15 Ways For Using Eggshells In The Garden
Using eggshells in the garden come with so many benefits. Eggs are filled with vitamins, minerals and proteins, and are no doubt one of the most nutritious foods in the world. These nutrients can be passed on to your plants if you will use the eggshells in your garden instead of disposing them. But how do you use them in your garden? Read the following to find out the 15 ways in which you can use egg shells to benefit your garden.
1. Natural Fertilizer
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Use the eggshells as fertilizers and to add calcium to your compost. Crush the eggshells finely. Then distribute the eggshells all over your garden during the winter months. So when the ground warms up in spring, you can start growing plants again. Using eggshell fertilizer is especially important if you plan to grow peppers or tomatoes. These plants are most likely affected with calcium deficiency. Although calcium is just a secondary nutrient for plants, your garden can surely benefit from the added minerals. You can clean and keep the eggshells for storage if you do not want to use them yet.
2. Seed Starter Pots
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Use the eggshells as seed starter pots. But this will only work on those eggshells that have not been crushed. Break just a tiny hole at the bottom of the shell the next time you use the eggs for cooking. Clean the shells with boiling water. Afterwards, puncture a tiny drainage hole at the bottom of the empty shell. Next, place the shells back to their own carton and then fill each shell with potting soil. Prepare the seeds and sow them in the soil. Transplant the seedlings once they start to outgrow the eggshell seed starters.
3. Pest Control
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Sprinkle coarsely crushed eggshells all over the plants to scare the pests and insects away. The sharp edges of the shells will deter the snails, slugs and other pests. The shells will serve as the barrier and these pests will immediately emigrate from your garden and will search for much easier pickings instead.
4. Bird Food
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Just like people, birds can also benefit from the calcium from eggs. This is especially true for females who will need extra calcium before and after they will lay their eggs. Prepare the bird food by sterilizing the shells in the oven. Simply place them in the oven after you use it to bake a meal. Crush them to bits and put them in a bird feeder. Place the feeder near your garden and birds will soon come for them.
5. Used In Mulching
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Improve the soil and make your garden even more attractive with the use of the eggshells. Just like Oysters, eggshells are also used as mulch in order to provide for a striking accent in any garden. Gather enough shells and apply a thick layer of them in order to help deter weeds. The eggshell fertilizer will not only moisturize the soil but also improves fertility among the plants.
Also Read: How to keep Deer out of your Garden
6. Repel Deer
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Deer are cute but they can be a disaster to your garden so use the eggshells to scare them away. Scatter the eggshells all over those plants that the deer love to munch the most. Deer hate the smell of the egg and placing eggshells in your garden will sure to scare them away. As a matter of fact, they tend to stay away from areas that smell like raw eggs. But be careful with using eggshells in the garden with this method because the smell could also attract smaller vermin such as the rodents who love eggs.
7. Garden Decoration
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Paint the eggshells with the bright and pastel shades and decorate them in your garden. You can also crush the painted shells finely and scatter them all over your garden. If you’ve got a large family who love to eat lots of eggs, collect the shells so you will have plenty to paint. Decorate them in your garden once you have collected and painted enough shells. The shells will surely add color to your garden and will make it to look even prettier.
8. Add To Chives
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Use the eggshells to make your chives healthy, most especially if you are growing it in a pot. The calcium from eggshells will make your chives to grow healthier. Simply drop a handful of the crushed eggshells all over the roots of the chives. The shells will eventually decompose and provide calcium, which the plant will surely love.
9. Prevent End Rot For Tomatoes
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Place a handful of crumbled eggshells in the soil before you start planting tomatoes. The eggshells will provide minerals and other nutrients to your tomato plant in its entire growing season steadily and slowly. Using eggshell fertilizer on your tomato plants can also help to protect the plant against diseases and most especially prevent the tomato from getting rotten at the end, which is common among tomatoes.
10. Cat Deterrent
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Keep cats away from your garden with the help of eggshells. Crush the eggshells and scatter them in your garden, especially on those areas where the cats would frequent. Cats hate stepping on crushed up egg shells so when they notice there are shells in your garden, they will not attempt to enter.
Also Read: 21 Ways to Keep Cats out of your Garden
11. Chicken Feed Supplement
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Feed your chicken with the shells as they need calcium before and after they lay eggs. Sterilize the shells by baking them in an oven at 250°F / 120°C for about 10 min. or as soon as they are dry. Crush the eggshells well then leave them outside in a feeder. Do this around summer or spring when the mother birds tend to visit gardens. Mix the crumbled shells with birdseed in order to further encourage the chicken. Doing this will make the mama birds happy and they will thank you by eating those pests and insects lurking in your garden somewhere.
12. Seedlings Germination
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One of the most popular ways of using eggshells in the garden is by using it as eggshell seed starters, which makes use of the shells to germinate seedlings. Create a small hole at the bottom of each of the half shell. Fill it up with a meager amount of soil and then sow the seeds. Simply crack the shells if the seedlings are already big enough and needs to be transplanted.
13. Barrier Against Pesky Crawlers
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Eggshells that are crumbled coarsely can be an effective barrier against crawlers or soft bodied garden pests that will do nothing but eat on your precious plants. Keep snails and slugs away from your garden with the help of the crushed eggshells. The insects will not love crawling on the sharp shells so they will for sure avoid your plants. Encircle the shells all over the plants, especially on those plants where the insects are commonly found.
14. Used as Herb Planters
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One of the most creative ways to use eggshells in your garden is to use it as a planter, not only for seedlings but also for herbs and other small plants. You can also choose to paint the eggshells to make the planter look even more beautiful. If you want to grow the herbs indoor, the eggshell planter would be perfect.
Also Read: How to Grow Roma Tomatoes in Pots
15. Add In Compost
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Eggshells are also great for composting. The shells break down very easily and the calcium from eggshells can help to make the soil even healthier. Just make sure to dry the shells before you add them as compost so as not to attract any critters.
Final Thoughts
These 15 ways of using eggshells in the garden are proof that you are not the only one who can benefit from eggs, but your garden as well.
