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.
Most flowers will also benefit, as will many succulents (just don't overwater them). 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.
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!
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!!
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.
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.
Using eggshells for fertiliser
For fertiliser, Craig suggests using a mortar and pestle for crushing and sprinkling crumbled shells directly into planting holes, which he says particularly benefits vegetables such as tomatoes and peppers, as well as roses and hydrangeas.
While plants need nitrogen (remember the NPK on fertilizers), too much nitrogen will create lots of green leaves but few berries or fruits. This means potassium-rich banana peels are excellent for plants like tomatoes, peppers or flowers. Banana peels also contain calcium, which prevents blossom end rot in tomatoes.
You can also 'batch brew' your own fertilizer by mixing your crushed eggshells with white vinegar. Doing a bit at a time, mix one part eggshell to one part vinegar. Let it sit for an hour or so, before adding to water (about 4 tablespoons of solution to a gallon of water).
Which plants like coffee grounds? Especially plants that like acidic soil are very happy with coffee grounds. For example, your beautiful hydrangeas, your radiant roses, the lawn or the lavender bushes, but also the gardenia, chamomile and rhododendrons.
There are multiple plants that benefit from eggshells in your garden. Tomatoes, peppers, broccoli, spinach, lettuce, Swiss chard, flowers, strawberries and squash are some examples!
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.
Avoid using coffee grounds on alkaline-loving trees, such as linden, ironwood, red chestnut and arborvitae. Coffee grounds used as mulch or compost inhibit plant growth on geranium, asparagus fern, Chinese mustard and Italian ryegrass. Definitely don't use coffee grounds with these plants.
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.
How often can I put coffee grounds on my tomato plants? A sprinkling of coffee grounds mixed into the soil before planting tomatoes will not harm the plants. However, no additional coffee grounds should be added to the soil during the growing season.
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.
Banana peels are a great ingredient for your compost or worm farm, adding lots of nutrients to the organic recycling process. Council is making purchasing your organic recycling system easier with our compost rebate program.
However, if you prefer tea from time to time, you've likely wondered if your used tea leaves and bags can be added to your composting pile, too. Composting tea bags is an environmentally-friendly practice that all tea drinkers should consider incorporating in their daily routines.
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.
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.
Banana peels are also brimming with potassium, which is excellent for plants like tomatoes, peppers or flowers. “Banana peels also contain calcium, which prevents blossom end rot in tomatoes,” the Cape Gazette adds.