How To Use Eggshells In Garden

6 Convincing Reasons To Start Using Eggshells In Your Garden

It's no underground that eggs, full of protein, vitamins, and minerals (enough to grow a infant chicken from just one cell) are 1 of the most nutritious foods on the planet.

Worldwide, an average person consumes virtually 150 to 200 eggs annually. That'south over a trillion eggs per year!

Now inquire yourself this:

"What happens to all of those eggshells?"

The beat of a craven egg is comprised of about 96% calcium carbonate (CaCO3) crystals which are bound together past proteins.

Mutual commercial methods for disposing of eggshells include use as fertilizer or equally a source of calcium in beast feed, but the average consumer typically drops them into the kitchen waste product bin or down the garbage disposal.

If you lot are among this group, please read on to discover six creative uses for eggshells that volition benefit your garden.

How To Gear up Eggshells For Use In The Garden

It'south not just a case of plopping the egg yolk and white into the dish y'all are preparing then tossing the eggshell in the garden – but it'south not much more hard than that.

Once yous accept your empty eggshell, give information technology a skillful wash with cool running water. Make sure it's clean and free of whatever egg residue and place in an open container in your kitchen to dry. You could move information technology outside on sunny days to dry quicker.

Contrary to popular belief, the shells volition not smell at all.

In one case completely dry and you've built up a significant stockpile, pulverize into smaller pieces with a wooden spoon or mallet.

If yous prefer even smaller pieces, use a pestle and mortar to grind up into a fine powder.

Now you are set up to employ your eggshells in the garden.

1. Fertilizer

Eggshells are a great way to add calcium to your soil.

You tin but toss your eggshells onto your soil without problem, but eggshells tin take a long fourth dimension to interruption down so you may want to shell your shells start.

It may besides exist wise to wash out your shells get-go to remove whatever egg residue and reduce the risk of unwanted pests sniffing out your soil.

Alternately, you tin can incorporate crumbled eggshell directly into the bottoms of your planting holes in the spring.

While calcium is considered a secondary nutrient for plants, your garden will certainly capeesh the added minerals, specially if y'all grow tomatoes or peppers as these plants are the nearly easily affected by calcium-deficiency.

Eggshells in tomato planting holes tin can exist a particularly constructive way to reduce the adventure of blossom end rot – a common tomato plant issue.

During the wintertime months, distribute your shells over the plot of state where y'all volition constitute come springtime. Once the ground warms upward, you can till the shells into the soil.

If you are agin to the idea of having eggshells on the footing all winter, y'all can also clean and shop the shells until planting season rolls around.

While calcium is considered a secondary food for plants, your garden will certainly appreciate the added minerals, especially if you abound tomatoes or peppers as these plants are the most easily affected by calcium-deficiency.

Eggshells in tomato planting holes can be a particularly constructive mode to reduce the risk of bloom cease rot – a common love apple plant issue.

Related Reading: 10 Genius Means To Apply Epsom Table salt In Your Garden

two. Pest-Deterrent

If yous have problems with slugs and snails in your garden, try sprinkling coarsely-crumbled eggshells around the plants where these slimy fiddling pests like to dine.

The shells' sharp edges deter snails and slugs by abrading the sensitive pes of any country mollusc that attempts to cross the bulwark. Most snails and slugs volition quickly emigrate from your garden in search of easier pickings.

iii. Seed-starter Pots

6 Brilliant Uses For Eggshells In Your Garden

Because eggshells quickly biodegrade when introduced into soil in the garden, they also double equally the perfect seed-starter pots.

When y'all open your eggs to remove the contents, attempt to interruption just a small hole at the pointier end of the shell. Make clean the within of the eggshells (boiling water works well for this) and puncture a small drainage hole in the bottom of each empty shell.

You can so place them back into the carton, fill each vanquish with moist potting soil, and add your seeds.

Once the seedlings outgrow their "pots" you tin can transplant them shell and all directly into bigger pots or out into the garden.

4. Feed the Birds

Both earlier and after laying eggs, female parent birds demand more calcium in their diets.

Sterilize your eggshells by baking them at 250°F / 120°C for about ten minutes and so the shells are dry, just not brown on the within. So crumble your eggshells well and place them outdoors (in a feeder or even simply on the basis) during the bound and summer.

You tin also mix the eggshell crumbles with birdseed, suet, or mealworms in an existing bird feeder.

Either way, your healthy mama birds only might thanks by also dining on insect pests that may otherwise impairment your garden.

v. Repel Deer

If you have deer visiting your garden as if were their own personal cafe every night, scatter some eggshells effectually the plants they're munching on the nearly.

Deer hate the smell of albumin and tend to stay away from an surface area that smells similar raw eggs.

Just be careful using this method as the odour may actually attract smaller vermin like rodents who similar to swallow eggs.

6. Artful Value

Finely-ground eggshells tin too be quite pretty.

If y'all accept a big family unit or simply eat a lot of eggs, boil your shells to sterilize them, crumble, then driblet them into a big glass jar for storage.

One time y'all've collected enough shell crumbles, sprinkle them around and in between your plants. Non only volition the eggshells help control pests and eventually add calcium back to the soil, the white color can also exist a beautiful emphasis to your garden.

Add together crumbled oyster shells for an fifty-fifty more interesting appearance with all of the same garden health benefits.

7. Compost

In that location is much argue virtually adding eggshells to compost, but eggshells are a perfectly prophylactic and beneficial addition to your compost bin or heap.

Eggshells are very slow to intermission down then should be washed (to remove whatsoever egg balance that may concenter unwanted critters), dried and crushed into smaller pieces. The eggshells will probable yet be visible in the terminal compost only volition not harm the finished product.

If the other garden uses for eggshells aren't for you, then composting them is a unproblematic way to render nutrients to the soil.

With these seven garden uses for eggshells under your belt, now both you and your garden can savor the wellness benefits of nature's perfect nutrient – the egg.

Eat Your Eggshells?

And if yous want to learn more about ways to re-use eggshells – including why y'all should kickoff eating them, accept a read of: four Reasons To Eat Eggshells & How To Do Information technology