Choosing to use your food waste instead of throwing it has never been easier. In this article I'll talk about the benefits of using eggshells in your garden and give a zero- waste lifestyle a go. Read on to learn about the 3 Benefits of Incorporating Egshells in Your Garden.
If you're looking to start your own garden, you might also read: Gardening Made Easy: How to start with your own Garden and 10 Best Tips and Tricks on How to Garden Plants, 2021 Guide
How Can Eggshells Be Used In Your Garden?
Among their best properties, eggshells contain high levels of calcium carbonate which makes them a great option to use in your garden. Eggshells can be used for soil, compost and even as a pest deterrent.
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Eggshell Nutrients:
Before we get into the details of how to reuse this abundant variety of food waste in the garden, I think it would be helpful to examine just how exactly are eggshells made of:
Here’s what the average eggshell is comprised of:
- 95% calcium carbonate
- 0.3% phosphorus
- 0.3% magnesium
- Traces of sodium, potassium, zinc, manganese, iron, and copper
It seems like such a shame to just throw all those nutrients away, doesn’t it? Continue reading and learn how to use eggshells in your garden:
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Uses:
1- Use Eggshells as a Soil Amendment
Though nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium levels offered by eggshells are relatively low, the takeaway here is that what is usually discarded as waste can be an incredible source of calcium, with value as an amendment used both to feed plants and to neutralize acidic soil.
Now... How can we tell whether our garden will benefit from added calcium?
In order to know whether our garden will benefit from added calcium, it is important to understand what type of soil you’re starting with: understanding your soil’s nutrient composition and pH can help you to troubleshoot issues and fertilize appropriately, which can have a huge impact on the overall health and productivity of your garden.
If your soil is acidic, amending with a source of calcium may be helpful, depending on what you want to grow: If you’re growing tomatoes and other food crops that may suffer from blossom-end rot, the calcium from eggshells may be a big help at planting time.
If you want to learn more about having a better soil, read this article: Organic Fertilizer: Take Care of your Plants with these Products
2- Use in Compost
Another good use for this type of food waste is to compost them instead of throwing them in the trash.
Reasons for composting:
As everybody knows, food waste takes much longer to break down in landfills than it does in compost piles, in anaerobic environments. Aerobic decomposition is the one that takes place in a well-maintained compost pile where aerobic microbes thrive because of the presence of oxygen.Those microbes turn food waste into nitrogen, phosphorus, and magnesium, making excellent material for growing more food. If you are using an anaerobic composting method at home, such as bokashi the shells will break down just fine. Another good reason to use your eggshells in your compost might be to provide better conditions for earthworms: earthworms need grit to digest their food, and eggshells are an excellent source.
TIPS:
- Composting whole eggs is generally not advisable, since the smell can attract rodents: before you add eggshells to your compost pile or worm bin, pulverize the dried shells to ensure that your finished compost is smooth and dirt like, uncluttered by large pieces of shell.
- Grinding them before adding them to your compost or worm bins will also make it easier for the earthworms to use the material as grit: Once the eggshells are completely dry, they’re ready to be ground into powder. To grind eggshells into a powder, you can use a mini food chopper or a coffee grinder. (You’ll probably need to crush the eggshells up a bit before grinding them).
- Gently wash out the eggshells with warm, soapy water or bring them to a boil in hot water to sanitize them.
Here is what you need to know about: How to make a Compost Pile? All you need to know about it
3- Use it as a Pesticide
The last garden use that we're going to discuss is to pile sharp, crushed pieces of shell around the bases of plants as a barrier, to stop soft-bodied pests.
SURPRISE! Believe it or not, eggshells can be used as an organic pest control and it is not only effective but inexpensive and certainly easy.
Scattering crushed eggshells around your crops may help to repel cutworms that use to chop the heads off of your delicate little seedlings.Cutworms go for the tender stems of young seedlings, so a common defense against these pests is to block their access by placing collars around seedling stems.
TIP:
- It has been found that when the eggshells were crushed to the size of baby aspirin, and piled into a 1/4-inch deep barrier, better results were obtained.
- Placing tiny pieces of crushed eggshell around your plants certainly won’t hurt them. Also remember that they won’t even change your soil’s pH over the short term
Using eggshells in your garden has never felt easier, right?
You may be interested at: Eco Friendly Pest Control: 5 Top Products to Protect your Plants
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Steps Before Using Your Eggshells In Your Garden
Although the truth is that I don't fuss to much before using the the eggshells, here I'll give you the steps for cleaning them before crushing them:
1- If your eggshells are dirty, then definitely rinse them with water before drying and crushing them.
2- You’ll definitely need to allow the eggshells to dry out before crushing them. There are a few methods you could use for drying eggshells:
- You can simply lay them out on a paper towel and leave them sitting on the counter for a few days. If you have a lot of eggshells to dry then I toss them into a paper bag in the pantry where they dry out in a few days. Toss each one in there loosely, otherwise they won’t dry as fast, and they might even start to mold or stink.
- There are some people who put their eggshells into the oven on low and drying them that way.
Be sure to use your eggshells in your garden instead of throwing them into your bin: Eggshells are an incredible option if you're looking to improve your garden... Choose the option that better suits your needs and go green!
Continue reading: 9 Easiest Vegetables to Grow, especially for Beginners and 10 Fall Vegetables to Easily Grow at Home, for Beginners