Lyric's milk bath

[OhioBlue]

I hope it is okay - I wanted to save the thread... I copied and pasted the post from Lyric.


gave my tomatoes, peppers and squashes a milk bath three days ago
Now I have flowers exploding everywhere. My grandma taught me this 20 years ago, and she always got the best tomatoes in town. She said that back when the country was undergoing rationing, lots of older people used part of their milk powder ration for this purpose and wound up with better produce from their "victory gardens" than anyone else on their block. Best of all, it's totally organic.

Just take one heaping cup of dry, nonfat powdered milk and mix it with 7 liters of warm water. Water the soil around your tomatoes and other fruiting plants (squash, zucchini, cucumbers, peppers, etc.) with this mixture once every three weeks, or if they're in containers, every week and a half to two weeks. It helps prevent blossom end rot (without the hassle and risks of garden lime) and encourage big, fat, delicious fruits. I think it probably has something to do with the calcium and phosphorus in milk, but let me tell you, my fruiting plants LOVE this mixture. I have thick, sturdy stems, healthy leaves, lots of flowers, and very happy plants.

Grandma also said that you can put this mixture into a spray bottle and very lightly spray your tomato leaves every other week to prevent mold. She said not to soak the leaves--just spray enough that it coats the leaf and dries within 15 minutes or so, and the residue will discourage mold growth. I don't know how true this is, but I do it, and I've never seen a bit of mold on my tomatoes. I've also heard that this works well for deterring pest insects like aphids, but I haven't had any aphids myself, so I can't say for sure if this is true.

You might not care much for old wives tales, but at least in my experience, this one works. Make sure you only use NONFAT milk, though--Grandma said that regular milk isn't as good for plants as nonfat is, and milk with fat in it can actually *hurt* tomato leaves as opposed to helping them. Happy gardening!

[beac]

1. Good thinking!

I hate that all those helpful and informative gardening tips got lost in the changeover, so I'm glad you preserved this treasure. Milk bathing has been a miracle for my garden!

[Little Star]

2. I'm gonna tell my husband about this! k&r

[H. Cromwell]

3. Thank you!

I will be starting my tomatoes next month and I was looking for the milk bath post. Thank you for saving it.

[NeedleCast]

4. This Was Very Helpful For My Tomatoes Last Year

I planted in nutrient poor soil and struggled early to get the plants going. Some compost, along with the milk bath in the OP and they were soon raging monster plants that produced very well.