There are many reasons why you should water your cucumbers with milk. Milk is rich in proteins, minerals and beneficial bacteria that are beneficial not only to humans but also to plants. But milk water can do even more: it can also be used as a natural remedy to prevent and combat various diseases.
Why you should water your cucumbers with milk
Milk offers manyBenefits for cucumbers. It can improve soil, provide plants with the nutrients necessary for fruit production and prevent disease. We list the various advantages in detail below.
Use milk as an additive to cucumber fertilizer
Cucumbers are heavy feeders and, as all heavy-feeding plants, they need lots of useful nutrients to grow well, produce flowers and bear fruit. The need for calcium, magnesium and potassium increases, especially during the ripening period. Milk can cover this and compensate for deficiencies.
- Calcium deficiency leads to leaf deformation and slowed growth. The cucumbers produce fewer flowers, the fruits are smaller, often become diseased and rot. Such a deficiency occurs particularly often in acidic, sandy and nutrient-poor soils. The cucumbers in the greenhouse can also suffer from a calcium deficiency because the nutrients are washed out of the soil with every watering.
- In order to produce healthy and plentiful fruits, cucumbers need magnesium in addition to calcium. The nutrient is very vital for cucumber plants because it supports the chlorophyll buildup and the process of photosynthesis. A magnesium deficiency occurs particularly often in heavy eaters such as cucumbers and is noticeable through yellow leaves.
- Potassium activates plant enzymes that transport carbohydrates and makes cucumbers more disease resistant. This means that crops can recover quickly after a pest attack and bear fruit. Typical signs of potassium deficiency are curled leaves, curved tissue between the leaf veins and discoloration. Milk can help with this.
Spray cucumber leaves against fungal diseases
Milk contains the natural milk glycoprotein lactoferrin, which is known for its antibacterial properties. Spraying the plants with milk solution helps against various fungal diseases. Gardening expert Jeff Gillman from the University of Georgia, USA, sprays his plants with milk once a week to protect them from diseases.
Improve the soil with milk
contains milkimportant lactic acid bacteria that improve soil life and prevent the spread of pathogens in the soil. The home remedy doesn't give fungi and harmful bacteria a chance and thus strengthens the root system. The lactic acid bacteria help synthesize vitamins, minerals and phytohormones and ensure rich soil life.
Watering cucumbers with milk and what you should definitely avoid
Milk offers many benefits, but only when used correctly. In some cases, it is better not to water the cucumbers with milk. For example:
- Always use skim milk or buttermilk. The fats in milk cause unpleasant smells.
- Always dilute the milk with water, otherwise you will over-fertilize the cucumbers and they will die.
- In contrast to compost or cattle manure, milk cannot build and improve the soil structure. It is therefore only suitable for smaller areas such as your own kitchen garden or greenhouse.
- Milk can be used to prevent mildew, but in severe infestations it has a limited effect and can only help to a limited extent.
- Always use fresh milk. Spoiled milk is of no use and can even achieve the opposite of what is desired - introducing harmful bacteria into the garden soil.
You can use buttermilk or skim milk for pickles. To avoid unpleasant smells, you should choose products with a maximum of 0.1 g of fat per 100 g of milk or a maximum of 1.4% fat. Do not use sweetened milk drinks or flavored milk drinks.
Dilute milk with water: the right mixing ratio
Milk must be diluted with water. For outdoor plants, prepare a solution of 1.2 liters of milk and 9.4 liters of water. For plants in a greenhouse or container, pour 10 liters of lukewarm water into a bucket and then add 1 liter of milk. For the leaves, prepare a spray and mix water and milk in a 1 to 1 ratio.
How to properly water cucumbers with milk
It is very important that the milk is fresh. It's best to take them straight out of the fridge and then mix them with lukewarm water. Cucumbers don't like cold water.
If you have a lot of plants, you can use a pressure sprayer. Then fill about 4 liters into the sprayer and treat the leaves first. Pour the rest of the milk solution directly into the roots of the cucumbers.
The treatment should take place on a sunny day. It is usually recommended that the cucumbers be watered early in the morning until midday. If it rains during the day, wait.
If you have watered the leaves too much and they are still wet after half an hour, you can simply wipe off the excess milk solution with a damp cloth.
Alternatively: Fill a plastic bottle with the milk solution and drill 3 to 4 small holes in the lid. Cap the bottle and insert it into the root area of the plants.
How often to water and spray cucumbers with milk?
Start giving milk immediately after the first flowers fade. As a preventative measure against fungal diseases, water them every 15 days until the first cucumbers become ready to harvest.
Do you want to strengthen the cucumbers andassist in fruit formation, then one milk supply at the start of fruit formation and a second one in mid-summer (about three weeks after the first) is completely sufficient.
Never water the cucumbers more often than every 10 days. Because too much milk can make the soil more alkaline and increase its pH. However, cucumbers prefer neutral soil with pH values between 5.5 and 7.5. In addition, a lot of milk can form a transparent film around the roots and prevent further absorption of water and nutrients above the soil. In container plants, too much milk can promote the proliferation of harmful bacteria.
