Did you know it is possible to grow plants in eggshells?
Using eggshells for planting is both budget-friendly and eco-friendly. Luckily, growing your plants in eggshells is pretty simple. All you need to do is follow the proper steps.
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Materials needed to grow plants in eggshells
If you plan to grow your plants in eggshells, ensure you have the following:
- A sewing needle or any other sharp object can create a hole in the eggshell.
- Eggshells that are empty, clean, and dry.
- Seeds for planting indoors.
- Seedling mix for growing the seedlings.
- An egg carton.
Once you have all these materials, you can proceed to grow the plant in the eggshell.
A detailed process of growing plants in eggshells
- Take your eggs and gently break them. Remove all the contents inside the raw egg. Clean the eggshells gently and leave them out to dry. Ensure that the egg is free from its inside contents by boiling the shells for some minutes.
- Once the eggshells are clean and free from their inner content, take a sewing needle and create a tiny hole on the bottom of the shell. This hole is often responsible for getting rid of excess water.
- Then, organize the eggshells in the recycled carton. After positioning them, use the seed starting mix to fill each eggshell.
- Insert some seeds in every eggshell. Ensure you follow the instructions outlined by the seed manufacturer. When you finish planting the seeds, place the carton next to a window or in an area that receives sufficient sunlight. Afterward, leave the seeds to grow.
- Keep watering the seeds in the eggshells using a spray bottle. Nevertheless, be careful not to over-water the plant. Usually, you will notice plant growth after two weeks. Of course, the time often depends on the type of plant. After the seedlings reach 2 inches, transfer them to an outdoor garden. Please don’t remove them from the egg carton tray. Then, when the plants become big enough, transfer them to the garden. Plant them directly in the ground or in a planting pot.
From the steps above, it is clear that planting eggshells is eco-friendly and affordable. Besides, the process is relatively simple.
You can keep your children occupied during the summer holidays by teaching them how to grow plants in eggshells.
Are eggshells good for a garden?
Eggshells are more of organic waste. Thus, throwing them in the bin after use would be wasteful. Instead, consider throwing them in your garden.
They decompose and provide organic nutrients to your plants. Gardening experts report that eggshells make an excellent addition to organic compost.
Benefits of eggshells in your garden
Best addition to garden compost
As mentioned earlier, eggshells make a valuable addition to compost. They disintegrate quickly and add calcium to the garden soil.
However, ensure that the eggshells are completely dry before you can spread them across the garden. This way, you’ll put off all harmful organisms. Eggshells also help you maintain proper pH levels if you have a warm compost bin.
Protection against blossom end rot
Eggshells safeguard your plants from common diseases like blossom end rot. They do this by feeding the plants with calcium, which boosts their immunity.
If you want to make the most out of eggshells, sprinkle them into each planting hole before planting.
After planting, spread additional eggshells around the bottom part of the plant. Do this at least once every two weeks for maximum benefits.
Alternative to planting pots
Eggshells can save you a lot of money when you first start planting. You don’t have to buy planting pots, containers or planters to start your planting journey. All you need is several dry eggshells. Here, you can place your seedling starting mix and plant your seeds or seedlings.
Keep watering until they become big enough for transplanting. From there, you can transfer the plants to your garden.
Keep pests away from your garden
Another advantage of sprinkling eggshells in your garden is to keep pests like worms and snails away.
Indisputably, snails, slugs, and other pests can destroy your plants. Luckily, you can protect your garden from pests at no cost by using crushed eggshells.
The sharp edges of eggshells will injure the soft bodies of these pests when they are crawling past them. And this will keep them off.
Keep cats away
You can keep your cat or your neighbor’s cat away from your garden by using eggshells.
Cats hate eggshells, and when they see them, they won’t come near your garden. So spread out small eggshell pieces across your garden. You’ll notice they won’t be visiting your garden anymore.
Chicken Feed Supplement
One way to keep chickens healthy is by feeding them with eggshells. Eggshells contain calcium that helps chickens lay stronger eggs.
Regardless, make sure to crush the eggshells before feeding them to your chicken. It would be best to crush them and add them to their daily food. Feeding chickens with raw eggshells may cause them to start eating their eggs.
Which plant species benefit from eggshells?
Eggshells offer a wide range of benefits when used during gardening. Even so, not all plants benefit from eggshells. Let’s discuss some of the plants that benefit most from eggshells.
Potted Plants
Potted plants also benefit from eggshells. These plants tend to form unwanted holes as they grow. One way to solve this problem is by covering up these holes with crushed eggshells. Doing this enables the plant to feed on calcium, among other nutrients. Almost any potted plant will benefit from eggshells.
Nevertheless, always make sure you use clean, dry eggshells to cover the holes. They should also be large enough to cover the holes. In addition, remember to create trellis for you tomato plant.
Tomatoes, Peppers, and Eggplants
Peppers, tomatoes, and eggplants benefit from eggshells because they are susceptible to blossom end rot. More often than not, blossom end rot attacks plants that lack calcium. Eggshells feed plants with calcium, hence protecting them from this deadly plant disease.
This plant disease often destroys the whole plant. The best way to preserve these plant species from blossom end rot is by sprinkling eggshell pieces in the planting hole.
Slug and Snail Prone Plants
The first plant category is those that are vulnerable to worm and snail destruction. Some of them include marigold plants and tomatoes.
Slugs and snails love attacking these plants from time to time. Luckily, spreading eggshells at the plant base keeps these pests away.
The edge of the eggshells makes it difficult for these pests to make their way through the plants. So, when spreading your eggshells, ensure you crush them roughly.
Thirsty Plants
Gardening experts report that calcium is necessary for plant growth. Instead of purchasing calcium fertilizers, consider using eggshells on your plants. Eggshells are an excellent source of calcium. All you need to do is sprinkle eggshell pieces around the base of your plants.
Doing this enables you to boost healthy growth for your plants. Alternatively, crush your eggshells into powder, then mix the powder with water. Fill the mixture into a watering can. Then, water your plants from the top using this mixture.
It’s easy to grow in eggshells
Growing your plants in eggshells is not as complicated as most people think. Eggshells are more than just organic waste. They act as planting pots where you can plant your seeds. All you need to do is fill the eggshells with the starting mix.
Then, insert the seeds depending on the manufacturer’s instructions. Water the seeds and give them some time to grow.
Most plants in eggshells will start germinating after 10 to 14 days. Needless to say, this often depends on the type of plant. Furthermore, eggshells can be use to grow plants inside your house.