"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.
Which plants don't like eggshells? Most plants thrive with the low soil acidity that eggshells help create. However, some plants do better with acidic soil. These include ferns, azaleas, and blueberries. Be sure to check the soil requirements for your plants before fertilizing.
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.
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.
For example, lavender does not enjoy acidic soil. If the soil in your region is acidic, mix eggshells in it to make the soil neutral and tolerable for the plant to grow properly.
Wondering what plants don't like eggshells? It's best to avoid using them on varieties that naturally prefer more acidic soil, such as azaleas and geraniums.
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.
The calcium in the shells will strengthen the tomato plants, give you more buds (aka: tomatoes!) and sometimes even prevent blossom end rot – that brown disease that sometimes makes the bottom of your tomatoes brown and yucky!!
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Are coffee grounds good for plants? Coffee grounds are an excellent compost ingredient and are fine to apply directly onto the soil around most garden plants if used with care and moderation. Coffee grounds contain nutrients that plants use for growth.
Mice typically do not like coffee grounds scattered around the kitchen. The strong aroma of coffee is generally unpleasant to mice, which can act as a deterrent.
Many gardeners use eggs in the garden to boost soil nutrients. Try putting eggshells in your compost. You can also plant eggshells or a whole egg in the hole before planting tomato plants.
The biggest benefit after tomatoes is to cucumbers. Place the crushed shells of a dozen eggs right down in their planting holes to provide easy-to-reach calcium, and your cukes will be noticeably crisper — and that crispness will extend to any cukes that you put up into pickles.
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.
"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.
Prevent Fungal Disease
MAKE IT: Mix 1 teaspoon of baking soda and 2-3 drops of liquid soap in 1 liter of water. Spray the solution on the infected plants. Baking soda helps the plants become less acidic and prevents fungal growth.
As the tomato plant matures, you can work in one tablespoon of Ultra Epsom Salt per foot of plant height around the base of each tomato plant, or use the tank sprayer solution previously mentioned and spray plants every two weeks.
Magnesium is needed to give leaves their green colour, so when there's a deficiency, yellow breaks through between the veins and around the leaf edges instead. Other colours, such as purple, brown or red, might also appear. Older leaves suffer first, and will die if they're not given any treatment.