Don’t throw away your eggshells. Recycle them into fertiliser for your vege patch.
In preparing your vegetable garden for spring, don’t forget winter is a perfect time to get your composting needs in check. Your vege patch will need to be replenished with nutrients that may have been depleted over the past season. One of which is calcium. In the past you may have ignored your garden’s plea for help, or you may have purchased lime. Now you can use everyday common eggshells to bring nutrients back to the soil, for FREE!
Eggshell Tea
As the name suggests, this is a liquid fertiliser. Making the tea is easy:
- Store eggshells in a bucket or large container filled with water and add shells as you acquire them.
- Allow the mixture to steep for several weeks and the calcium will be released into the water.
- Mix 1 cup of Eggshell Tea to half a watering can (approx 4 litres) of water and water plants generously.
Eggshell Crumb
This is a slow release fertiliser. This can happen at any time of the growing season. It does take time for eggshells to biodegrade so it’s important that they are crushed first. Here’s how:
- Wash egg shells to store (if not using immediately, as any left over egg white residue will smell after a while), and allow to dry.
- Place in a blender or food processor, or use a pestle and crush eggshells to a crumb-like powder.
- Sprinkle around the base of existing plants or scatter throughout the garden.
Tips:
- If you are boiling eggs, you may like to save the cooled water as well as the cooked shells to start your Eggshell Tea mix.
- While it may look cute, don’t be tempted to grow seedlings in half an eggshell (with the thinking that the calcium will be a food fertisiler). Truth is, the eggshell don’t biodegrade quick enough and the seedlings will have stunted growth as their roots will be unable to penetrate the shell.
- Crushed eggshells are also good for your worm farm (after all, the rich soil compost they produce will eventually make it to your garden anyway)
- Crushed egg shells are also good used as a snail and slug deterrent. Don’t crush them to a powder, but rinse and crush them into crumb. This will not only deter slimy garden critters but also work well directly releasing calcium into the soil.
