Egg shells for the garden.

Listen yo, you have got to save your egg shells that you use every morning at breakfast. Your soil and your plants will thank you, I promise.

Listen…

…Just like your soil and plants need nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium it also may need calcium. And in case you didn’t know, egg shells are nothing but calcium. So, instead of buying up pricey soil amendments from the store, all you have to do is utilize what you already have on hand by putting in a little effort.

A lot of people ask, “But don’t they smell?”

They don’t actually. But here is the trick, you need to microwave the shells for about a minute and 30 seconds before you store them.

And to all the woman out there, here is another trick, get a container that makes your heart smile. I mean, if you are going to have to look at it all day sitting on the counter, it might as well be nice to look at. 

Let’s get to it, shell we. Haha get it, “SHELL” we, like egg shell, haha, ok no seriously, let’s do this.

Saving Egg Shells

Step one:

You want to find a container to store your egg shells in everyday until you have enough to make a decent bags worth. The container is going to be stored on your counter, so pick one that’s decent looking. I didn’t want to go buy anything so we used an old dog vitamin container and I just painted it.

Step two:

Now, what you want to do before you dump these little shells of gold in your container, is microwave the shells for one minute and thirty seconds. This will kill of any bacteria left on the shell. It will also kill the odor that could form. After your done microwaving them, toss them in your container until full.

Step three:

Now comes the fun part. Drop a little at a time in a food processor or high powered blender. You want to process or blend until the shells become really fine, almost powder like. This makes it so much easier to incorporate it into your soil.

Step four:

Pour into a bag and label Don’t skip the labeling part, you may think you will remember what is inside the bag but 6 months to a year down the road you’ll be standing there staring at this bag full of white powder scratching your head. I promise! And that is it my friend, how easy was that.

And guess what else you can use as a soil amendment that comes from your breakfast…..

...Banana peels.

How to use your egg shells in the garden.

Using your egg shell powder in the garden is incredibly easy.

• You can mix them into your compost/soil mixture when getting ready to plant.
• Slightly dust the bottom of your planting hole with the powder before placing your plant inside.
• You can even use it for a light mulch on top of plants.

Happy egg shelling!