Reasons Why You Should Put Eggshells In Your Garden


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When you finish cracking all the eggs for your morning omelette or your family’s birthday cake, do you throw the shells out? It’s okay to admit, most people do of course. But what you may not have known is that eggshells can actually be put to good use even when you’re done with the eggs inside. Try putting your used eggshells in your garden instead. We have six convincing reasons why you should!


REASONS WHY YOU SHOULD PUT EGGSHELLS IN YOUR GARDEN

FERTILIZER

The first and foremost reason you should be using eggshells on your garden is because of their use as an organic fertilizer. Eggshells are packed full of calcium, which is essential for the health of your soil. In addition to that, eggshells have a very high surface area to volume ratio, which means that all of the minerals contained within them decompose extremely into your garden. You don’t even need to grind the eggs up, because they decompose so quickly. Don’t sterilize them either; all you have to do is toss them in your compost bin or garden and turn the soil.

REPEL DEER

If you live near a forest or an area that’s frequented by deer, you may have to deal with unexpected visits from these beautiful but annoying creatures. If deer are using your garden as their own personal buffet, try scattering eggshells around the plants they seem to love the most. Deer hate the smell of albumin and raw eggs, and tend to stay away from any area that they smell it in. The eggshells should produce a mild version of the smell that won’t bother you.
Be careful with this method though. It might actually attract rodents who like eggs.

FEED THE BIRDS

Birds need lots of calcium before and after laying eggs, so try putting finely crumbled eggshells in a feeder, or on the ground during the spring and summer. You need to sterilize the eggs before doing this, by putting them in boiling water, but the effort will appreciated by all your neighborhood bird friends.

SEED-STARTER FERTILIZER

Because eggs are such a great fertilizer, you can try using them when planting individual flowers, instead of just fertilizing the soil in general. There are two methods to go about this.
  1. Crush eggshells and put them at the bottom of the hole you’ve dub for a plant. The eggs will decompose rapidly underground, and feed calcium to your plant.
  2. Seed-starter pots: When breaking your eggs for a meal, try breaking only a small hole in the top. The almost-whole eggshells are going to make little pots for your new seeds. Clean the inside of the egg with boiling water, and puncture a small hole in the bottom. Fill each shell with moist soil, and add seeds. Once they’ve outgrown the ‘pot’, transplant them into the garden.

PEST-DETERRENT

If you’ve been having problems with little pests in your gardens like snails and slugs, eggshells could be a big help to get rid of them. The sharp edges of the shells tend to deter snails and slugs because of their soft underbellies, so sprinkling fine pieces of shells around plants they’re attracted to might cause them to finally leave the area. It’s a much better method to try then chemical pesticides!

AESTHETIC

Eggshells don’t have a purely practical use in your garden; they can also look really pretty! Especially if your family goes through a lot of eggs, you can build up a collection of eggshells, break them up into similar sized pieces and sprinkle them in your garden. The white colour adds a nice contrast to the soil, as well as being a fertilizer in the meantime.

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