It’s Easter and Passover week! Therefore, eggs are everywhere. You’ll use egg recipes for Passover Seder, hunt and decorate eggs, and more this week. So what can you do with all those eggshells?
Grow Pro Beka Rich offers an expert-level gardening tip: Scatter crushed eggshells on top of your garden soil to fertilize your fruiting flower veggies with extra calcium and deter snails and slugs & any other soft-bellied pests like snails.
How to Prepare the Eggshells
- Once you use the eggs, gather the eggshell halves and rinse the shells thoroughly.
- Lay eggshells out in the sun to bake for a day. This makes them crispy and effective.
- Ground eggshells to a medium-coarse grit with a rolling pin, mortar, and pestle, or food processor.
How to Use Eggshells in the Garden
Scatter eggshells (prepared as noted above) across the soil evenly. Carry to the edges of the garden if preparing to deter pests and keep closer to the plant base if using for fertilizing purposes. If pests are not deterred effectively, widen your spread of eggshells.
The Benefits of Scattering Crushed Eggshells
Placing crushed eggshells atop your garden soil will act as a slow-releasing calcium supply. This is especially great for tomatoes, peppers, and other warm-season fruiting veggies. These types of plants need extra calcium to set their flowers and turn into healthy veggies.
Additionally, crushed eggshells can also help keep soft-bellied pests (snails, caterpillars, and aphids) away. Their soft bellies don’t like the coarse eggshells and will avoid the soil. If the trouble persists with snails pr slugs, consider sprinkling the area around your grow gag to really send the message that the pests aren’t welcome.
Note from our Grow Pro
“As my love of gardening has grown, my appreciation of eggshells has followed closely,” says Beka Rich, lead Grow Pro. “Finding eggshells in the garbage has become a pet peeve of mine. It’s disheartening to see a trash truck carrying recyclable nutrients away from my neighborhood! My very patient husband now stacks rinsed eggshells for me near the back door.”
This tip of using crushed eggshells for your garden to deter pests and fertilize at the same time — a three-in-one solution with zero-waste — comes from Beka’s parents who were avid gardeners themselves.
“My favorite part of gardening will always be reliving how our growing traditions came to be and knowing that we are connected by our love of learning and sharing.”
Beka Rich
If you have any questions about how to use this crushed egg tip, email our Grow Pro team for help!
