Watering Flowers with Milk

by Frank
(Brooklyn, NY, USA)

When I was in the 3rd or 4th grade, I don’t remember for sure, I did a project where my mom and I bought a bunch of single pot marigolds from Home Depot that had already grown. I took them to different areas of our backyard and grew them. Some were in shady spots, some in sunny spots, some were kept in their plastics packages and some were put into pots.

The idea was to see how the
growing environment would affect the further development of the flower. As part of this process, I took another group of flowers and put them all out in the sun. I then watered them with different liquids. I remember milk was one of them, as was apple juice. I think Tabasco sauce was also one of them. Oh, and pickle brine.

Then when it was time for the science fair, I did a bunch of general research on how the weather affects plants and brought them all in a big, dirt-filled box to school. It was quite the messy attraction. I choose to believe that many of the other kids were jealous because of my awesome project, but that’s probably just childhood ego talking.

If kids have the garden room at home to do this (the plants weren’t expensive at all), this can be a pretty cool project, although obviously it’s not one that can be done the night before the way many of my later science fair projects were. (Heh.) It also helps to have a parent who knows a little bit what they’re doing in the garden. Overall though, I think it’s a pretty cool idea.

Barry's Response - cool one, Frank. It would have been interesting to know what the outcome was. How did the growth conditions compare?

This is something I would avoid doing with valuable plants like crops or prized collectibles. Milk can actually harm flowers, so don't water them with it. Plants can benefit from milk's nutrients in small amounts, but pure milk can cause a lot of problems.

The lactose and sugar in milk can attract insects and pests. It can damage the plants and make them more susceptible to disease. A film of fat can form on the leaves and stems of plants, preventing them from absorbing other nutrients and water.

In addition, milk can breed bacteria and fungi, which can damage plants and cause diseases like mildew and rot. In general, water plants with plain water or use a plant fertilizer that's specifically formulated for them. Additionally, pickle brine, hot sauce, beer, etc., are unlikely to be good ideas.



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