Can Egg Shells be Used as Fertilizer?

Learn how to fertilize your garden organically with old eggshells.

Many kitchen scraps can be kept out of the landfill by reusing them them in flower and vegetable gardens. Sharp eggshells that might otherwise puncture garbage bags can be dried and sprinkled on gardens as fertilizer and insecticide.

Features

One medium-sized eggshell produces nearly 1 tsp. of powder and 750 to 800 mg of elemental, absorbable calcium. In addition, the shell contains 27 additional microelements including magnesium, copper, iron, sulphur, zinc, boron and manganese.

Significance

Heavy-feeding plants such as tomatoes will use the eggshell calcium supplement to aid in producing fruit. Eggshells may also prevent pest insects like slug and snails from reaching garden vegetables.

Application

After cracking eggs, set shells aside to dry out on your kitchen counter. Place dried shells in a sealable bagm and use a rolling pin to roll over the bag and crush the shells into small pieces. Mix the shell particles and powder into top soil before planting, or sprinkle at the base of plants

References

• Nourished Magazine: How to Make Calcium Using Egg Shells
• U.S. National Library of Medicine: Recent Patents on Eggshell: Shell and Membrane Applications
• "1001 Gardening Secrets the Experts Never Tell You"; The Editors of FC&A Publishing; 2004

Resources

• U.S. Environmental Protection Agency: Create Your Own Compost Pile