Improve Your Garden Soil Using Eggshells

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1. I now have a compost bin! I am so excited by it - egg shells, raw kitchen waste and leaves go into it. I have wanted one for ages and it is part of my vegetable growing plan.
   
   Perhaps I am odd for being excited by compost!!
   

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   1. Good job :)) there are so many things that you will compost very well: tea coffee bags, fish scraps, glossy or coated paper, sawdust, dog and cat poop...
      

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      1. I have read that dog and cat poop should not go into the compost pile.
         

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2. We put our eggshells in the garden, too. Do you dry yours in the oven first or just let them dry naturally? This year we put straw down in our garden. It made a huge difference in weed control and keeping the roots cool and moist. At the end of the season, my husband just tilled it under. It will provide more organic matter as it decomposes this winter. I'd love to start composting, but we don't really have a place for that at the moment.
   

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   1. It's not good for the soil to till every year. Leave it on top and re mulch every year. Your soil will become like butter. Make sure your mulch is 3 to 4 inches deep. If you have no room to compost you can put stuff right into the garden and let it decompose there. Not fruit because it will attract pests. You can also boil your scraps and use the water on your plants.
      

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   2. I compost with five gallon buckets. Drill you random holes all around and about 5 in bottom. Add your leftovers, egg shells and leaves. Shake and spin using handle once a day. Makes great compost if your only have a small area. Lid keeps critters out.
      

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   3. I use a couple of 5 gallon buckets with lids. Drill you some 1/4" holes randomly around sides and about 5 or 6 in bottom of bucket. Add your veggie leftovers, egg shells and leaves. Snap lid on (this keeps critters out). Use handle and shake once a day. Makes awesome compost if you don't have a lot of space.
      

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   4. You can do the same thing with shrimp shells and tails. Rinse them off and air dry or oven-dry, then crush by any means you choose. Excellent source of calcium and other micro-nutrients for your plants.
      

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      1. Great tip! Thanks!
         

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   5. I use an old plastic container that the bottom cracked. It works great! It also helps to cut up scraps into approximately 1 inch pieces before adding to the container. The smaller the pieces the faster the composting.
      

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3. I save my eggshells and bake them for about 20 minutes, then rough crush them and they get fed to the chickens. This helps in the development of hard shells.
   

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   1. Watch out for Egg Picking !!! Once they get the taste of shell .... They may start Egg Picking to get at the Calcium !!! :-(
      
      

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4. Cool. I just put them in the compost. But this works, too.
   

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5. Visiting from the Barn Hop. How wonderful! I tried to compost the shells once but they didn't break down. Grinding them in the blender - brilliant! Thank you for sharing. I am definitely going to try this. I always feel guilty putting them in the garbage disposal, as I was always certain there must be some use for the.
   

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   1. I save mine and put in gallon Ziploc and run a rolling pin over them. Makes very small pieces with no clean up. Dump Ziploc bag straight into your garden or your compost pile. I actually re-use my Ziploc. I keep it handy in kitchen.
      

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      1. I do the same thing with saving my shells. However I store them in a bread bag roughly crushed in freezer. I don't rinse them but was considering to grind them to put in garden. Can I put too many eggshells in garden?
         

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6. I've never thought about putting them in the oven. I usually just keep a plate or a zip lock bag in the kitchen with the shells and they dry out naturally.
   

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7. huh. Good to know!!! I've never thought of putting them directly in the garden.
   

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8. Hmm..that makes sense. I wonder though if it doesn't rain won't the powder have time to seep into the soil?
   

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9. I save mine up in a paper bag, then crush them in the bag. The multiple sizes, in theory, help them function in a time release manner....otherwise, it will all wash away at the same time.
   

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10. When you boil your eggs throw the cooking water into your garden too! The calcium from the shells leeches into the water so its all infused and awesome for your plants!
    

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    1. Excellent idea!
       

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    2. I save my egg boiling water for watering house plants.
       

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11. Awesome tip! What about potato water?
    

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12. Great tip! I already knew the egg water, never thought about the shells though. Thanks for sharing!
    

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13. I am your newest GFC folloer. I have never put them in my garden before, but extra calcium is good anywhere. We have very poor soil.I am trying to add all my compost to the are I want to use as a garden this coming spring. I am laying down newspapers for a weed barrier and soon to lay down some hay for added nutrients. I didn't do anything last year and I didn't have a very healthy garden. We will try round two this spring.
    
    Amy @ Pounds4Pennies
    

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    1. I have laid down newspaper, and it does help, if you use thick layers. However, they broke down during the winter and I didn't want to dig up all my plants to lay more down. I have used the landscaping paper that looks like a giant roll of brown paper and it's garbage. It broke down quickly and the weeds were everywhere. This year, I used landscaping fabric and so far, it's fantastic!
       

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14. Never thought about using the blender...! We keep a bucket (with a lid) on the kitchen counter, and all our compostable material goes in it. When it's full, I add a little water, crush it all up and stir at the same time with a potato masher, and tell the kids to take it directly to the fallow garden. We pile it in one spot for a bit, and then after several weeks choose a new spot. Works for us b/c we aren't consistent enough with regularly turning a compost bin, but we will work/prepare our soil in the spring and mix all that matter in!
    

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15. I have used eggshells is 3 ways: crushed and fed to my chickens (too little and soft eggs, too much and eggs that are hard to crack), in between chicken feeding I top dress the garden with them (the slugs are not crazy about crawling over sharp objects but they do disappear, the birds also like them) and into the compost (no they don't compost fast but they do leach clacium into the soil which is good).
    

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16. We feed our egg shells back to our chickens to help the production of the forthcoming eggs! LOL. Years ago before we had chickens, we too would do like you, feed the to our garden!
    Merry Christmas!
    

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17. This past winter I've been feeding them to my dog--- the calcium really helps in his diet. But when the spring comes I am happy to start adding them to my garden... love all the tips!
    

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18. Hi! I stumbled onto your site via a friend. I'm so glad to know I am not alone. My fam can eat a dozen eggs a day. I'm saving the powdered egg shells for the garden. I also sprinkle it lightly in my worm compost as it stimulate reproduction. So many egg shells and so much calcium! I also keep left-over coffee grounds for the garden.
    

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19. I'm so glad you do this too! Well, I don't garden, but we have our own chickens and it is recommended to crush the shells and mix them back into their feed, to keep their calcium levels healthy. We've been doing this for a while, and our hens lay the thickest shelled eggs you've ever had to crack through, I guess that means they are healthy, right?
    

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20. I have used eggs in compost for many years, though I haven't composted in awhile, been moving so much didn't seem practical. But I put my used teabags (plain natural tea, no additives) in my planters and have had fantastic results. Sometimes when I think a seed hasn't taken, will put a teabag on top of it and water through it. Works wonders.
    

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21. Any time I boil veggies, I let the water cool, then pour that water on the veggie or flower garden. There are still nutrients in the water that are beneficial as well.
    

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    1. I save the water under my steamed veggies and pour it over my dogs evening meal. great way to get "greens" in them!
       

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22. I always put used tea leaves into my herb containers. My mom has been doing this forever, too!
    

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    1. I put the tea bags into my flower pots and remove the filter paper when they have dried - makes excellent soil.
       
       

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23. I've wanted to use egg shells in my compost, but have heard about the sharp edges cutting hands. This sounds like a great option.
    
    My only concern is whether or not it dulls the blades. I don't have the room to store 2 blenders.
    

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24. I mash mine in a zip lock bag and add them to my soil for hanging baskets. I also add banana peels to my rose bush soil.
    
    

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25. i save all our coffee grounds and used tea bags- roses love the tea bags and coffee ground bring earth worms into the area- use both in compost and a bit in soil around plants.
    
    

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26. I do rinse and microwave my eggshells. I dont know, but kind of scared of salmonella in my garden. I also throw out tea bags, coffee grounds and chopped up banana peels straight into the garden.
    

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27. I wash the eggshells & then when they're dry I roughly crush them with an old hand potato masher. I sprinkle this over the crown and around my hostas - it works a treat for keeping the slugs at bay. I do this all year round.
    Vegetable or boiled egg water can be used on indoor or outdoor plants so long as you haven't used salt.
    

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28. Calcium and other minerals are important in keeping your garden healthy and balanced. I found that my raised beds eventually depleted their calcium levels, even though I regularly added compost etc. They really needed additional minerals they weren't getting from the compost.
    
    If your tomatoes are getting blossom end rot, that's a possible sign of calcium deficiency in your soil. Grind up the eggshells and add them, or you can buy a small bag of powdered minerals at a garden store, and that will help add back a wider variety of nutrients.
    
    I had blossom end rot issues for a couple of years until last year I started adding some minerals back into my soil, along with the compost. No more blossom end rot this year!
    

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    1. I have stopped blossom end rot very quickly by diluting milk and spraying directly on plants or pouring into the soil at the roots. During the garden season I rinse my milking buckets from milking the goats and pour the water into my tomatoes. Never have blossom trouble unless I get lazy and forget.
       

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       1. Cool tip. Thanks!
          

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29. I have done eggshells for years in my gardens. I learned a long time ago, that you are supposed to bake the eggshells slightly before putting them in the garden, but I have not figured out why that we are supposed to bake them first. I only slightly bake mine. I will have to try them in the blender. Thanks for the idea. Egg shells are great in compost and they are in abundance around here!
    

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30. I think baking them is supposed to help sterilize them from any salmonella and also make the shells easier to break down quickly.
    

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