I grew up with chickens and understand just how great having a constant supply of eggs can be. But, not only are they delicious, the eggshells have some surprising uses too, including benefits to your fall garden.
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Eggshells are more than just a convenient way to stop the insides of eggs from going everywhere. The hardy eggshells are also a fantastic source of nutrients and minerals for your garden. As a family, we found this out in a very unusual way.
We often fed old eggshells to the chickens after using them. It sounds odd, but the calcium and magnesium in the eggshells are a fantastic boost to the chicken's diet. It actually helps their eggs remain strong, and their bodies healthy. So, we would often have a few crushed-up shells around the chicken coop.
This resulted in some rather luscious planting beside the coop, where the chickens had thrown the eggshells around the garden. After a little research and some good old common sense, we figured it out. Eggshells are also a good source of minerals for the garden.
How Eggshells Can Be Used In Your Garden
If you're a person who likes to eat the occasional egg, keep those eggshells for your fall garden. If you give them a quick rinse, they can be stored easily and for as long as you need them.
Once you're ready to start planting, simply crush them up into a powder. Don't worry about getting it too fine, when you pop them in your garden, nature will run its course breaking down the eggshells. You can keep these crushed shells for as long as you like, there's no chance of them going bad.
Prepare the soil as you normally would. It doesn't matter if you're planting veggies or flowers, they will all benefit from the nutrients in the shells. Once you have dug your plot ready for planting, place a small amount of the eggshells in your turned soil or the holes you have prepared in your garden.
The addition of shells will act as a fertilizer, imbuing your soil with the natural minerals and nutrients from the eggs. I find they are especially helpful for plants that can often suffer from a lack of calcium. Tomatoes are often prone to a little deficiency in this area. Calcium deficiency can be spotted by black outer edges of leaves, stunted growth, and curled leaves. Nothing a little bit of eggshell addition to your fall garden can't fix!
