Milky way: Pingtan farmer fertilizes tomatoes with gone-off milk

You Tianjin (right) and Liu Tiancheng (left) examine the tomatoes growing in their plantation base in Lubei village in Luyang township, Pingtan. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Fields of tomato plants are growing luxuriantly in You Tianjin's vegetable production base in Lubei, a small village in Pingtan, Fujian province. But unlike much of the produce found on supermarket shelves, the fuel for You's thriving tomatoes is not chemical fertilizers, but expired milk.

The 59-year-old now devotes more than 30 acres of his land to growing his dairy-weaned fruit, and he has found that his unusual fertilizer has a number of advantages.

"The tomatoes fed with milk have a surprisingly good taste—refreshing, sweet and crispy," said You. "In addition to milk, I also fertilize the tomatoes with bean pulp."

The milk not only makes the tomatoes extra tasty, its high calcium, iron and zinc content also greatly improves the tomatoes' resistance to disease in the middle and later stages of their growth.

As a result, You's tomatoes are completely free of pesticides.

In China, where food safety-conscious consumers are often more willing to pay for organic produce than in other countries, this also brings another significant bonus.

"The price of the tomatoes cultivated with the two special fertilizers is 30 percent higher than that of ordinary tomatoes on the market," introduced Liu Tiancheng, technical consultant of the vegetable production base.