Many uses for egg shells in your garden
13.7 years ago easter, egg shells
This time of year you probably have a larger number of egg shells heading to your trash. Between dying Easter eggs and our new tradition of making Ukrainian Easter bread (uses over a dozen eggs) I end up with quite a pile of egg shells.
The good news is there are many uses for these to use in your planting and in your garden.
Use #1 Soil amendment: Egg shells consist of calcium carbonate which many of your plants desperately need; apples, broccoli, brussel sprouts, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, celery, cherries, citrus, conifers, cotton, curcurbits, melons, grapes, legumes, lettuce, peaches, peanuts, pears, peppers, potatoes, tobacco, and tomatoes (just name a few) What I like to do is collect the egg shells and throw them in a freezer bag and keep them in the freezer. Once I have a dozen or so saved up I put them into the oven (when I am warming it up to bake something else) and give them a good toasting. I quick spin in the coffee grinder and I have some great calcium powder to apply to plants when planting, or seep in some water overnight to give your tomatoes a quick boost if they are appearing sufficient.
Use #2 Compost nutrient additive: If you start getting too much lying around you can also add some to your compost pile to give that black gold a little extra boost. Just be sure you crush them finely (or powder as mentioned in Use #1) or you will just find a bunch of whole eggshells in your finished compost.
Use #3 Seed pots: If you are even just a little bit careful when cracking these eggs you can add a little soil to these egg shells add a seed and use them to start seeds. Provided that the seeds are round you will want to also save the egg carton to keep them upright.
Use #4 Pest deterrent: Using the same method of creating a powder in Use #1 this granule form can be sprinkled around the base of your plants to deter cutworms and slugs who will find these abrasive surface undesirable.
