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A couple of glasses sitting in the grass.

Milk and Molasses – Magic for Your Garden

Do you know the magic of milk and molasses in improving your garden? Plain old milk is a miracle for plants, soil and compost. Molasses boosts the benefits!

by Stephen Scott

Recipes

Easy Herbed Mayonnaise in 30 Seconds

by Stephen Scott

Soil Health

Milk and Molasses – Magic for Your Garden

Do you know the magic of milk and molasses in improving your garden? Plain old milk is a miracle for plants, soil and compost. Molasses boosts the benefits!

by Stephen Scott

Recipes

Easy Herbed Mayonnaise in 30 Seconds

by Stephen Scott

Full Sized Blog Element (Big Preview Pic)

Soil Health

Milk and Molasses – Magic for Your Garden

Do you know about the magic of milk and molasses in improving your garden? Yes, plain old milk of any kind – whole, 2%, raw, dried, skim, or nonfat – is a miracle in the garden for plants, soil, and compost. Molasses only boosts the benefits! Let’s see how and why they work.

Milk as Soil Food

Using milk on your compost and in your garden will probably come as a surprise to most.

Upon closer inspection, however, it starts to make sense. The amino acids, proteins, enzymes, and natural sugars that make milk a food for humans and animals are the same ingredients in nurturing healthy communities of microbes, fungi, and beneficial bacteria in your compost and garden soil.

Raw milk is the best, as it hasn’t been exposed to heat that alters the components in milk that provide the perfect food for the soil and plants, but any milk will provide nutrition and benefits. Using milk on crops and soils is another ancient technique that has been lost to large-scale modern industrial agriculture.

Milk is a research-proven fungicide and soft-bodied insecticide – insects have no pancreas to digest the milk sugars. Dr. Wagner Bettiol, a Brazilian research scientist, found that milk was effective in the treatment of powdery mildew on zucchini. His research was subsequently replicated by New Zealand melon growers who tested it against the leading commercially available chemical fungicide and found that milk out-performed everything else. Surprisingly, they also found that the milk worked as a foliar fertilizer, producing larger and tastier melons than the control group.

David Wetzel, a Nebraska farmer, completed a 10 year study on applying milk at different ratios to his pastures, and recorded the results with the help of a team made up of the local Agricultural Extension agent Terry Gompert , a university soil specialist, a weed specialist and an insect researcher.

What they found was amazing- the grass production was drastically increased; the soil porosity or ability to absorb air and water doubled; microbe activity and populations increased; cows were healthier and produced more milk on treated pastures; the brix or sugar level in the pasture tripled, indicating more nutrients were stored in the grass than before. Grasshoppers abandoned the treated pastures- the sugars are poison to destructive soft-bodied insects as they do not have a pancreas to process the sugars.

This also explains why damaging insects leave healthy, high-brix-level plants alone, as they contain more sugars than stressed and sickly ones. Read Milk Works As Fertilizer for the full article.

Home Gardener Recipe

For the home gardener, the ratio can range from 100% milk to a mixture of 20% milk to 80% water, with no loss of benefits.

Use as a spray on the compost and garden soil before planting and as needed when insects appear. Spray directly on the insects and around the areas they inhabit. When combined with molasses, it becomes a highly beneficial soil drench.

A proven solution is 20% milk – 1 cup of milk to 4 cups of water, or 2 cups of milk to 8 cups of water for larger gardens. Whatever amount you need, the 20% ratio has been proven to give the most effective results with the least amount of milk.

David Wetzel’s experiments found that 3 gallons of milk per acre benefits pasture grasses most, so the costs are minuscule compared to the benefits!

Molasses Feeds Micro-Organisms

Molasses is a viscous by-product of the processing of sugar cane or sugar beets into sugar.

Sulfured molasses is made from young sugar cane. Sulfur dioxide, which acts as a preservative, is added during the sugar extraction process. Unsulfured molasses is made from mature sugar cane, which does not require such treatment.

There are three grades of molasses: mild or Barbados, also known as first molasses; dark or second molasses; and blackstrap. The third boiling of the sugar syrup makes blackstrap molasses. The majority of sucrose from the original juice has been crystallized and removed. The calorie content of blackstrap molasses is still mostly from the small remaining sugar content. However, unlike refined sugars, they contain trace amounts of vitamins and significant amounts of several minerals.

Blackstrap molasses is a source of calcium, magnesium, potassium, and iron; one tablespoon provides up to 20% of the USDA daily value of each nutrient. Not only do these nutrients do a body good, they are highly valuable in building up the soil!

Molasses is a very valuable addition to the compost pile, as well as to the garden itself. Unsulfured blackstrap is the preferred variety due to the mineral content, but any of the unsulfured ones will do fine. The benefits beyond the minerals are the natural sugar content that will feed the microorganisms in the compost or soil of the garden.

More Gardening Recipes

Use 1/4 to 1/2 cup of molasses to a gallon of water and spray onto the compost pile or garden, or add to the drip system for the garden. For soils that are poor, stressed, or need help, use 1 cup; for those that need a little “snack, “use 1/4 cup. The readily available sugar content will skyrocket the microbial activity.

Apply once or twice a month, but be careful not to overdo it – don’t train the microbes to expect you to feed them, only give them a boost when they need it!

Blackstrap molasses is also commonly used in horticulture as a flower blooming and fruiting enhancer, particularly in organic hydroponics. Use the before mentioned mixture in the drip system, or sprayed alongside the roots of fruiting vegetables as they start to flower to increase their flowering and fruiting.

Add 3 Tablespoons of molasses to the milk spray solution mentioned above and use to feed plants during the height of growing season. Hungry, high production plants such as tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, melons, and such will really benefit from the consistent feedings, giving you more production that is more flavorful.

Sweet Weed Control

A fringe benefit of spraying the milk and molasses mixture on the garden is biologically friendly weed population control. Many broadleaf weeds thrive on diets high in available nitrates and potassium diets, common with commercial fertilizers. Phosphorus is “tied up” or bound with calcium in the soil and needs biological activity to release it. The calcium in milk helps to compensate for what is unavailable in the soil, while the increased biological activity from both the milk and molasses releases unavailable phosphorus and creates soil conditions that are unfavorable to the germination of weed seeds.

Minimal Costs

The costs of applying the milk and molasses mixture are minimal, but when compared to any other fertilizer and insecticide regimen – even those that are organic in nature – milk and molasses have no comparison.

For instance, one acre has 43,560 square feet, and a gallon is 128 oz.

Doing the math, we find that 3 gallons per acre is 0.003 of an ounce per square foot!

Assuming a gallon of organic milk costs $8.00, that works out to 0.00055 dollars per square foot or 0.055 cents per square foot! Yes, that is right – when rounded up, it is six-tenths of a penny per square foot of garden.

So if you had a large garden – say 1,000 square feet – one application of the milk would cost a whopping $0.55 (55 cents), plus the expense of 2 – 3 tablespoons of molasses. What other biologically friendly soil fertility improvements would cost this amount?

Here’s the proof of the math:

1 acre = 43,560 square feet (ft²)

1 gallon = 128 ounces

128 oz/43,560 ft² = 0.002938 oz/ft²

3 gallons x $8 = $24

$24/43,560 ft² = $0.00055/ft² multiply this by 100 for cents = 0.055 cents/ft²

Who knew that something as simple as milk and molasses had such powerfully positive, far-reaching effects? Especially without any of the negative effects of petrochemical fertilizers?

by Stephen Scott

Recipes

Easy Herbed Mayonnaise in 30 Seconds

Real, traditional mayonnaise has only five simple ingredients but is rarely made fresh, which is truly a shame. Discover how to make fresh delicious mayonnaise in 30 seconds with our recipe, and don’t worry about running out of the store-bought stuff ever again! Once you’ve tasted what real, fresh, homemade mayo is all about and explore the flavor variations, you’ll wonder why you didn’t ditch the jar sooner.

Fresh Food Warning

Unfortunately in today’s world of industrial, factory farmed foods, we must let you know that there is a risk of illness if using commercially produced eggs. That’s why we strongly recommend using fresh eggs from your own or a friend’s backyard chickens or ducks – you know exactly what conditions the eggs come from! Fresh farmer’s market eggs from a producer you know and trust is a good second choice, with certified organic eggs from a store being a third one.

What to do with all these eggs?

More often than not, if you, your neighbor or a friend have chickens or ducks in the backyard, sooner or later you’ll wind up with a surplus of eggs. There are lots of ways to use excess eggs, but we’ll show you one approach that will make your taste buds sit up and sing!

A basket of eggs sitting on top of the ground.

Duck Eggs for Mayonnaise

Here’s a peek into our egg basket after a normal spring morning of collecting duck eggs. We currently have Khaki Campbells and are expecting Welsh Halequins, both of which are excellent layers with great tasting eggs and no gamey flavors.

We’ll walk through the process after the recipe:

30 Second Homemade Herbed Mayonnaise

Author: Stephen

Ingredients

1 1/2 tsp red or white wine vinegar
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 egg - fresh is essential for flavor a second may be needed
1 1/2 cups high quality oil - avocado sunflower, canola, olive are all good
Finely chopped herbs of your choice - optional

Instructions

Add ingredients into immersion blender cup in order listed.
Lower immersion blender into bottom of cup.
Puree for 3 seconds at bottom, then slowly bring to top while blending and emulsifying the oil - about 15 - 20 seconds.
If mayonnaise is too thin, remove blender and add second egg. Repeat blending from bottom to top of cup.
Once desired consistency is reached, add chopped herbs or spices and blend for 5 - 10 seconds.
Store in a glass container and refrigerate for up to one month.

Making Mayonnaise the Easy Way

Start with gathering all of the ingredients – for the mayonnaise you’ll need eggs, a high quality oil, vinegar, salt and mustard. No emulsifiers, preservatives, thickening agents or ingredients you cannot easily pronounce. You can start with the very basic – and classic – version without herbs or spices and then expand your tastes as you like. Or, if you are a bit more adventurous and want more flavor than what comes out of a jar, then try some fresh herbs from your garden, or a dried herb mixture such as Herbes de Provence!

Find Garlic Chives Here!

Find Parsley Here!

A table with eggs, lemon and greens on it.

Homemade Mayonnaise Ingredients

We chose to add garlic chives and parsley to our mayonnaise, simply because they were both growing vigorously in our container herb planters and were close at hand.

A person pouring liquid into a measuring cup.

Adding Red Wine Vinegar

Red wine vinegar was our choice for the flavor, but white wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar are also great choices. Each will have a different flavor, so you can experiment and see what you like best! You might find you have a favorite mayonnaise for certain foods, and another recipe for others.

A spoon is holding up an orange to be stirred.

Adding Dijon Mustard

Dijon mustard is next, and the same advice applies. Test different mustards for their textures, flavors and aromas they contribute to the finished mayonnaise and decide what you like!

A person is stirring something in a glass.

A Little Sea Salt

We use a Himalayan pink salt, but there are several different sea salts or RealSalt from Utah that would be good. A natural salt contributes a better flavor.

A person is pouring lemon juice into a glass.

A Fresh Duck Egg

Next in is the duck egg, or chicken egg. Make sure to have a second one in reserve – we’ll show you why in just a minute! Different types of eggs will have different flavors, so if you have chickens you might try a duck egg mayonnaise, or vice versa.

A glass of orange juice being poured into it.

Avocado Oil

Avocado oil is what we used in this recipe as it has a nice mellow flavor that supports but doesn’t dominate the mayonnaise. Again, do some testing and try different oils to see what you and your family like.

A glass of liquid is sitting on the table.

Ready to Blend

You’ll notice this is taking place in a simple Cuisinart immersion blender cup. This is the secret to the 30 seconds, as it does away with the dribbling oil into a blender or food processor. You simply add the ingredients…

A person is holding a blender in their hand.

Blending the Mayo

…and insert the immersion blender all the way to the bottom of the cup before turning it on. Ours has two speeds, so I will start the process on low to puree the egg and solids at the bottom for 3 – 5 seconds, then switch to high as I slowly pull it upwards. You’ll see the emulsification process taking place as the blender works its way upwards.

A glass of orange juice being stirred with a metal mixer.

Mayonnaise too Thin?

If you get to the top of the cup and see the mayonnaise is too thin for your liking – don’t worry! Set the blender aside and add that second egg. It will go to the bottom, so repeat the blender at the bottom on low, switching to high as you pull it upwards. You’ll see the same process taking place, but the mayonnaise will be much thicker this time.

A glass filled with liquid and a yellow object.

Thick European Style Mayonnaise

This is what the difference the second egg makes. This reminds me of the fresh made mayonnaise I used to enjoy in Belgium with fresh hot french fries, lightly salted and sprinkled with paprika. In much of Europe, french fries (called frites) are mostly eaten with fresh mayonnaise as a dipping sauce, or with mustard. Ketchup was unusual, and a sure sign that you are a foreigner!

I quickly came to realize the perfect marriage of flavors of the fresh mayonnaise and hot, slightly salty fries.

A person is cutting some green vegetables with a knife.

Chopping Fresh Herbs

The garlic chives are fairly finely chopped, along with the parsley. I wanted a bit more of a chunky texture, but you can make it smoother with a more finely diced or minced herb mixture.

A blender filled with green liquid and some parsley.

Blending Fresh Herbs

The herbs are added and the blender does its magic again!

The result is a creamy, thick and luscious mayonnaise with an aroma and flavor that you will love! After a taste or two, you will understand the vast difference in flavors from this to the store-bought varieties.

A jar of yellow liquid on top of a table.

Glass Jar Storage

Find Garlic Chives Here!

Find Parsley Here!

To store, simply scoop into a glass jar. The recipe above will yield enough for a pint plus a little bit more for tasting. Store in the refrigerator for up to a month, but we’ve never had it last nearly that long!

As easy as it is to make, whip up a couple of different versions for sandwiches, or for french fries, or to add on top of a steak – try olive oil and rosemary for that one!

Once you make a couple of versions, let us know which one you like best and what you use it for in the comments below!

by Stephen Scott