Why Use Eggshells?
There are dozens of home items that you might would throw away without a second thought but guess what? They could really increase the health and production of your garden. For this article (don’t worry, there will be more articles!), we are focusing on eggshells. I love using eggshells in my garden, they are easy to prepare and with all the baking I do, I always have a good supply on hand.
Now you might be thinking how to turn this everyday trash into a treat for your plants and what applications could there be? Well, we will discuss how to use eggshells as a soil amendment, seed starters, and in pest control. So many benefits from a simple little eggshell!
If you read our previous article (Growing Plants: Essential Nutrients for Healthy Plants), you already know that plants need calcium to survive. Calcium helps plants create strong cell walls, reducing their vulnerability to disease. It also assists with proper cell division when growing, along with increasing it’s ability to absorb and retain the other vital nutrients. If your plants are lacking calcium, then you may notice that their leaves, fruit, or flowers may be deformed or show other abnormalities. The leaves could be lacking their green color and the plant’s growth could be extremely stunted. Lucky for us, eggshells are primarily made up of calcium carbonate with trace amounts of magnesium (another essential nutrient).
In terms of soil composition, most plants thrive when the soil pH is between 5.5 and 6.5. Since an eggshell is made up mostly of calcium carbonate, it is the main component in limestone. If you have ever had to amend your soil to bring down the pH level, you have probably used calcium carbonate.
How to Use it as a Soil Amendment:
Eggshells can be mixed into the soil in the fall, allowing it time to start decomposing for the spring planting. Just till it in while prepping your soil for winter. In the spring, you can also use eggshells by sprinkling them in the hole before planting. I do this with all of my plants when I’m transplanting indoors to outside.
So what plants would benefit from it? All of them. Since calcium is an essential nutrient for all plants, this method will work for any plant. I will say, however, that it has been found that the following plants are benefited more by calcium: apples, broccoli, brussel sprouts, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, celery, cherries, citrus, conifers, cotton, curcurbits, melons, grapes, legumes, lettuce, peaches, peanuts, pears, peppers, potatoes, tobacco, and tomatoes (Agronomic Library). I would recommend if you are in short supply of eggshells, to focus on those plants first.
There is minor preparation that needs to be done prior to using the eggshells to make sure you are getting the most from your eggshells, but don’t worry, it’s quick and easy!
Materials:
- Eggshells
- Baking Sheet
- Paper Towels
- Bowl
- Blender
- Storage Container (I like to use mason jars)
First, you need to collect all your egg shells. I like to save my eggshells in the carton until I’ve used all the eggs. This makes for easy storage and less clutter in my refrigerator. Once I have a full carton, I start prepping the eggshells for the garden.
I like to soak my eggshells in warm water (just from the faucet) for 5 minutes. This helps get rid of any bits of egg that were left in the shell. At this point I would preheat the oven to 250°F. Drain eggshells and place on a paper towel. Wipe off any bits of egg that are remaining on the shell.
Soaking in Warm Water Dry Eggshells
Place the eggshells on the baking sheet in a single layer so they heat evenly. Bake for 17-20 minutes, just until the edges of the eggshell start to turn light brown.
Let cool for 5 minutes when blend eggshells until they are a coarse powder. Just as a note, I use my Cuisinart smoothie blender for this but it does scratch up the plastic blending container so I have dedicated it to this specific task. Just keep it in mind when deciding what to use to blend the eggshells. You could also do this by hand by putting the eggshells in a plastic bag and crushing them but you wont be able to get the eggshell as small as the blender would. You could also use a mortar and pestle to do this but it would take a little longer to get everything crushed.
All done, now you can add the eggshells to your garden. I like to keep my eggshells in a mason jar and use as needed.
Storage Use During Planting
The Perfect Seed Starter:
Eggshells make the perfect seed starter because it can easily hold the soil due to their shape and will provide important minerals and nutrients to your plants long after you have transplanted them into your garden.
If you have any eggshells that are on the more intact side, you can use these as mini “pots” for your seedlings. Simply add a little potting soil and plant your seed into a clean eggshell. When you are ready to add to the garden, lightly crush the eggshell and plant.
As Pest Control:
I like to use this method throughout the growing season when I see evidence of snails and slugs in my garden. Use the same preparation method as in the soil amendment section. Then simply put a ring of eggshells around the base of the plant and it will act like glass to them. This helps keep your plants protected. Just make sure you don’t have any drooping leaves outside of the circle or they will be able to just travel up the leaves instead.
Jalapeño Plant Crushed Eggshells
Thank you everyone for reading this article! If you have any handy tips or tricks for using eggshells in the garden, please post in the comments for everyone to see!
