How to Use Eggshells in The Garden - 5 Simple Ways You Can Do So

Last Updated on October 31, 2021 by Phil

Do you throw away your egg shells after you crack them open? If you do, you may want to think again, especially if you have a yard. That’s because you can re-use them in many ways. In this article, we look at the many ways on how to use eggshells in the garden to help your grass and plants grow.

We eat eggs everyday for breakfast. It’s filled with nutrients and easy to cook. We also love eggs because you can cook them in many different ways. And, they blend well with other foods and ingredients.

Once I crack the eggs open, I always make sure to keep them on hand for my garden. They’ve helped my garden grow better ever since.

5 Easy Ways to Use Eggshells in Your Garden

1. Use Them As Fertilizer

Like any good gardener, you probably use fertilizer to help your plants grow. The nitrogen, potassium and phosphorus are all essential elements needed plants to stay healthy.

One thing that’s often overlooked is the importance of calcium. Plants don’t have bones like we do. So why do they need calcium. As it turns out, they need calcium for proper cell wall development. This helps them stay healthy and maintain a good, strong internal structure.

Egg shells are a good source of calcium carbonate. And, they’re easy to incorporate with your garden. All you need to do is crush the shells into small pieces. They work better when crushed because it takes a while for the shells to break down. So, the smaller they are, the easier they’ll be absorbed by the roots.

You can add them to your compost or use them directly on the plants. They work just as well for plants that in containers, so you can use them there as well.

One good tip is the wash the eggshells before adding them to your compost. This gets rid of any potential disease that may be present from the raw eggshells.

2. Egg Shells are Biodegradable Seed Starters

One thing I learned recently is to use eggshells as seed starters. This not only helps the plants grow, it also makes it easy to transplant them onto pots or the ground later on.

Eggs shells are biodegradable. So, over time, they’ll break down. Additionally, the calcium content in the shells also helps the seeds grow.

Using them as seed starter pots lets you save on buying trays or small containers. Plus, it offers the extra benefits of being able to just plant the entire shell into the soil once it’s ready to be moved into a pot or the ground.

To use the shells as seed starter pots, it’s a good idea to cleanly crack the shells. This gives you large enough containers to put the seeds and soil. Don’t forget to pierce a hole at the bottom of the shell before using it as a pot. This allows excess water to drain naturally.

As with compost, you’ll want to clean the shells before using them. Washing them out works well. But, you can also sterilize by boiling or placing them in the oven to make sure any disease is gone.

3. Mulch

We use egg shells as compost and incorporate it into the soil to help plants grow healthy. One other way you can use them is as mulch.

Unlike compost with goes under the ground along with the soil to help the plant’s roots grow, mulch is placed on top of your plants or grass.

It works as a protective top cover to help prevent weeds from growing. Mulch also helps your garden retain moisture, prevent erosion and help keep it cool when the weather gets very hot.

4. They Help Deter Pests

One thing not many people know is that eggshells keep pests like snails, worms and other pests away from plants. It is also a well-known deer deterrent.

Broken or crushed eggshells have sharp edges. These make them dangerous for pests to crawl through. The reason is the sharp edges can cut through the pest’s outer layers which eventually causes them to dehydrate and die from loss of fluids.

It’s worth noting that while many pests are deterred by eggshells, some rodents are attracted to their smell. Thus, it’s important to take into consideration how close the plants are to your home.

To use egg shells to keep pests away from damaging your plants, all you need to do is crush the shells and add them to your plants. You can crush them by hand or use a bottle to roll over them.

5. Food for the Birds

If you take care of birds, you can also use eggshells as birdfeed. Like humans, birds need their daily dose of calcium. This is especially true for mama birds that are about to or have just laid eggs. The calcium in the eggshells help keep their stores high or replenish them to help them stay healthy.

All you need to do is wash the shell thoroughly and sterilized them is boiling water. Since the birds will be eating them, you want to make sure the shells are sanitized from disease.

Once done, all that’s left to do is crumble the shells and mix them with bird food and worms in the feeder.

How to Use Eggshells in The Garden – 5 Simple Ways You Can Do So