Also use it in the garden, and one of our dogs has awful skin problems so he gets a soaker bath with epsom salts once a week.

 

Yes my Mother is a believer in Epsom Salt. Countless times I was sitting with one or more feet soaking in warm water and Epsom Salt after some ill advised adventure.

 

I have chronic pain issues and since im no longer on pain meds i use. Epsom salts for relief of muscle cramps
D

 

me too

 

This thread made me check out Wiki on Epsom Salt used it many times but never dug into it my Mothers word was good enough
Magnesium sulfate - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This jumped out for me.
It is on the WHO Model List of Essential Medicines, the most important medications needed in a basic health system.[3]

WHO Model List of Essential Medicines - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

It's still a great storage item for fertilizers even if you don't believe in pain relief...

Just because a cheap item has no scientific evidence and just because the transfer mechanism is not understood, doesn't mean it doesn't work. All that means is there are no studies on a cheap substances because no company can make money off of it.

Lack of scientific evidence = untrue claims is faulty reasoning.

Cheap products rarely get studied.

Besides if it's all I my head and it works... Who gives a rip about science studies... It works. I personally can't live as a sceptic for every aspect of living. =)

 

Whoa, you mean to tell me that you are doubting your Momma's AND Grandmamma's word on a public forum??!

YOU Sir, are a brave Man..

 

@Ganado thanks for the link. Those are good prices, plus free shipping.

I was surprised at how many here store and use Epsom Salt. More and more I am learning to try the old fashion method before going out & buying some new and improved product.

@ghrit interesting article. But are you going to try it? My Grandma always soaked her feet in it and she always said it helped.

 

Anyone notice a difference in their garden using Epsom salt this year?

 

My lettuce and spinach are so healthy looking. Unsure if it is the Epsom salt or all the rain we have been getting but things look great.

 

I was looking at magnesium a few days ago and had brain damage from the chemical compound explanations so here is some simple versions of

Magnesium Sulfate vs Magnesium Chloride

Magnesium Sulfate is Epsom Salt
National Gardening Association
THe above link is all the reasons epsom salt is good for your garden and below is a summary of that page

Fertilize with Epsom Salts

By: Charlie Nardozzi
Gardeners apply Epsom salt to tomatoes, peppers, and roses, hoping to produce more flowers, greener plants, and higher yields. You can use it to improve magnesium content if you know you have a soil that's deficient in that element, but home gardeners are most likely to apply Epsom salts to peppers, tomatoes, and roses.

The History and Science of Epsom Salts
This natural mineral, discovered in the well water of Epsom, England, has been used for hundreds of years, not only to fertilize plants but to treat a range of human and animal ailments. Who hasn't soaked sore feet in it at least once?

Chemically, Epsom salts is hydrated magnesium sulfate (about 10 percent magnesium and 13 percent sulfur). Magnesium is critical for seed germination and the production of chlorophyll, fruit, and nuts. Magnesium helps strengthen cell walls and improves plants' uptake of nitrogen, phosphorus, and sulfur.

Sulfur, a key element in plant growth, is critical to production of vitamins, amino acids (therefore protein), and enzymes. It's also the compound that gives vegetables such as broccoli and onions their flavors. Sulfur is seldom deficient in garden soils in North America because acid rain and commonly used animal manures contain sulfur, as do chemical fertilizers such as ammonium sulfate.

The causes and effects of magnesium deficiencies vary. Vegetables such as beans, peas, lettuce, and spinach can grow and produce good yields in soils with low magnesium levels, but plants such as tomatoes, peppers, and roses need high levels of magnesium for optimal growth. However, plants may not show the effects of magnesium deficiency until it's severe. Some common deficiency symptoms are yellowing of the leaves between the veins, leaf curling, stunted growth, and lack of sweetness in the fruit.

Magnesium tends to be lacking in old, weathered soils with low pH, notably in the Southeast and Pacific Northwest. Soils with a pH above 7 and soils high in calcium and potassium also generally have low magnesium levels. Calcium and potassium compete with magnesium for uptake by plant roots, and magnesium often loses. Sometimes, a soil test will show adequate magnesium levels in soil, but a plant grown in that soil may still be deficient because of that competition.

Gardeners add magnesium when they apply dolomitic lime to raise the soil's pH. However, this product (46 percent calcium carbonate, 38 percent magnesium carbonate) breaks down slowly, and the calcium can interfere with magnesium uptake. For soils with a pH above 7, many gardeners use Sul-Po-Mag (22 percent sulfur, 22 percent potassium, 11 percent magnesium) to increase magnesium. Although dolomitic lime and Sul-Po-Mag are inexpensive ways to add magnesium, Epsom salts' advantage over them is its high solubility.

When diluted with water, and especially when applied as a foliar spray, Epsom salts can be taken up quickly by plants. Epsom salts' magnesium content, high solubility, and ease of application as a foliar spray are the main reasons for the positive results many gardeners see in their plants.

Next Post is Magnesium Chloride

 

Magnesium Chloride

Though magnesium sulfate will save your life in emergency situations as quickly and easily as magnesium chloride, magnesium chloride fits the bill as a universal medicine, magnesium sulfate does not. Magnesium sulfate is a close cousin whose effect, form and toxicity demands it be used in special applications when the sulfur is needed.
...."both magnesium as well as chloride have other important functions in keeping us young and healthy. Chloride, of course, is required to produce a large quantity of gastric acid each day and is also needed to stimulate starch-digesting enzymes. Magnesium is the mineral of rejuvenation and prevents the calcification of our organs and tissues that is characteristic of the old-age related degeneration of our body

80% of people in the USA are Magnesium Deficient
Symptoms Of Magnesium Deficiency
If someone if only mildly deficient in magnesium, they may experience somewhat vague symptoms such as fatigue, trouble falling or staying asleep, increased irritability, confusion or memory troubles, and twitching in the muscles. If these symptoms go unnoticed, they may progress and cause more noticeable signs, such as heart palpitations or a rapid heartbeat.

Severe magnesium deficiency can cause a number of frightening symptoms such as delirium, and visual or auditory hallucinations. You may also experience more severe muscle twitching, and numbness or tingling in the extremities. If magnesium deficiency is left untreated, you may also go on to develop deficiencies in other minerals, including potassium and calcium.

1. One cup Magnesium Chloride Flakes Amazon.com: Ancient Minerals Magnesium Bath Flakes Single Use Pouch - 1.65 lb Bag: Health & Personal Care
2. One Cup of distilled water (distilled lets you store it longer)
   
3. heat the water in a
4. pour in glass bowl
5. mix in flakes

soak feet, spray on arm pits or other smelly area's
(heavy body order is a very high indication of magnesium deficiency)

Spray on your feet this before going to bed for a better sleep. Magnesium and Calcium both work together for great sleep.

What I learned from this. Epsom salt for emergencies and for the garden, Magnesium Chloride for good health and digestion as MC absorbs more easily into your system.

 

I have a greenhouse and live in NH. For tomatoes and such, I can not grow plants without epson salts and calcium nitrate. If you use most of the garden fertilizers, they assume that your land and water have calcium and magnesium. Well it is not to common in the granite state and my soil is very low in it. In NH one of the best things for a long term garden is a high cal-mag garden lime. Stores forever and 40 lbs cost about $4.
Greenhouse supplies are good for a lot of garden chemicals. The deicers, calcium chorlide, magnesium chorlide , sodium chorlide and such will kill your garden. A couple hundred pounds of 10-10-10, 50 pounds of epson salts , 25 pounds of calcium nitrate, and 25 pounds trace minerals will cover my needs in a 20 by 48 greenhouse for a year or two. Two tablespoons mixed into 20 gal of water will feed 30 tomato plants for a day. That is supplying us about 15 pounds of tomatoes a day now and will ramp up in the next couple of weeks.