How to Use Eggshells in the Garden
Eggshells in the garden are great for using kitchen waste to help plants thrive and add more nutrients. They are also a good calcium source that can benefit your soil and plants. Simply by using this green method, you can improve yours and make it a vibrant, fertile zone in no time.
Grounded fine powder and eggshells help boost tomato production due to their high calcium content. They also enrich compost and balance acidic soils, which can be great additions to any organic garden. Putting eggshells in your compost pile will also discourage pests, yet another layer of natural plant security.
Either way, you can crush eggshells and sprinkle them into your garden soil or steep in water to create a calcium-rich tea. It helps the calcium absorb into the soil, assisting hungry plants (like our tomatoes) that need a little boost.
With these alternatives to throwing them away, you are aiding an eco-friendly gardening technique that results in healthier plants and a cleaner environment.
How to Prepare and Use Eggshells in the Garden
Using eggshells in the garden can improve soil and add nutrients to your plants. Here are the steps for collecting, cleaning, and crushing eggshells for use in your garden or seed containers.
Getting Eggshells Cleaned and Ready for Craft Time
Crack the eggshells whenever you use another one in your kitchen and save them every time. Run under some tap water to rinse any excess egg white. This simple step will help prevent the shells from browning.
It also prevents any smell in the trash and lowers the chances of salmonella. Pack the cleaned scallop shells in a perforated container (bowl or jar) that circulates air until dry. The shells are much easier to crush when they are dry.
Grind and Save Eggshells
After the eggshells have cured, they can be crushed into smaller pieces. Crush the dried shells in a heavy-duty bag with a rolling pin or mallet. You can also crush the shells before spreading them in the garden.
Place the crushed shells in an airtight container until ready to use them. You can also experiment with grinding the ground eggshells to a powder in your food processor.
How To Introduce Eggshells into The Soil
Egg shells help the soil by providing calcium carbonate, which helps to make up and improve the structure of your soil. They also provide trace minerals needed for healthy plants. Crush the eggshells to mix with your garden soil before planting. And in the decomposition and soil aeration process.
To improve the soil, lightly dust the topsoil with powdered or finely ground eggshells and mix them in. You can even make fertilizer from crushed shells soaked in warm water with some fish emulsion for extra calcium.
Seed Starting in Eggshells
When planting smaller plants, skip out on plastic seed-starting containers and use eggshells. Save the half shells from your big breakfast eggs and use them for planting. Fill the eggshell with good-quality potting soil and plant your seed directly into the little pot.
Put seeds into the soil-filled shells, pop each egg in an emptied egg carton, and give your mini greenhouse a setup place and water when needed. As for the seeds, simply plant those seedlings in your garden bed once they sprout. As the eggshells decompose, they break down (slowly) and add calcium and other nutrients to your soil. This is particularly effective with tomato seedlings.
Plant Health and Pest Management
Though using eggshells will improve your plants (adding necessary nutrients, building healthy soil structure, balancing pH level, and natural pest control), it will also reduce throwaways.
Increasing Growth Patterns & Disease Mandates
Calcium is an essential plant mineral, and eggshells are an excellent source. Calcium can interfere with blossom end rot—a common problem with tomatoes and other crops—and can help increase the calcium levels in your soil. Crushing the shells and adding them to the soil around your plants or using them in composting can help increase the calcium levels in your soil.
Eggshells will also supply other nutrients to the soil, including Magnesium, Nitrogen, Potassium, & Phosphorus. These ingredients contain essential nutrients that promote healthy plant growth and protect against common diseases in the garden. Calcium adds to the strength of a cell wall — which, plain and simple, makes it less likely for fungi cells to get through.
Organic Pest Deterrent Techniques
It is helpful as a pest deterrent. Crushed eggshells, which you can buy at gardening stores, will help prevent snails and slugs from eating your garden. Sprinkle the crushed shells around the base of plants susceptible to snails and slugs so they don’t cross over into them.
Regulating Soil Acidity
Eggshells can also control soil pH. Made into a powder and sprinkled on the ground, they work like lime to sweeten acidic soil. Most plants like a neutral or slightly alkaline pH and wood ash can help to raise the soil pH.
To take advantage of this, crush the eggshells carefully and mix them with soil. By adding eggshells regularly, you can slowly increase your soil pH levels, helping to move it over time to a place where a more comprehensive range of plants can thrive.
How to Establish a Low-Maintenance Garden Ecosystem
Using eggshells in your compost makes for a happy garden ecosystem. The calcium from the shells counteracts nitrogen-rich materials, benefiting the compost’s soil quality.
Eggshells can be added to compost, which will decompose and benefit the soil. This is how well-decomposed humus is formed—delicious soil to plants. Worms and other beneficial organisms in the compost love to munch on the grit from eggshells.
Regularly adding eggshells to your garden creates a more nurturing and sustainable environment in which fewer chemicals (aka fertilizers or pesticides) are necessary.
