Don't Trash Those Eggshells! Why You Should Save Them and How to Prepare Them

Eggshells can be used for a variety of things (you can even eat them!) but they are especially a fantastic fertilizer for your garden! 

Most notably, eggshells are packed with calcium. In addition to calcium, they are also rich in magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, and sodium! All of which are fantastic minerals for pumping up your plants! According to NutritionData, 1/2 teaspoon of crushed eggshell provides 90% of your daily calcium intake.  That's quite a large percentage for such a small amount! 

When I made my pallet garden I just used cheap soil from Ollie's so I knew I'd need to supplement my plants a bit. I made a worm farm as well but a more immediate solution is crushing eggshells and spreading them around my plants!

So instead of throwing your eggshells into the trash can, save them in a bowl and let them dry out. You could also just toss them into your compost or worm bin but if you want pure eggshell to sprinkle on your garden, follow the next easy steps. 

Let them sit for a while so they're completely dry. You can even take the time to rinse each piece to get all of the slimy whites out but it's not necessary. Unless you plan on ingesting them. If you plan to do that you need to completely wash out the whites. For your garden you just want them dry. I've never had an issue with bugs being attracted to the bowl so that shouldn't be a problem. 

Next, dump them into your blender! 

Blend them until they're thoroughly crushed. 

I told you it was easy. 

Now just store them in a jar until you're ready to spread them around your plants! This jar probably has about 2 dozen crushed eggshells in it. 

I sprinkled some of the crushed eggshell around all of my plants. Here you see it on my lettuce blend when they first sprouted. They're doing great now! I'm about ready to thin them out. 

Jill over at The Prairie Homestead has a great list of 30+ Things to Do With Eggshells so go check that out for more ideas!

What other uses for eggshell do you know of? Would you ever eat them?

Till next time,

Catherine