I have some holly hocks this year and they are covered with spots. What is this? Does anyone know?
I live in alabama.
Someone told me to go to this forum to ask about sandspurs in my yard. They are covering it. I know they will die out before long, but, I want to kill them forever. Is there a way?
Someone help!
Epsom Salts
personally, i do not like to foliar feed with ES, sometimes they leave white streak on the plant leaves. i prefer to incorporate the ES in the soil and water thorougly.
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here is a link of some hollyhock diseases, click each name to get detailed discription on hollyhock problem http://plantclinic.cornell.edu/flower/hollyhock.htm hth
funny aphids get mine but mostly rabbits catch them as they are sprouting and I lose almost all of them before I ever knew. The reason I know is I throw tons of seeds and even after two years I never see them grow but the ones I do see sprout, one day are chewed up repededly till they give up the ghost. grr. sandspurs must not live in the desert, I`m guessing.
How about an update from those of you who used epson salts.
Update-
I kind of hold off on epsom salts (ES) and other "feedings" during the hottest parts of the summer (July and August)----to give the plants a rest. I last "fed" with epsom salts and alfalfa/compost tea in June. I'll brew another batch of compost/alfalfa tea early September and apply with some ES.
Now that you mention it, I might give some of the container plants a little ES this weekend.
I did mix some ES, ironite, and compost together and distributed this all over the lawn in late May/early June. The lawn looks great--the greenest ever (we've also had all that rain)
Well Red Cascade , Marie Pavie, New Dawn are doing really well. New Dawn espcially has doubled in size. The rest of the roses are struggling, but I haven't had time to spray with milk/water. I'm not sure what good it does when it rains every 2 or 3 days.
Very difficult to tell what does what since it has rained everyday since May. Yesterday just under an inch in less than 45 minutes. Raining now.
Would ya'll mind starting a list of what actually LIKES ES before I go throwing it around the yard? That would be helpful in this experiment. Or, if you already know what does NOT like ES, that would be helpful, too.
Thanks.
The epsom salts site says not to use it on sage, but that was the only thing listed that doesn't like it.
Sage, the herb, is one of the few plants that doesan't welcome this mineral compound. Here is the information furnished by the Epsom Salt Council:
http://www.epsomsaltcouncil.org/
When they say sage, does that include salvias also? I have a salvia guarantica planted about a foot from a Cecile Brunner and I went ahead and put ES around it. So far it's doing fine, but I'm not sure about continueing with ES there.
Foliar spray question from Chantell-
I also prefer to incorporate into the soil. Of note, there is a product called Greencure. It is potassium bicarbonate (instead of sodium bicarbonate---baking soda). There have been really good reports of this product on the rose forum. To add, I have seen potassium bicarbonate sold at feed stores--which you can then dilute 1tablespoon per gallon (much cheaper than buying Greencure.
Link to greencure
http://www.snow-pond.com/Fungicides/fungicides.html#greencure
Silverflutter-I think they are referring to the generic herb sage. I have been applying ES to my salvias, but in less amounts than the other plants (felt uncomfortable also). I have not noticed any harm----some of my salvias haven't exactly loved all the rain this year. However, mystic spires looks grand.
I tend to broadcast....as in "feeding the chickens" style......so everything gets a little. The salvia, as you say, are not liking constant rain. All but one is looking pretty good but one little one is very small and lime green......think I missed it with the last feeding of ES. Same thing with the Daisy.....I am fairly careful not to just dump it on anything.....moderation in everything.
We only put on the lawn in early Spring when we add it to the broadcaster with the Scotts Turf Builder. I try very hard to be mainly organic but Scotts has given persistent good results. The ES has made the turf deeper and shades out all undesirables.
CollinCo, I'm glad your salvias don't mind ES, because I really don't want to move that guarantica. I have too many plants already that have to moved. I have some other guaranticas that don't get enough sun and are very leggy. They've been a real disappointment. I have asiatic lilies in the same bed and they leaned so far over that the stems broke. I haven't figure out where to put those things or what to replace them with. Dry shade plants that don't get more than 3 feet tall are a short list.
I read about some recipe use ES and some other stuff for daylilies. Has anybody tried this? It may be on that website Yuska posted about. I haven't had a chance to try it. Been to busy pullin' weeds.
silver, I have my first guar...this year and it is just sulking. It is in full sun and I just supposed that it has had way too much water.
silver, LouC originally posted the link and later Frostweed did as well. It doesn't mention DL in particular....just herbal salvia.
LouC
LouC I put my gurantica in shade because I read that it can't take full sun. I think it fries pretty easy.
The recipe I found for DL is
1 tsp ES
1 oz Sorgum Molasses (don't know what difference it makes)
1 T bakind soda
1 gal water
Can't remember how often to use this.
Dr. Dirt recommends sorghum and corn meal all the time. I think I will try the recipe.
Thank you for sharing.
I wish I could remember where I read that. How often do you think it should be used?
silverfluter, maybe it is best to go lightly or not at all on ES for salvia. Sage is salvia officinalis and in the Lamiaceae family. One article listed other plants in this family:
The plants are frequently aromatic in all parts and include many widely used culinary herbs, such as basil, mint, rosemary, sage, savory, marjoram, oregano, thyme, lavender, and perilla.
As a guideline I think I'll not use it around any plant with a square stem. Or, maybe I'll plant a trial bed with and another without ES. The National Gardening Association is continuing its trials and I think I'll query about this.
Probably good advice Yuska. The guarantica at the base of that rose is the only one that's had any ES. But I do have an oregano at the base of a Buff Beauty where I put some ES. It seems to be OK so far. Also have Mother of Thyme at the base of my New Dawn rose though. I read somewhere that herbs and roses make good companions.
NOW, we're talking! Thanks guys, and please continue to post Do's and Dont's on the plants and the ES.
that recipee is good but if you added the alfalfa pellets, they already add blackstrap molassias into it so if you subbed in pellets, you`d have an additional benefit to your plants and soil as well. I had a crape mertle that lost it`s leaves and was dieing and I put the ES on the base in with it in a watering can and it came back, the other CM, I didn`t do it again and it is not coming back, I think I will try again and let you know, that one is mostly dieing.
LouC I used to use alot of cornmeal on my roses til somebody told me to go easy on it. Can't remember why though.
What does the cornmeal do, other than hold the ants at bay?
Go to doctordirt.com for Howard Garrett's site.
I think it's anti-fungal.
Interresting thing Lou,
I learned a few years ago about ES.. There is even a bit of old reference text which I love that goes like this:
"Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost its savor, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but (EXCEPT) to be cast out and trodden under foot of men."
Very good under foot, in the garden...also ES has a bitter taste (lost it's savor)... Salt is good, and I also agree with what one pointed out above, it can offest the balance when there is already an abundance of magnesium. My soil is like yours and it works well on just about everything.
Thanks for posting this thread!
:-)
Deb
I can take no credit. Just an observation by a novice gardener. Have learned so much from the input of others.
If we only take the time we learn that God has naturally provided everything we need. The uses of vinegar and/or baking soda in other areas of our lives is mind boggling. As is ES......for our garden as well as our bodies.
Everything in moderation.
Does Epsom Salt work on hibiscus? And how much should I use on my planted in the ground Brugs?
I think ES and peroxide are great additions to a garden for everyone.
I soak hard seed coats like okra overnight in hydrogen peroxide to speed up germinating.
yep
Speaking of okra, our okra is 7 feet tall. This is the first time we've grown okra. Is this normal? Or maybe it's because of all the rain?
Some varieties do grow to 7-8 feet. My favorite is a red one called Artist. Doesn't branch out much but really shoots up. What variety are you growing?
Well I'm going to fertilize my roses etc. tomorrow with Rabbit Hill Farms, and I'll add ES. It has alfalfa and molasses in it.
Yuska, the okra is Red Velvet. It is a gorgeous red. I don't like okra, but I like this plant.:) The stems are red, but the okra is actually sort of a light red/orange. DH really likes it, so I guess we'll be plantin' this again next year.
Do black eyed peas like ES? I hope to plant that again this fall. We planted it last fall, but I didn't have enough row cover for the whole crop, so we lost it in a freeze.
Silver, I think Salvia G. can take more sun than reported. My favorite nursery has it planted in full sun and assured me it would be o.k. there. I planted mine in early spring which may have helped it get established, it gets sun from sunup till sundown and so far doing well no signs of stress.
Question:
Why is Epsom Salt called Epsom Salt?
Answer:
One of the earliest discoveries of magnesium sulfate, the scientific name of Epsom Salt, occurred back in Shakespeare's day in Epsom, England, which explains the first half of the name. The term "salt" probably refers to the specific chemical structure of the compound, although many people mistakenly assume it refers to the crystalline structure of Epsom Salt, which has an appearance similar to that of table salt. (Table salt, of course, consists of sodium chloride, so it's an entirely different substance than magnesium sulfate.)
copied from EpsomSaltCouncil.org
It is very strange that it's called Epsom Salt when it's not a salt at all.
CocoaLulu, how much do you water your salvia g? I haven't had to water mine much because of all the rain we've had, but last year I did water it. I have some under a rose in the back and it did get ES today, because I figured the rose needed it more than the salvia g didn't. I have some in the front also under the eaves of the house so it doesn't really get much rain. It's very leggy, I guess for lack of sun. But when I give the hostas and lilies ES, the salvia g will get some too. Just an experiement. They can't look worse than they do now.