Hey DGC,
Brewing up my first batch of Aerated Compost Tea, mixed 1 cup of worm castings to 5gal of water with 1/3 cup of molasses. Hit go on the on the air pump, now waiting, and that got me to thinking, after a soil pH test my soil is super high alkaline. Blossom end rot in tomatoes. Will adding Epsom Salts to this brew be of any benefit to help manage soil pH level without damaging microbial activity or do I amend soil and wait the 4 to 6 weeks for sulfur to take affect?
Thanks DGC
I’ve always used Epsom salt when I started to see early signs of a Magnesium deficiency. The Epsom salt is essentially Ph neutral, so it shouldn’t make the Ph of you tea swing wildly to one side or the other.
Due to how the cation / anion relationship works in the soil and with input nutrients, I’m not sure if doing the epsom salt at the same time of the nutrients is the best option. But I lack the science to know if the extra hydrogen atoms from the Epsom Salt are going to bind and effect the exchange of the organic nutrients in your tea. Possible do a separate soil drench with the Epsom salt, if you see that the plant is needing it. If this is your only input of Magnesium and sulphur, then yes do it.
Ok cool thanks Chad.Bro
Will opt to do separately.
Epsom salt, as Chad said, will not do anything to help your soil pH. I would not add epsom to a compost tea brew anyway because it wouldn’t have any advantage to the brewing process. AACT is meant to breed and grow a diverse population of beneficial microbes – nothing more. So, adding anything that’s not directly related to that goal is pointless. However, there’s no problem in mixing epsom salt into your final tea application, as long as you use the correct mixture ratio (equal to or less than 1 tbsp per gallon) for application.
If your soil is too alkaline, you can do some things like adding sulphur or green sand to your soil; but lowering soil pH can only be done by certain amounts per year. My knowledge level isn’t enough (yet) to give you specific advice so I’d strongly suggest you use a trained soil advisor (like @soildoctor on IG or BuildASoil’s advisor) to give you a recipe/program to amend and balance your soil properly, at the fastest rate that’s healthy. I have very alkaline native soil as well and I’ve been amending for 3 years. I’m getting close to a balanced soil with my target pH now but I have a couple more years to go, probably. Still, my seasonal amendments have produced great results in my plants. It’s just that each year gets better and better. Unless you’re building a new soil from scratch, it takes time to amend native soils that are really out of whack to start.
FWIW – Blossom end rot isn’t caused by alkaline soil.. it’s caused by a lack of calcium uptake. Alkaline soils is typically very high in calcium and magnesium – that’s the funny part! What the plant needs is right there but it can’t access it. Lol! Here’s a good excerpt from a U of Michigan paper you might find interesting:
“ What causes blossom end rot?
Blossom end rot is caused by a lack of calcium in the fruit. This lack of calcium may be due to low calcium levels in the soil. More often, there is plenty of calcium in the soil, but its availability for uptake and transport to fruits is impaired. Drought stress, alternating soil moisture extremes, and damage to a plant’s roots all can inhibit calcium uptake, as can waterlogged or cold soils, and high concentrations of ammonium (NH4+), potassium (K+), and magnesium (Mg++) cations in soil. Movement of calcium within plants depends on active transpiration (i.e., loss of water through above-ground plant parts). Because leaves transpire more than fruits, calcium moves more easily into leaves where it remains. Calcium is not later redistributed from leaves to fruits. This preferential distribution of calcium to leaves can be made worse by over-fertilizing with nitrogen which promotes excessive production of leaves. In addition, high relative humidity, OR low relative humidity in combination with hot, windy weather can limit transpiration, thus preventing calcium from reaching fruits.”
This is why soil testing and analysis by someone with the training how to amend and “balance” your soil properly is so key. Sure, you could try throwing some plant-available calcium at the problem BUT doing so can also cause unintended consequences to other nutrient and mineral uptake. It’s the short-term approach as opposed to FIXING your soil and bringing it back to optimal growth. If you work with a good soil analyst can get your soil balanced and compatible with your water source so that, eventually, you just top dress and add water for a full cycle of whatever you want to grow. Your soil will, eventually, be as fertile as it gets – that’s my goal, anyway.
Hope this helps and you find some use in it!
– @dtom420
Epsom should only be used when you have a confirmed lack of magnesium.
Adding too much epsom or adding it when it’s not needed can throw off the balance of calcium and magnesium in your soil. This can cause nutrient lockouts, soil compaction and other issues.
Dont mess with epsom unless you are 100% sure you need it.
Holy Smokes,
Thanks for dropping some serious knowledge bombs, DTOM & Soup really appreciate the indepth replies.
I guess perhaps its a culmination of things, first time using bore (well / underground) water, heat/drought stress, and poor water cycle leading to calcium and high alkaline issue, but did perform a soil test that gave me a super purple indicator.
Too blazed to mention that also compost tea brew with epsoms salts was for a different bed with light green foliage, so plan was to do both in one application, the high alkaline bed has since become its own side project
Thanks Again DGC.