Welcome
All Gardeners Worldwide,
It
has been a hot summer so far in Chicago
with
temperatures forecast to be in the mid
to
upper 90s for the entire week.
South
and west of Chicago temperatures
are
soaring into the 100s.
This
hot weather is not only stressful for
humans,
but also stressful for your plants.
Your
gardening began in spring when you
started
planting them from seeds or bought
them
as seedlings or plants.
You
have nurtured them along with proper
care
and have watched them grow.
Then,
from one day to the next, your plants
are
lost either to heat stress or improper
growing
conditions such
as letting the soil
dry
out during hot weather.
For
gardeners, it's extremely frustrating to
helplessly
watch the demise of his or her
plants.
Just
like humans plants get sunburn, or
worse,
they just wilt and are lost due to
these
extreme hot temperatures.
Epsom
Salt,
which has been used in
agriculture
for many years, is one helpful
solution.
Magnesium
Sulfate,
the ingredient in
Epsom
Salt is used to treat Magnesium
deficiency
in
plants.
Magnesium
deficiency is a serious plant
disorder
that manifests itself in yellowing
of
the leaves, called Chlorosis.
This
would be the the first sign for the gardener
to
take action to attempt to save his or her plants.
Necrosis,
the death of plant tissue, and dropping
of
the older leaves occurs if the Magnesium
deficiency
is left untreated.
Plants,
including tomato plants, will produce
smaller
fruits when suffering from Magnesium
deficiency.
It
may also help to prevent sunburn and aid in
the
development of feeder roots.
To
treat your plants with Magnesium
Sulfate
dissolve 2 - 3 tbsp. of Epsom
Salt
in 16 to 24 ounces of hot water in
a
separate container per one gallon
watering
can, and let it sit until the
Epsom
Salt is completely dissolved.
Add
this solution to your watering
can
until the water reaches a lukewarm
temperature,
and water your plants
thoroughly.
It
can also be applied as a foliar feeding.
This
process will act faster than the root
feeding.
In
this case, add 2 cups of the dissolved
Epsom
Salt solution to your spray bottle
and
fill the rest until you reach a lukewarm
water
temperature.
Adding
one or two drops of liquid dish
soap
acts as a surfactant which helps the
solution
to stick to the leaves.
Make
sure to spray BOTH sides of the
leaves
until the solution runs off the leaves.
Foliar
feeding with Magnesium Sulfate is
best
done at sunset when the stomata,
microscopic
pores on the leaves, are
opening
up allowing for better absorption
of
the Magnesium Sulfate.
Important:
Never
spray the foliage
with
anything, including water, while
the
sun is shining directly on the plant
as
this may cause extensive leaf burn
to
the plant.
Finally,
I have an announcement to
make.....
I
added excerpts of my plumeria book,
How
To Grow Plumeria - Frangipani
Anytime
Anywhere!,
to my website at
These
excerpts give you a sneak preview
into
this step-by-step, instructional and
illustrated
plumeria book.
'Til
next time.................Happy Growing,
Bob
Walsh
PS:
Remember that plants in pots dry
out
faster than plants in the ground
during
these hot summer temperatures.
Stressed
plants, including plumerias,
are
more prone to insect and disease
problems
in their weakened states.
Providing proper growing conditions
helps
to reduce stress situations for
your
plants and avoid these types
of
problems.