I believe milk would work better do to the lactobacillus, I belive their is a thread in the organics section on this.
Here is the post I was talking about. Hope this helps Powdery mildew sucks EM-1 is a commercial lacto baccillus serum that has about 10-12 different lacto strains and the makers consider this a proprietary formula. I have it and use it for many things around my home. I use it ( AEM) to make Bokashi Bran. This can be used in a Bokashi Bucket... a bucket that composts your kitchen scraps by partially fermenting them rather than fully breaking them down. The Bokashi compost can then be used as worm food, or added to a regular compost pile. Bokashi Bran can be used an activator to a compost pile, as worm food and even fed to chickens, (it's a probiotic) When I make AEM (activated EM-1) I use 1:1:20 EM-1 serum/molasses/water and ferment 2-3 weeks or until the fermentation hits<3.4 pH. Once the correct pH is reached, the AEM is ready to use. I use it as a spray in my chicken coops as a deodorizer. If you take your used soil, add a dry fertilizer blend, then use AEM diluted 5:1 with water and spray your used soil, the AEM will break down the root matter and fertilizer leaving your used soil ready to replant in (I recommend an ACT application prior to), I've treated PM outbreaks on my squash with AEM....The low pH makes it inhospitable to PM. You need to continue treatments or the PM will return, but it is a good organic way to treat PM. You can use AEM to make organic liquid fertilizers adding AEM, water and plant material to a jug and letting the bacteria release the elements from the plant material. If you look into the mineral content of various fruits/veggies, you can make concoctions geared towards flowering or vegging. If you're using an amended organic soil with good compost/EWC, an occasional drench with EM-1/AEM is healthy for the soil. The EM-1 sites purport that spraying your plants with EM helps growth, I'm on the fence on that one. So, in answer to your question, EM-1 has a lot of benefits above and beyond gardening, and is also a useful tool to organic gardeners. You've seen the name Gil Carandang mentioned in this thread.....he is a Philipino gentleman that has published a lot of work on making your own EM-1 using BIM (beneficial indigenous microorganisms). His work involves teaching peasant farmers how to make their own serum which contains area specific lacto strains. These methods enable these small farmers to become self sufficient without having to use chemicals on their food crops. If you're of a mind to, Google his name and read some of his work. He goes into detail on making FPE's with banana/squash/papaya for example. All of these contain the minerals that are necessary for plant growth. It's a little more involved than buying a bottle of FF, but once you get the hang of it, the extra work is rewarding. cheers, chunk