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Re: Buying Epsom Salts
Posted: Tue Aug 04, 2009 2:46 pm
by Cheezy
Millymollymandy wrote:My Epsom Salts are finally arriving today after having been on quite a journey.... I went to a BBQ 1.5 hours away and completely forgot about asking for them and the friend who'd bought them over from England for me forgot to give them to me....and now she's just been on a short holiday to La Rochelle and they are coming by here this afternoon on their way back, with my E. Salts which have been travelling with them!
I don't think there's much point in bothering as these toms have just started showing signs of blight and have been sprayed with Bordeaux Mix, what do you think? Is it a bit late now?
It might be worth it, as it'll help them photosynthasise,
Re: Buying Epsom Salts
Posted: Tue Aug 04, 2009 2:55 pm
by Peggy Sue
I'm beginning to think my toms are suffering from something else. I've been giving them epsom salts and boosting that with comfrey feeds and giving them veggie water from the boiled veg (read that in a book!) yet one grow bag is looking decidedly yellow still.
It does have some fruit but none of them have any coloured fruit yet s the fact they are still green I haven't worried about.
So yellow leaves....can it be anything else? Bearing in mind there are 2 other growbags nearby which have recoved nicely from the above TLC plus 4 in the garden soil who haven't suffered at all (something to be said there...)
The ones on the allotment have looked nothing but lush and healthy despite not much water in dry weather followed by a battering from wind and hail, no supplementary feeds. The whole point of having a few growbags at home was to get a few tomatoes early, and reliably as the allotment ones could have easily fallen fowl to the conditions... maybe something to learn there then.
Re: Buying Epsom Salts
Posted: Tue Aug 04, 2009 5:35 pm
by Millymollymandy
I think we can safely say that they are suffering from 'some kind of' deficiency!

Half the time I'm at a loss too and spend my time going

or just plain

like just now when I picked the runner beans and could hardly stuff them in the fridge there were so many. Gardening's a laugh, innit?

Re: Buying Epsom Salts
Posted: Tue Aug 04, 2009 5:37 pm
by Millymollymandy
Cheezy wrote:Millymollymandy wrote:My Epsom Salts are finally arriving today after having been on quite a journey.... I went to a BBQ 1.5 hours away and completely forgot about asking for them and the friend who'd bought them over from England for me forgot to give them to me....and now she's just been on a short holiday to La Rochelle and they are coming by here this afternoon on their way back, with my E. Salts which have been travelling with them!
I don't think there's much point in bothering as these toms have just started showing signs of blight and have been sprayed with Bordeaux Mix, what do you think? Is it a bit late now?
It might be worth it, as it'll help them photosynthasise,
Righty ho, I'll try giving them some tomorrow. You know what is so funny but on the tub there are all the instructions for using it for various medical reasons and yet my friend was told by the pharmacist she could only buy them if she promised they were not to be used for human beings!!!!! Ridiculous.

Re: Buying Epsom Salts
Posted: Tue Aug 04, 2009 7:38 pm
by Big Al
Millymollymandy wrote:I just wondered whether anyone had had any problems buying this (similar to buying citric acid) - i.e. getting interrogated by the pharmacist as to its use?
I've asked a friend who lives in England who is coming over here next week to get me some, but she got asked whether she was on any medication - when she said it was for a friend they asked whether the friend was on medication - she said, no it's for her tomatoes! The pharmacist said he'd only sell them if it was used on tomatoes and not for any other use......
Since then I've googled their use (I had never known what they were used for medically) and it's quite interesting as apparently magnesium sulphate (according to Wikipedia) amongst many other uses, was/is an old home remedy for chicken diarrhoea!

Epsom salts can be used in bathwater to soften it and make it all nice and touchy geely etc but if you have a heart problem, including blood preasure problems then, like soda crystals it's a DEFINATE NO NO as it increases the rate of blood flow round the body...