Feeding tomatoes with powdered milk
nigelw
Posts: 5
in Fruit & veg
Hi all' Is it true i can feed my tomatoes with non fat powdered milk? if so i was thinking once a week with the milk and once a week with the tomorite..Any thoughts anybody?
0
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Hi nigelw - must say I've not come across this before but would be interested in what others have to say as not only do I have plenty of powdered milk it's also cheaper than tomato feed !!! Would also like to know of dilution rates, if applicable
From what I can find, it's the calcium in the milk that is the main advantage. It's not a complete food.
And to further what Alina says it's used for Blossom end rot as that's a calcium deficiency. Actually most of what I've read says you can use powdered or proper milk, but full fat not non fat. Classed as an environmentally safe fungicide. Well you live and learn!
I have heard of milk being used as a spray for black spot. Has anyone tried it?
How wonderful it will smell when it goes off
BER is related to calcium in that it's a side effect of a plant not being able to distribute calcium within its internal system. There can be tons of calcium available to the plant but the plant can't use it. So milk won't help against BER. So what causes the plant not to be able to distributre calcium? No one knows for sure, but plant stress seems to be a major factor. Strong buffeting winds, temperature extremes and irregular watering are only some of the possible causes.
There is also the puzzling fact that some tomato types - the plum varieties, for example - are more prone to BER than others. No one knows why.
Milk has no value as a tomato fertiliser but it's been claimed over the years that it has anti-fungal properties. The evidence is largely anecdotal, backed by the suggestion that the milk creates a pH level that fungal spores don't like.
Well here's a good case for a Beechgrove trial!
That's really interesting and helpful information Italophile. Thank-you. I'm going to try liquid coffee to deter slugs/snails and so could add the milk for its supposed anti-fungal properties. I'm quite open to trying different ideas as long as the cost is not excessive.
I do agree with quercus_ruber that trials of these anecdotal accounts would be a good idea.
Have tried successfully the milk treatment for black spot on roses, mix skimmed mikj with water 10 water parts to one skimmed milk and spray