Great Uses For Eggshells In The Garden

If you like to eat a lot of eggs, then you will end up with tonnes of leftover eggshells. But did you know those eggshells you normally discard actually make excellent additions to your garden?

That is because the shells are packed to the brim with calcium, a nutrient that plants love but that can be hard to add to your soil.

So next time you bake a cake or poach a few eggs, don't chuck the shells straight in the bin, save them and make use of every part of the egg.

With that in mind, here are some great uses for eggshells in the garden or allotment.

Keep Slugs Off Vulnerable Plants

Some people swear by this organic slug control method, and others will tell you it doesn't work at all.

The idea is that the sharp edges of the eggshell irritate the soft underbelly of slugs and snails, so they won't crawl over it. I have to be honest and say it has never worked for me.

The jury is out on how effective it is, but you have nothing to lose. And as the eggshells break down, they will add vital calcium to your soil.

Add To Your Compost

Eggshells can be composted. Let me rephrase that, eggshells should be composted!

They are a great source of calcium, which can be lacking in homemade composts.

Not only that, but they break down surprisingly quickly when crushed. So, after your next fry-up, whip out the pestle and mortar and grind those eggshells into a fine powder.

Crushing eggshells before adding them to your compost is a vital step. If you do not crush them, they can take a really long time to break down.

This has led some people to believe that they are not suitable for composting, but they very much are.

If you want to see how I make my eggshell powder, my guide is at the bottom of this article.

Make Homemade Fertiliser

For the same reasons you would add eggshells to your compost, they also make an excellent fertiliser.

Crush the eggshells up fine and sprinkle them around the base of your target plant.

This can work well for preventing blossom end rot in tomatoes (I say can because blossom end rot isn't often actually caused by a lack of calcium in the soil - but that's a whole different article!), which is caused by a lack of calcium, something eggshells are packed with. I might have said that before.

Using a pestle and motar is one of the easiest ways to crush your eggshells down into a fine powder.

The finer the powder you end up with, the quicker it will be broken down into the soil and accessible to your plants. My complete how-to guide is at the bottom of this article.

Use For Starting Seeds

Alright, this one is a bit gimmicky, but eggshells actually make fun little seed starters.

Use half a shell and fill with a little seed compost before sowing your seeds.

Couple the eggshells with an egg box and have ready-made holders for your tiny seed starters.

Kids love this, so why not try growing cress in the eggs for a fun activity with your little ones?

How To Make Eggshell Powder

To make a very fine eggshell powder, you want to begin by baking your eggshells. This helps to make them brittle and much easier to crush into a fine powder.

I put them into the oven at roughly 110 Celsius for around 20-30 minutes.

After letting them cool down, you want to grind them up. You can use a pestle and mortar if you don't mind a bit of elbow grease, or chuck them into a food processor. I use a cheap food processor I picked up from Aldi as I don't want to risk dulling the blades on our main one!

Once crushed into a fine powder, I add my powder to a jar, ready to take to the allotment.