A gardening guru has insisted there’s no reason to waste milk when it goes out of date, as it has a surprising purpose that could transform your garden
Matt Jackson Trendswatch Content Editor and Natalie King
12:06, 30 Sep 2025
When milk goes sour, it still has a use(Image: fcafotodigital via Getty Images)
A gardening expert has issued guidance to green-fingered enthusiasts who might throw out their milk once it passes its use-by date. Gardening fans may also want to know the four flowers to plant this October for a blooming garden in Spring.
Whilst we may be a nation of tea enthusiasts in Britain, there’s always the occasional possibility that a bottle of milk in your refrigerator could begin to go sour before you’ve had a chance to consume it.
Should this happen, gardening guru Ben Hunt suggests you can still use it for your plants. This is because milk can function as a natural fertiliser, he explains.
On his GrowVeg YouTube channel, Ben said: “Don’t throw out kitchen ingredients that are past their best, use it in the garden.”
“Just add it to the soil and then just lightly fork it in to incorporate it. Milk is also excellent used against powdery mildew. You mix one part milk to 10 parts water and then spray it all over the leaves and that will really help with any mildew problems.”
Milk could help with mildew issues(Image: hxyume via Getty Images)
Researchers in Chile discovered expired dairy products contained a high level of minerals and other organic materials that can benefit soil.
They found applying milk to soil helped to make it more porous and encourage plant growth.
Following a greenhouse trial involving wheat, they concluded: “The remarkable improvement of soil quality induced an increase in wheat growth. Expired dairy products can be converted to an organic amendment and this is the ideal practical solution for an integrated ecosystem.”
Ben suggests another common household item, flour, proves beneficial for your garden due to its nitrogen and calcium content. These represent essential micronutrients required by leafy plants found throughout your garden.
He added: “Now you can just spread this over the soil surface a couple of weeks before planting or just add your flour in thin layers to the compost heap.”
Ben also revealed how to use flower in your garden(Image: Helin Loik-Tomson via Getty Images)
Another everyday item Ben suggests can assist your garden after you’ve finished with it is a plastic bottle. These can help water-hungry squashes deliver moisture directly to their roots.
He explained: “One of the easiest ways to help recent transplants of thirsty plants such as say squash is to bury a pot next to the plant and then water into that. Now that contains the water nicely and it drains through the drainage holes at the bottom exactly to where it’s needed, the roots.
“An even more effective alternative is to gouge holes into a bottle like this. Now when you bury it, make sure that the holes are facing the plant and they’re on the same side as the roots, now they will be exactly where they are needed and the roots will be able to grow towards the water source.
“Then you can just filter through the neck of the bottle and it’ll drain right through.”
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