Don’t bother making the effort until you’ve had your soil tested and it shows a lack of calcium.
RPi79
It takes them a very long time to put calcium into the soil. If you want to add them, feel free but it’s pretty much a waste of time. If you need calcium, you can spend a few dollars on Cal Mag and it’s instantly available to the plants instead of waiting years on eggshells.
RisingPhoenix26
I used to do that when I had an in ground garden, but I’d make them into fine powder. Otherwise it takes a long time for the shells to break down. I’d mix the eggshell powder with a bit of baking soda and epsom salt for my peppers, tomatoes and other heavy feeders.
saurus-REXicon
Do you test your soil? IMO that would give you the answer you’re looking for.
My neighbor has a worm farm business and I give them my egg shells (they process and give the shells to the worms) in exchange for worm Castings.
I believe that makes the calcium more available to my plants. Rather than crushing and tilling. But I’m no soil scientists and frankly when my neighbor talks about it he loses me after about 5 mins of worms worms worms
MonoNoAware71
It probably helps drainage more than add calcium.
thejourneybegins42
Blend them into a fine powder if you wanna speed up the process.
Wonderful_Tension746
They slice up the bodies of problem insects similar to diatomaceous earth in addition to adding nutrients.
Initech369
I do, although I crush them into smaller pieces. I’ll usually mix in some with the dirt when I plant tomatoes. We have a ton of slugs and roly-poly bugs (or whatever their actual name is) and all the sharp edges do a good job of keeping them away from the roots until the plant really takes hold. But most of the eggshells, we crush into almost a powder, mix into the compost pile and let it work its magic over a year or two.
flowersnshit
I blend them into a fine powder and mix it into my banana tea.
AudioOddity
If you want them to be more immediately available, you can add them to vinegar and then let that take action. The liquid after is used with water at a 1/1000 ratio. Most effective as a foliar spray I believe.
“Liquid calcium for plants can be made by dissolving dried, crushed eggshells in vinegar, creating a calcium acetate solution that is readily absorbed by plants to prevent blossom end rot. This “water-soluble calcium” is created by mixing the powder with vinegar for 3–24 hours until fizzing stops, then diluting this mixture with water before applying as a foliar spray or soil drench.”
Popular-Web-3739
If your soil lacks calcium eggshells can add more long term but it takes a good year for it to breakdown and be useable to the plants. If you dry eggshells in the oven and powder them it speeds up the process by several months, but either way, it’s a long term, slow release supplement. If you added them around your plants or seeds as you sowed them they didn’t contribute to plant health in that season so…
Quirky_Ask_5165
I just crush them and add them to my compost tumbler. My understanding is egg shells take a while to break down. Makes a slow steady supply of calcium for your soil.
DontWatchPornREADit
I grind them down into power and mix them with coffee grinds and grinder banana peels for a fertilizer for my tomato garden
DrMushroomStamp
My gf just throws them in the garden as is. They are there next year for me to deal with. =/
Please grind them.
red_langford
I understand it is effective at keeping slugs at bay
DunkleKarte
Not an expert but compost bin?
Automatic_Beat5808
It’s my understanding that it takes a long time for the calcium to leach out of the shells. However, I do it anyways just because I want to recycle my food waste.
Iongdog
I just put them in my compost pile
hawkeyejw
From your photos, I would say what you’re doing is working just fine.
Optimoprimo
Soils are almost never calcium limited. So its mostly just confirmation bias.
Any plants that have issues due to calcium uptake, like tomatoes, have calcium issues due to an inability to uptake calcium in their roots due to other issues like stress from inconsistent watering.
That said, it doesnt hurt to add eggshells, and its definitely better than sending them to the landfill.
MCLMelonFarmer
I have several (over 7) 1 quart containers of powdered eggshells. I wash, bake, and then grind them in a spice grinder (don’t use a food processor, it scratches the bowl).
FWIW, last time I researched (aka “Googled”) this, what I read was that the calcium really isn’t available to plants unless it 1) passes thru the digestive system of a worm, or 2) gets dissolved in an acid (white vinegar) and then diluted until it can be made into a safe spray.
I have no other use for the eggshells so I just dump the powder into my compost bin every so often. Probably takes years for it to be beneficial, but I’ve got no other use for them. We also raise chickens for eggs and keep their powdered shells separate from the shells of store-bought eggs, as we may end up feeding them back to the chickens as a calcium supplement (currently using an algae-based one).
Telemere125
Your soil needs to be a little acidic to break them down. If you have alkaline soil, they won’t break down and will just sit there as chunks.
LifeIsADistraction
A master gardener once told me that this does not actually add calcium the year that you added it because it takes so long for them to break down if you grant it up into a powder that is totally a different story, but putting in a whole eggshells will not affect your soil this season of.
glenncoco64
Yes it will add calcium to the soil but it takes a very long time. The problem with calcium uptake is usually soil pH (as I understand it).
25 Comments
Don’t bother making the effort until you’ve had your soil tested and it shows a lack of calcium.
It takes them a very long time to put calcium into the soil. If you want to add them, feel free but it’s pretty much a waste of time. If you need calcium, you can spend a few dollars on Cal Mag and it’s instantly available to the plants instead of waiting years on eggshells.
I used to do that when I had an in ground garden, but I’d make them into fine powder. Otherwise it takes a long time for the shells to break down. I’d mix the eggshell powder with a bit of baking soda and epsom salt for my peppers, tomatoes and other heavy feeders.
Do you test your soil? IMO that would give you the answer you’re looking for.
My neighbor has a worm farm business and I give them my egg shells (they process and give the shells to the worms) in exchange for worm Castings.
I believe that makes the calcium more available to my plants. Rather than crushing and tilling. But I’m no soil scientists and frankly when my neighbor talks about it he loses me after about 5 mins of worms worms worms
It probably helps drainage more than add calcium.
Blend them into a fine powder if you wanna speed up the process.
They slice up the bodies of problem insects similar to diatomaceous earth in addition to adding nutrients.
I do, although I crush them into smaller pieces. I’ll usually mix in some with the dirt when I plant tomatoes. We have a ton of slugs and roly-poly bugs (or whatever their actual name is) and all the sharp edges do a good job of keeping them away from the roots until the plant really takes hold. But most of the eggshells, we crush into almost a powder, mix into the compost pile and let it work its magic over a year or two.
I blend them into a fine powder and mix it into my banana tea.
If you want them to be more immediately available, you can add them to vinegar and then let that take action. The liquid after is used with water at a 1/1000 ratio. Most effective as a foliar spray I believe.
“Liquid calcium for plants can be made by dissolving dried, crushed eggshells in vinegar, creating a calcium acetate solution that is readily absorbed by plants to prevent blossom end rot. This “water-soluble calcium” is created by mixing the powder with vinegar for 3–24 hours until fizzing stops, then diluting this mixture with water before applying as a foliar spray or soil drench.”
If your soil lacks calcium eggshells can add more long term but it takes a good year for it to breakdown and be useable to the plants. If you dry eggshells in the oven and powder them it speeds up the process by several months, but either way, it’s a long term, slow release supplement. If you added them around your plants or seeds as you sowed them they didn’t contribute to plant health in that season so…
I just crush them and add them to my compost tumbler. My understanding is egg shells take a while to break down. Makes a slow steady supply of calcium for your soil.
I grind them down into power and mix them with coffee grinds and grinder banana peels for a fertilizer for my tomato garden
My gf just throws them in the garden as is. They are there next year for me to deal with. =/
Please grind them.
I understand it is effective at keeping slugs at bay
Not an expert but compost bin?
It’s my understanding that it takes a long time for the calcium to leach out of the shells. However, I do it anyways just because I want to recycle my food waste.
I just put them in my compost pile
From your photos, I would say what you’re doing is working just fine.
Soils are almost never calcium limited. So its mostly just confirmation bias.
Any plants that have issues due to calcium uptake, like tomatoes, have calcium issues due to an inability to uptake calcium in their roots due to other issues like stress from inconsistent watering.
That said, it doesnt hurt to add eggshells, and its definitely better than sending them to the landfill.
I have several (over 7) 1 quart containers of powdered eggshells. I wash, bake, and then grind them in a spice grinder (don’t use a food processor, it scratches the bowl).
FWIW, last time I researched (aka “Googled”) this, what I read was that the calcium really isn’t available to plants unless it 1) passes thru the digestive system of a worm, or 2) gets dissolved in an acid (white vinegar) and then diluted until it can be made into a safe spray.
I have no other use for the eggshells so I just dump the powder into my compost bin every so often. Probably takes years for it to be beneficial, but I’ve got no other use for them. We also raise chickens for eggs and keep their powdered shells separate from the shells of store-bought eggs, as we may end up feeding them back to the chickens as a calcium supplement (currently using an algae-based one).
Your soil needs to be a little acidic to break them down. If you have alkaline soil, they won’t break down and will just sit there as chunks.
A master gardener once told me that this does not actually add calcium the year that you added it because it takes so long for them to break down if you grant it up into a powder that is totally a different story, but putting in a whole eggshells will not affect your soil this season of.
Yes it will add calcium to the soil but it takes a very long time. The problem with calcium uptake is usually soil pH (as I understand it).
Same dude
https://preview.redd.it/p2cdzim3l0sg1.jpeg?width=2448&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f8c1175ffe3dc6b117a1f2ba54dcbe09277f4d68