As well as putting them on your compost heap, you can also add crushed eggshells in soil. Known as egg fertiliser, it's an inexpensive and often very effective way of enriching plants that are growing in pots or in the ground.
Eggshells are a fantastic addition to the garden! Not only are they a natural pest repellent, but they also provided much-needed calcium for your plants. Winter is the perfect time to start saving eggshells so you'll have a nice little stockpile when spring arrives! Eggshells are a fantastic addition to the garden!
Plants like tomatoes, peppers and eggplants in particular will benefit from shell fertilizer, Savio said. The extra calcium will help prevent blossom-end rot. Broccoli, cauliflower, Swiss chard, spinach and amaranth are also calcium-packed and could use extra from eggshells.
The advantage of using crushed eggshell is less energy needed for preparation, but the disadvantage relies on the time needed for eggshell degradation before it can provide nutrients for plants (Mitchell, 2005; Rai et al., 2014).
The eggshells provide calcium, potassium and magnesium, which are essential for healthy plant growth! Natural pest deterrent – The sharp edges of the eggshells also act as a natural pest deterrent, helping keep critters away from your plants and protecting the roots.
"Plants like strawberries, blueberries, kale, and cabbage prefer slightly acidic soil and adding in eggshells can do more harm than good," says Jen McDonald, certified organic gardener and co-founder of Garden Girls, a garden design company based in Houston, Texas.
Eggshells take a lot longer to break down compared to many other compostable goods, and too many of them can increase the acidity of your compost. This shouldn't be a problem, unless you plan on using it to grow plants that prefer low soil pH.
Eggshells can make for great composting material, but the water you boil your eggs in can also be useful in the garden. Eggshell water is a nutrient-rich drink for your plants and an inexpensive fertilizer option.
The reaction of the eggshell in vinegar is an acid-base reaction. When you submerge an egg in vinegar, the shell dissolves, leaving the inner semi-permeable membrane intact. Vinegar (acid) breaks apart the solid calcium carbonate crystals (base) in the eggshell into their calcium and carbonate parts.
Depending on the size of your garden, compile enough of each component to contribute a moderate amount to each hungry plant. Combine the two together, crush the eggshells by hand even more (which should be easier now that they're fully dry), and sprinkle the mixture across the soil bed.
Tea Can Work As A Natural Fertilizer
As the tea leaves and bag begin to break down and decompose, they release nutrients into the soil that helps plants retain water and thrive. That said, you should use tea only on your plants that like acidic soil.
The eggshells will naturally decompose, and they will add calcium and nitrogen to your soil; necessary nutrients for your plants. Calcium is very good for tomatoes because it prevents blossom end rot.
You can put raw or cooked eggshells in compost, either washed or not, depending on how concerned you are about pests in your compost. You can put them in as is, but you will find that eggshells take a lot longer to break down in compost than other materials.
As they break down, coffee grounds release nitrogen, an essential nutrient for healthy foliage growth. They are also a source of other primary nutrients including potassium and phosphorus, as well as micronutrients such as boron, calcium, copper, iron, magnesium, and zinc. Find out more on soil basics.
Optional: Grind three eggshells into powder. Combine with four tablespoons of banana peel powder and one tablespoon Epsom salt. Put the mixture into a spray bottle, and fill to the top with water. Shake until the powder and salt are dissolved.
Lay shells evenly on a sheet pan. Bake at 400°F for 10 minutes to dry the shells. Transfer shells to a food processor and pulse until finely crushed. Spread a thin layer of eggshell powder around the roots of vulnerable garden plants (repeat after heavy rain).
According to our friends at Delish, adding a teaspoon of baking soda to your boiling pot of water will help the shell peel off seamlessly. Why? The alkaline in the baking soda will help your egg whites loosen up from the shell, making it easier to peel.
Because it takes several months for eggshells to break down and be absorbed by a plant's roots, it is recommended that they be tilled into the soil in fall. More shells can be mixed into your soil in the spring.
Banana peels can be placed directly onto pot plant soil, or around the base of your garden as mulch. As they decompose, they will release nutrients into the soil to feed plants. If using banana peels in your garden, place a single layer straight on top of the soil, being sure not to let them touch the plant stem.
Can I Just Sprinkle Epsom Salt on Plants? Never apply Epsom salt straight from the package. Always dilute the granules in water first, and either drench your plants' roots or spray it on the foliage. Don't spray on hot or sunny days, however, to avoid scorching the foliage.
It is beneficial to use egg shells when growing your own vegetables like tomato, pepper and aubergine or plants such as roses, hydrangeas, spider plants, ferns and ivy. Another way to add this homemade fertiliser to your plants is through a calcium solution.
Tomatoes thrive in loamy soils with good drainage and high organic matter content. Adding composted coffee grounds to planting beds is a great way to build healthy soil for tomato planting but won't provide all the required nutrients.
Egg residue can attract rodents to the garden. You may want to crush and recycle the shells in your compost pile and sprinkle the more attractive coffee grounds on the soil of vegetables, flowers and other plantings.