Five Great Ways to Repurpose Nature’s Favourite Container – The Eggshell
President's Blog
President, Burnbrae Farms
4th Generation Farmer
Nature’s suit of armour has a life to live beyond the green bin! When you eat as many eggs as we do, there are lots of eggshells available for use. Many years ago, I started to be creative with eggshells, and learned how the high calcium shell has potential use in your garden as a fertilizer, and so much more.
Eggshells are primarily made out of calcium carbonate, which is the ingredient found in agricultural lime used in gardening. Eggshells also provide plants and animals with other essential minerals, such as potassium and phosphorus. Here’s how you can take advantage of those nutrients for your garden and home.
As an ingredient in fertilizer: Eggshells are rich in calcium, which is a welcome addition to garden soil since it helps moderate soil acidity. Gardeners say that eggshells work especially well for tomato plants to help eliminate blossom end rot, and with cabbage to help reduce tip burn.
For watering plants : You can create homemade calcium water by soaking dried eggshells in water for a few days. Strain the water, remove eggshells, and use the calcium-rich water in your garden or for houseplants. To make it, use about 10 eggshells per gallon of water, and store at room temperature (since plants don’t like cold water). Click here for instructions on how to make calcium water with eggshells.
To block slugs and snails : Tomatoes and marigolds are especially susceptible to slug damage, but eggshells can help. For this purpose, you don’t want to fully grind the eggshells – they need to remain a bit jagged. Encircle your tomato or marigold plants with roughly crushed eggshells, which will create a barrier that soft-bodied slugs and snails can’t cross. Bonus: It’s a natural alternative to chemical pesticides.
For planting : If you’ve cracked an egg, those two eggshell halves make perfect planters for garden seedlings. Simply rinse your eggshells, then arrange them in an eggshell carton. Fill each eggshell with starter mix, add some seeds and leave them in a warm place such as a windowsill. Keep them moist and watch the seeds sprout! Then you can transfer them – shell and all – to your garden or a houseplant pot. Just remove a few shards at the bottom of the eggshell so roots can form. The rest of the eggshell will decompose in the soil, and nourish your seedling with extra nutrients.
As a household cleaner : Follow the steps above to sterilize eggshells. Once ground, eggshells can be used as an abrasive for tough-to-clean pots and pans. You can mix them with dish soap and water to create a non-toxic and abrasive cleaning agent.
There you have it! Five great ways to lessen the load in your green bin and repurpose nature’s favourite container – the wonderful, calcium-rich eggshell. I’m curious – do you have other ideas for repurposing eggshells? Let us know!
Margaret Hudson
President, Burnbrae Farms