FROM BREAKFAST TO BLOOMS: EGG SHELL FERTILIZER
Egg shells can be a powerful component to fertilizing your garden naturally because egg shells are about 95% calcium carbonate.
Calcium is essential in soil for growing healthy plants, especially for tomatoes and peppers. Lack of calcium in the soil can lead to blossom end rot.
Egg shells are also great for pest control. They fight against slugs and cutworms. They are also a powerful defense against insects because the sharp edges of broken shells can cut soft bodied insects and get under their hard shell and cut them.
Egg shells take a long time to decompose in their natural state. If you have a compost pile, you can throw them in whole and let them break down naturally.
However, if you want to use them in your garden now, here’s how:
Keep a Ziploc or mason jar in the freezer to store egg shells in. I just keep adding to it every time I cook or hard boil eggs.
Bake at 450° for 10-15 minutes. This will kill any bacteria.
Add the baked shells to a blender/food processer and grind until it becomes a powder.
I repeat this process throughout the year and keep the ground egg shells in a mason jar in the pantry. Then in the Spring, I’m able to mix it in with my soil as I plant.
If you have a worm composting system, you can throw the egg shell powder into your compost bin. The worms will work it into the soil through digestion and you will have incredibly rich garden soil ready to use in the Spring.
