Whether you’re baking a sweet cake or crafting a delicious brunch, you’ll likely find yourself cracking a few eggs along the way. We often indulge in the yolks and whites (check out our recipes page for some culinary ideas), but typically discard the tough, crunchy shells.
For many of us who enjoy cooking, dealing with eggshells in compost can be a headache. I still vividly recall my excitement as I gathered my first batch of compost—my kitchen scraps and yard debris had transformed into rich, dark humus. The only exceptions? The numerous eggshells that hadn’t broken down.
However, I’ve since tweaked my approach, and now, those stubborn shell pieces are no longer an issue—and they don’t have to be for you either. I’m here to share not only how to incorporate them effectively into your compost but also to explore their other uses as soil amendments and potential pest deterrents.
Don’t be too quick to throw those eggshells away. They can be wonderfully repurposed in the garden. Need a little fertilizer for your flowerbeds or planning to plant some seeds for the upcoming spring and summer? Consider using those leftover shells as a natural boon.
Before you consider discarding your eggshells, think again. Using them as fertilizer can enrich the soil, helping your plants absorb vital nutrients, promoting vigorous growth, and maintaining soil acidity levels.
So next time you whip up an omelet, think twice about tossing those shells in the garbage. Let’s dive into some of our favorite ways to reuse eggshells, reducing food waste and giving your garden a fresh burst of life.
The Surprising Benefits of Eggshells for Your Garden and Beyond
Eggshells, while fantastic at protecting their contents, can be quite a space-hog in your trash or compost if not crushed. It’s surprising how many people toss them in the trash without thinking twice.
Did you know that in the U.S., about 150,000 tons of eggshells end up in landfills each year? That’s almost a million pounds every day! That’s a lot of space taken up by these calcium-packed shells.
Now, these aren’t just any shells. Composed of 95% calcium carbonate along with small amounts of phosphorus, magnesium, and traces of other minerals, eggshells are a powerhouse of nutrients, primarily boosting soil health. They are similar to garden lime, which is used to raise soil pH levels, enhancing its alkalinity.
This is crucial because calcium is vital for plant growth—it helps develop strong cell walls and new growth areas in roots, shoots, and leaves. It even helps combat blossom-end rot in plants like tomatoes, which suffer from black spots due to calcium shortages.
However, before you start sprinkling crushed eggshells in your garden, it’s wise to check if your plants prefer acidic or alkaline soil. While veggies like tomatoes and peppers thrive with extra calcium, acid-loving plants like blueberries and azaleas might not appreciate it as much. A soil test can tell you if your garden could benefit from that extra calcium boost.
Besides garden benefits, eggshells have even been found to enrich coffee by slightly raising its pH and adding a dash of dietary calcium—something my friend Ruth would have cherished had she known. Beyond the garden, recent studies highlight their health benefits, such as improving bone and cartilage formation in people with osteoporosis.
It’s truly a waste to throw these nutrient-rich shells away, especially when they could replace costly garden additives like agricultural lime. Research from Iowa State University even shows that eggshells can reduce soil acidity just as effectively as commercial lime.
Recognized as a viable organic fertilizer, crushed eggshell meal offers a sustainable way to enrich your garden soil, proving that what’s often discarded can provide substantial benefits for both your plants and the planet.
Use Eggshells to Fertilize the Garden
Wondering if your garden could use a calcium boost? It’s a great idea to start with a soil test to check the current calcium levels. For plants like tomatoes that are prone to blossom-end rot, adding calcium can be incredibly beneficial.
A fascinating study in the March 2016 issue of the International Journal of Innovative Research in Science, Engineering, and Technology by researchers Madhavi Gaonkar and A. P. Chakraborty found that finely ground eggshells are an excellent natural calcium source.
They discovered that when eggshells are powdered, they can balance soil calcium effectively, helping to prevent issues like blossom-end rot.
However, not all plants thrive in calcium-enriched soil. Acid-loving plants, such as blueberries, prefer more acidic conditions and wouldn’t benefit from alkaline amendments like calcium.
Charles C. Mitchell, an extension agronomist with the Alabama Cooperative Extension, also noted that for eggshells to be effective, they must be ground to a finer consistency than sand to make the calcium readily available to plants.
Beyond just preventing blossom-end rot, finely ground eggshells can also help prevent apple cork spot and serve as an alternative lawn amendment to lime. But before you go all-in with calcium, it’s wise to understand how different plants utilize nutrients and minerals.
Remember, while nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium are critical for plant growth, calcium is crucial for developing strong cell walls—the “bones” of a plant.
For practical application, grind eggshells using a mixer, grinder, or mortar and pestle and mix them into your soil. Since eggshells take several months to break down and become absorbed by plant roots, it’s best to incorporate them into the soil during fall preparation.
You can also place finely crushed shells mixed with organic matter at the bottom of planting holes to help new plants thrive, particularly calcium-loving tomatoes.
For a nutrient-rich boost, mix your eggshells with coffee grounds, another excellent nitrogen source, and sprinkle this blend in your garden or planting holes. During the off-season, keep crushing those shells and sprinkle them over the soil to prepare it for spring planting.
Alternatively, for a direct nutrient hit, turn crushed eggshells into a water-soluble calcium solution for your watering can, ensuring the roots absorb it quickly.
Here’s a simple guide to making your own eggshell fertilizer right at home.
- Step 1: Collect and Clean
Start by gathering your eggshells. Give them a quick rinse under the tap to get rid of any egg residue—this helps prevent attracting any unwanted pests or odors. Toss them into an ovenproof dish; you can use anything from a cookie sheet to a casserole dish. How quickly it fills up will depend on your egg consumption.
- Step 2: Dry
The next time you’re baking, use the opportunity to dry your eggshells. Just place the dish in the oven while it preheats. Keep the temperature below 350°F, especially if you’re using a glass dish to avoid any cracking. This step not only dries them but also sanitizes them by killing potential salmonella.
- Step 3: Grind
Once the shells are dry, it’s time to grind them into a fine powder. A blender works best for this—just process them in small batches until they reach a powdery consistency. Store the powder in a mason jar, and consider adding a silica packet to keep it dry if you’re not using it right away.
- Usage
Your homemade eggshell powder is perfect for nourishing fruit-bearing plants like tomatoes, strawberries, and eggplants, as well as most flowers and many succulents—just watch the watering. To use, simply sprinkle the powder directly onto the soil around your plants.
Use Eggshells In Compost
Composting is an incredibly effective way to manage your kitchen waste, including those bits of fruits and veggies you can’t eat. Setting up a compost bin is super simple and can even fit into small spaces like a balcony or your kitchen. You don’t need a big backyard to get started!
You’d be surprised at the variety of kitchen scraps that can go into your compost. Beyond just the usual peels and pits, things like coffee grounds, plastic-free tea bags, and eggshells are perfect for composting.
Turning your food waste into compost not only reduces your environmental impact but also enriches your compost with essential nutrients. Speaking of nutrients, did you know eggshells are packed with calcium, which is vital for most plants to flourish?
If you’ve never thought about composting eggshells, there are some compelling reasons to start. While eggshells take a bit longer to break down due to their hardness, crushing them helps speed up the decomposition process.
Why focus on composting? It keeps waste from ending up in landfills, where it breaks down much slower due to lack of oxygen, making the process smelly and inefficient. In contr ast, composting in an aerobic environment helps food waste decompose quickly and cleanly, producing valuable nutrients like nitrogen, phosphorus, and magnesium.
But what about eggshells in compost? It’s best to avoid composting the egg’s insides as they could attract pests and cause odors. Crushed eggshells, however, contribute greatly to the mix. They provide calcium and help maintain the health of your compost pile.
If you’re using a worm bin, crushed eggshells can also aid in worm digestion, as they require grit similar to that which chickens use.
Before tossing eggshells into your bin, it’s a good idea to rinse and crush them into a fine powder. This ensures they blend seamlessly into your compost, avoiding any large, noticeable pieces, and providing a boost of nutrients that help plants build strong cell walls.
Here’s how to make sure they decompose more quickly, enriching your compost with valuable nutrients.
- Crushing Eggshells: Start by crushing the eggshells by hand and throwing them into your compost bin. To speed up their decomposition, grind the shells into a fine powder using a coffee grinder. It’s best to use a separate grinder from the one you use for your coffee to avoid mixing flavors.
- Drying Out Eggshells: Before crushing, dry the eggshells to make them easier to smash into tiny bits. You can air-dry them for a few days or speed up the process by spreading them on a cookie sheet and popping them into a warm oven.
- Making Liquid Fertilizer: Got a bunch of eggshells? Turn them into a nutritious liquid fertilizer. Boil 10 to 20 eggshells, let the mixture sit overnight, and then strain it. Use this solution to water your plants every couple of weeks, using up to 2 cups per plant.
Eggcellent Seed Starters
Have you ever thought about using eggshells as seed starting containers? This method isn’t just inventive but also eco-friendly and cost-effective.
Eggshells are natural, packed with calcium, and ideal for giving your plants a healthy start. Once your seedlings outgrow their unique homes, you can plant them directly into your garden, shell and all, enriching the soil as they decompose.
Here’s how to get started: first, give your empty eggshells a thorough rinse to remove any egg residue. Then, secure them in an egg carton to keep them upright. Fill each half-shell with potting soil, drop in a seed or two, and gently water them. It’s a delight to watch herbs and flowers sprout right from these shells!
However, keep in mind that eggshells have their limits. They’re perfect for smaller, low-growing plants like thyme or certain succulents, which won’t outpace their compact space too quickly. Taller plants, like tomatoes, might sprout up fast and will need to be moved to larger pots within a few weeks.
To prepare your eggshells, ensure they are clean and sterile to prevent any plant diseases. Wash them with warm, soapy water or boil them to sanitize. Make sure to poke a few drainage holes in the bottom of each shell to keep the soil well-drained—using a metal paper clip works great for this.
When it’s time to transplant, gently remove the seedling by either lifting it with a small spoon or breaking the shell to free the roots. This careful transfer helps avoid stress and damage to the young plants. So why not give your garden a boost with this sustainable and charming method? It’s a small step towards a greener world, right from your kitchen!
Use as a Pest Deterrent
Want a clever, eco-friendly way to keep pests at bay in your garden? Try scattering crushed eggshells around your plants! This method is particularly effective against cutworms—those pesky caterpillars notorious for snipping off the tops of your tender young seedlings.
By creating a sharp, crunchy barrier with these eggshell pieces, you can protect the delicate stems of your seedlings from these voracious little critters.
However, when it comes to combatting slugs and snails, the effectiveness of eggshells is a bit more debatable. These garden pests, known for munching on leaves, flowers, and fruits, might not be as deterred by the jagged edges of eggshells as one would hope.
In fact, various tests, including the good old slug-on-a-paper-plate experiment, have shown that eggshells do little to stop their slimy trail. Instead of relying on eggshells for slugs, you might want to consider other strategies such as switching to drip irrigation, setting up traps, or installing copper barriers around your plants.
Despite these findings, eggshells can still serve as a deterrent for other garden invaders. For instance, their bright white color can fool cabbage white butterflies into thinking another competitor is nearby, keeping them away from your brassicas.
Also, if you’re dealing with furry felines treating your garden bed like a personal sandbox, the crunchy texture of eggshells can make it less appealing for them.
Read The Guide to Building a Safe and Fun Garden for Your Cat!
If you’re thinking of using eggshells to keep pests at bay, try crushing them into coarse, sharp fragments rather than grinding them into powder. After drying and heating your shells as previously mentioned, skip the blender or coffee grinder; these tools tend to make the pieces too fine to effectively scare off pests.
Instead, get hands-on and crush the shells yourself. You can use a mortar and pestle for smaller quantities or a rolling pin on a baking sheet for larger batches. Once crushed, store the shell pieces in a jar, or better yet, take them straight to your garden and sprinkle them around your plants to protect them from unwanted visitors.
While the verdict on eggshells as a slug deterrent remains up in the air, using them in your garden is a safe bet for some level of pest control—plus, they won’t alter your soil’s pH in the short term.
Unlock the Benefits of Boiled Eggshell Water for Your Garden
Next time you whip up a batch of hard-boiled eggs, don’t let that water go to waste! Instead of pouring it down the drain, why not give your garden a little love?
Here’s a simple tip: after boiling eggs, let the water cool to room temperature and then use it to hydrate and nourish your plants. It’s a nifty way to recycle and enrich your garden soil simultaneously.
Here’s how you can make your own eggshell water:
- Start by boiling a gallon of water.
- Toss in 10-20 cleaned eggshells.
- Let the mixture sit and infuse overnight.
- The next day, strain out the shells and use the water to quench your plants’ thirst.
This milky concoction can work wonders, providing a gentle nutrient boost to the soil. For optimal results, try giving your plants about two cups of this homemade elixir weekly. You can even store any extra in a sealed container for later use.
But How Effective Is It Really?
You might be curious about the actual benefits of eggshell water. Well, it does provide a modest amount of nutrients. Jeff Gillman, in his book The Truth About Garden Remedies, explores this by noting that a single eggshell can impart around 4 milligrams of calcium and potassium to the water after being steeped for a day—just a tiny fraction of the 2,200 milligrams of calcium typically found in an eggshell.
For a more substantial calcium boost, David Austin from the University of Florida IFAS suggests a different approach. He recommends grinding the shells into a fine powder and adding them directly to your compost or soil, which can provide a more immediate benefit.
So, if you’re looking for a simple way to add a light dose of nutrients to your plants, using boiled egg water is a great option. Not only does it help in reducing waste, but it also provides a sustainable solution to support your garden’s health.
What About Salmonella?
What about the risk of salmonella from using eggshells in your garden? You might wonder if it’s safe to use them, especially since eggs can carry salmonella. However, this is generally not a concern with eggs that are intact and have been thoroughly cleaned.
But just to be on the safe side, I always wash my eggshells thoroughly and dry them on a sunny windowsill before using them anywhere but the compost bin.
To prepare eggshells for the garden, I like to bake them in the oven. This not only dries out the eggshells but also kills any salmonella by drying the sticky inner membrane thoroughly.
Just a quick blast of moist heat at 170.6°F is enough to zap salmonella, and my oven method certainly goes above and beyond that. This means you can use your eggshells in the garden without worry.
If you’re planning to store ground eggshells, perhaps to use as a calcium supplement for your dog, make sure to sterilize them at 200°F for 30 minutes. Once they’re powdered—easily done with a coffee grinder or a mortar and pestle—you can store them in an airtight container. They’ll last indefinitely, which is great!
Now, with that worry out of the way, you can focus on the fun stuff, like planning how to mark the next naked gardening day!
Should You Crush Eggshells or Grind Them to a Powder?
Wondering whether to crush or powder your eggshells? Here’s the scoop: if your plants are showing signs of distress, grinding the shells into a fine powder can be a quick fix. This form allows the calcium to integrate seamlessly into the soil, giving your plants a much-needed boost.
On the other hand, if you’re looking to kick-start your garden or fend off pests, roughly crushed eggshells might be the way to go. They break down slowly, enriching the soil over time and deterring unwelcome critters.
And let’s not forget about your feathered friends—chickens love eggshells! Tossing them back into their diet is a great way to replenish the calcium they need for laying sturdy, healthy eggs.
Most laying hens require about 4-5 grams of calcium daily, and while oyster shells are a staple in my coop, the hens also enjoy chomping on their own eggshells. It’s an easy, effective way to ensure they’re getting their essential nutrients.
Which Plants Like Eggshells?
Wondering which plants thrive with a sprinkle of eggshells in their soil? Fast-growing plants are prime candidates, as they tend to exhaust the soil’s calcium quickly. Eggshells, rich in calcium carbonate, work best with plants that prefer a less acidic environment.
Think tomatoes, peppers, and eggplants, as well as decorative favorites like ivy, hydrangeas, roses, and ferns. They all enjoy the boost from nutrient-rich, eggshell-amended soil.
I recall a time when I spotted unsightly black patches on the underside of our garden’s tomatoes. These otherwise perfect tomatoes looked as though they’d seen better days.
After digging around for answers, I learned these blemishes, known as “blossom end rot,” were due to a calcium deficiency. This is where eggshells come into play, providing that crucial calcium to prevent such issues and promote robust, healthy growth.
Blossom end rot can affect the fruit’s end opposite the stem, leading to decay and reduced yield. It commonly affects tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, and squashes like zucchini. Garden lore often suggests placing crushed eggshells directly into planting holes to combat this.
However, for quick effectiveness, it’s better to grind the eggshells into a fine powder. This ensures they decompose swiftly enough to benefit the plants.
But remember, only add eggshells if your soil lacks calcium, as confirmed by a soil test. Excess calcium won’t help and might distract from other care essentials.
For plants already receiving adequate calcium, focus on maintaining consistent soil moisture and avoiding root damage by not digging near the plant base. This balanced approach ensures your plants can absorb available nutrients and remain vibrant and productive.
Related posts:
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- Unlock the Power of Cinnamon in Your Garden: A Natural Protector and Growth Booster
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