There are many reasons why you should water your cucumbers with milk. Milk is rich in proteins, minerals and beneficial bacteria that are good not only for humans but also for plants. But milk water can do even more: it can also be used as a natural means of preventing and combating various diseases.
Why you should water your cucumbers with milk
Milk provides many benefits for cucumbers. It can improve soil, provide plants with the nutrients they need to produce fruit, and prevent disease. We list the various advantages in detail below.
Use milk as an additive to cucumber fertilizer
Cucumbers are heavy feeders and like all heavy-feeding plants, they need a lot of useful nutrients to grow well, form flowers and bear fruit. Especially during the ripening period, the need for calcium, magnesium and potassium increases. Milk can cover this and compensate for deficiencies.
Calcium deficiency leads to leaf deformation and slowed growth. The cucumbers form fewer flowers, the fruits are smaller, often get sick and rot. Such a deficiency occurs particularly often in acidic, sandy and nutrient-poor soils. Cucumbers in the greenhouse can also suffer from a calcium deficiency because the nutrients are leached from the soil with every watering. In order to set healthy and many fruits, cucumbers need magnesium in addition to calcium. The nutrient is very vital for the cucumber plants because it supports the chlorophyll build-up and the process of photosynthesis. A magnesium deficiency occurs particularly often in heavy consumers such as cucumbers and is noticeable through yellow leaves. Potassium activates plant enzymes that transport carbohydrates and makes cucumbers more disease-resistant. This allows the crops to recover quickly and bear fruit after a pest infestation. Curled leaves, arched tissue between the leaf veins and discoloration are typical of the potassium deficiency. Milk can help with this.
Spray cucumber leaves against fungal diseases
Milk contains the natural milk glycoprotein lactoferrin, 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
Milk contains important lactic acid bacteria that improve soil life and prevent the spread of pathogens in the soil. The household remedy gives fungi and harmful bacteria no chance and thus strengthens the root system. The lactic acid bacteria help in the synthesis of vitamins, minerals and phytohormones and ensure a rich soil life.
Pouring cucumbers with milk and what you should avoid at all costs
Milk offers many benefits, but only if used properly. 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 overfeed the cucumbers and they will wilt. Unlike compost or cattle manure, milk cannot build up 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 powdery 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 useless and can even achieve the opposite of what is desired – introducing harmful bacteria to the garden soil.
What milk can be used for cucumbers?
You can use buttermilk or skim milk for pickles. In order to avoid unpleasant odours, you should opt for 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, fill a bucket with 10 liters of lukewarm water and then add 1 liter of milk. Prepare a spray for the leaves 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 is 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.
Treatment should be done on a sunny day. It is usually recommended that cucumbers be watered early in the morning to noon. If it rains during the day, wait it out.
If you 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 stick it in the root area of the plants.
How often to water and sprinkle cucumbers with milk?
Begin milking as soon as the first flowers fade. As a preventive measure against fungal diseases, water them every 15 days until the first cucumbers are ready to harvest.
If you want to strengthen the cucumbers and support them in fruiting, then one milk supply at the start of fruiting and a second in midsummer (about three weeks after the first) is completely sufficient.
Never water the cucumbers more than every 10 days. Because too much milk can make the soil more alkaline and raise its pH level. However, cucumbers prefer a neutral soil with pH values between 5.5 and 7.5. Also, excessive milk can form a transparent film around the roots, preventing further uptake of water and nutrients above the soil. Too much milk can encourage the growth of harmful bacteria in potted plants.