How to Use Eggshells in the Garden

Before you throw those eggshells onto your compost pile, consider how you might use them to enrich and beautify your garden. Follow these steps.

Instructions

1. Rinse out the two halves of eggshells left over from cooking and place in a container until you accumulate enough for your project. If your eggshell shatters, save the pieces anyway as there are ways to use bits of shells in the garden as well as the whole shells.

2. Create natural seed pots by making a small drainage hole in the bottom of an empty eggshell half. Fill it with potting soil and put it in an open egg box. Sow your flower or vegetable seeds and care for them as you would any other seedlings. When they're ready to transplant, squeeze the shell gently to crack it and place in the ground. The plant roots will push through the cracks in the shell which will decompose naturally.

3. Fight off various garden pests by using cracked eggshells in your garden beds. Working bits of cracked shells into the soil can help repel cutworms. Sprinkling them around the base of plants will discourage slugs from feeding. You can also place bits of eggshells on top of freshly planted seed beds to help protect the seeds from birds.

4. Add eggshells to your garden soil when tilling it to give it an extra dose of calcium. If you throw your shells on the compost pile, you can also add the calcium to your soil as you work the compost in.

5. Improvise by using an eggshell as a disposable funnel for your garden chemicals. Punch a hole in the bottom of an eggshell, and place it on top of your chemical sprayer to use as a funnel. When you're done, simply throw it away or rinse it out and toss it on the garden.

Tips & Warnings

• Be sure to rinse out eggshell halves if you plan to accumulate them in a container prior to use. Otherwise the remaining egg in the shell will begin to emit a sour odor.