Epsom salt–a natural, versatile and inexpensive ingredient that has so many uses–around the house, in the garden and even for skin treatments. You’ll want to keep some handy all the time…and even buy it in bulk.
Epsom salt is magnesium sulfate, and the magnesium is beneficial in many ways.
A twenty-minute soak in the bath will leave you feeling relaxed and renewed. About a cup and a half of Epsom salt poured into your bathtub will make your skin feel silky smooth. A handful rubbed onto rough skin on your elbows and feet is a great exfoliating treatment.
The magnesium in Epsom salt is easily absorbed though the skin. Soaking in it removes toxins like free radicals from the body. That means an Epsom salt bath can improve your overall health. The sulfate in Epsom salt also soothes the nervous system, and can help with the pain of migraine headaches, cramps, and your mood.
Moisten your skin with Epsom salt–it will soothe itchy skin, bug bites, sunburn or swelling. It also makes removing splinters much easier; just soak the area around the splinter. Add about a tablespoonful to your regular facial cleanser for an exfoliating skin treatment.
With its high magnesium content, Epsom salt is good for plants that need magnesium in their soil, and it also helps the absorption of phosphorus and nitrogen.
Some of the store-bought fertilizers and plant foods will make your plants look beautiful this year–but they may have an adverse effect on the soil in the long run. Using Epsom salt in small doses means your soil will remain healthy year after year.
Plants that will benefit from Epsom salt include roses, tomatoes, peppers and potted plants. A tablespoon mixed into the soil at the base of each plant will increase the number of flowering canes on your rose bushes. A spray of 1 tablespoon of Epsom salt per gallon of water misted onto your rose bushes or tomato plants will keep bugs at bay.
For your houseplants, add 2 tablespoons of Epsom salt per gallon of water, and use this mixture once a month when you water your plants. In your flower, fruit and vegetable garden, adding Epsom salt means you’ll see more fruit and blooms, and the plants will be healthier overall. Some gardeners say that Epsom salt and careful maintenance of pH level in the soil can make fruit sweeter.
You’d probably never think you’d find so many uses for Epsom salt around your home!
