I've read that milk used on new baby seedlings will stop "damping-off" disease. It really works. I've had people come back to me after receiving this advice saying that they didn't lose any more babies after using milk. I had the same results in my garden as well.
There is an article out there done by researches who used milk on cucurbit mildew problems and milk stopped the mildew better than a fungicide.
I've been telling people with fungus gnat problems to add milk to their water. Fungus gnats love fungus and decaying matter. You can try the milk to prevent fungus. Don't put compost or let leaves decompose on the soil of houseplants because it attracts gnats by creating decaying matter. Use spaghnum moss on the surface because it too has anti-fungal properties. See my article on fungus gnats for more information.
Now, milk...what kind of milk do you use? Apparently you can use any kind of milk but straight for the cow is preferable since processed milk loses much of it nutrient properties. However, since most of us don't have milking cows, you can use any kind of milk including powder milk. In fact, powdered milk is cheaper and easier to add to water. Not only that, but it won't go rancid. I've used whole milk in my water and it's never gone rancid, but I started using powder for reasons stated above.
It's the amount of milk that makes a difference. I used 1 cup of milk per gallon of water. You can drop it to 1/2 cup of milk and still get the same results.
My garden this year suffered from mildew/mold and no telling what else. I don't have a hose here that has a connector on the end and couldn't afford a new hose. When spring comes, I'll have a new hose to go with my hose-end sprayer. I plan on adding milk to the rim in the sprayer and having a bit of fun watering my outdoor plants to see if it makes a difference in 2002's gardening year.
Still unsure? Milk even in it's processed form still has nutrients such as calcium that even in small amounts is good for a garden. So use it for it's nutrients as well as it's anti-fungal properties.
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