2. Good Organic Gardening - March-April 2016

Epsom salts | ORGANIC LIVING
Natural or man-made?
“Almost all Epsom salt in the world today is man-made,” says Tony Hudson of
BLANTs Wellbeing & Lifestyle, a leading bulk supplier of salts. “Most natural
deposits have been exhausted, including the original one in Epsom, England.”
Tony adds that manufacturers often prefer man-made because it’s “less
fuss than mining it from a natural deposit and it’s easier to produce a salt
to meet ‘grade specs’ such as USP (United States Pharmacopeia) and BP
(British Pharmacopoeia) and Food Grade”.
Although BLANTs does sell high-quality chemical salts from China and
elsewhere, the company believes it has located the one remaining source
of natural Epsom salts, in Germany.
“It’s mined from an underground natural deposit, a dried-up lake,” says
Tony Hudson. “The processing is very simple and involves no chemicals.
It’s food grade and also pharmacopoeia grade and could be labelled organic,
only a salt cannot be labelled organic.”
Wherever you buy your Epsom salts, he warns, make sure it’s of the
highest quality. Some products are cheap for a reason — they can be high in
heavy metals, manganese and iron, which produce scum and discolouration,
especially in storage tanks. And why would you inflict that on your precious
plants and livestock?
A healthy
dose of salts
Among its many medicinal
properties, Epsom salt has
been used as:
• A laxative or purgative
• A muscle relaxant and for
headache relief
• An antiarrhythmic agent
in the treatment of heart
conditions
• A treatment for preeclampsia
in pregnancy
• A bronchodilator in
Apply MgSo 4 for bushier roses
the treatment of the
symptoms of acute
asthma, either in nebulised
form or administered
intravenously
• A means of drawing
out splinters
Other alleged (not to say
unproven) benefits of Epsom
salt are as an aid to bodily
detoxification and intestinal
health, as a sedative for the
nervous system and in the
treatment of autism and
cerebral palsy.
• Food Grade Natural Epsom Salt • Magnesium Chloride Flakes • Organic Natural Sodium Bicarbonate
• Himalayan Pink Salt • Dead Sea Salt • Borax • Washing Soda • Two Salts • Magnesium Oil
Our products are available in 5kg buckets, 10/11kg buckets and 20/25kg bags. Even our buckets and bags are premium
with our 10 and 11kg buckets being so easy to open and reseal and our 20kg bags are equipped with a slider seal.
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We are based in Sydney but ship all over Australia with up to four shipping options to some locations.
www.blants.com.au