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Managing Salts in the Home Garden

Updated September 15, 2020
Professional headshot of Rhoda Burrows

Rhoda Burrows

Professor & SDSU Extension Horticulture Specialist

How do salts affect plants?

Most of the nutrients that a plant requires are made available to them in the form of salts. It might be tempting to think that if a little salt is good, more is better. This is not the case with food or with gardens! Just like too much salt can ruin a good dinner, too much salt in the soil can become damaging or fatal to plants—even if they are required by the plant for growth.