Eggshell fertilizer for gardening

Originally published at Newsbreak on 2022-04-03

Making eggshell fertilizer/ eggshells /Gin Lee

Eggshell fertilizer

Hang onto those eggshells! If you use eggs for breakfast and baking, save the shells because eggshells make the perfect fertilizer for plants.

Eggshells are high in calcium, which is great for all plants' growth.

Eggshells are also a natural deterrent to ants. So, let's get started on cracking a few eggs!

Instructions for making eggshell fertilizer

Once you have enough eggshells, you'll want to wash them thoroughly to clean any bacteria off of them. I use hot water and a teaspoon of white vinegar in a large bowl and scrub them with a toothbrush.

Now, allow the eggshells to dry completely. Then you can either crunch the shells by hand or grind them in a food processor into a powder form. In powder form, the plants will be able to get nutrition from them immediately. Whereas if you crunch the shells up by hand, it takes more time for the shells to break down into the soil.

Next, I mix the eggshells up in a large container of soil, so that the soil will be fertilized once I get ready to use it. Although the eggshells can be used immediately in potted plants too. Just sprinkle the prepared eggshells in the dirt around plants that are already growing. If you're planting for the first time, add the eggshells to the dirt and mix well, then plant your seeds or plants. To continue fertilizing the plant's soil, sprinkle eggshells around the soil every few weeks.

Notes:

The reason why you should thoroughly wash the eggshells before using them is that rodents and snakes are attracted to the inside residue of the egg. So, make sure that you don't skip this step.

Organic coffee grounds fertilizer

Organic coffee grounds fertilizer

If you brew coffee and are also a gardener. Were you aware that you can make use of the brewed coffee grounds as a natural fertilizer? That's right! Used coffee grounds, as well as diluted leftover cold black coffee, is great for most plants.

Already brewed coffee grounds are packed full of potassium, magnesium, nitrogen, caffeine, calcium and phosphorus and I have found that they're a great plant food for root vegetable plants such as different varieties of potatoes, radishes, carrots, and turnips, as well as for other garden plants such as herbs, peppers, cucumbers, and broccoli also benefit from the already brewed coffee grounds. Just sprinkle the grounds around the topsoil and allow nature to do the rest of the work. Do this once a week, but sparingly. Always make sure that the coffee grounds aren't left in large clumps.

Coffee grounds change the pH level in the soil, so that's something that you'll have to be careful with. You can neutralize the coffee grounds by mixing them with eggshells to lower the acidic level. 

Once this has been done, then the coffee grounds and eggshell fertilizer can be used on tomato plants. I don't advise sprinkling coffee grounds directly on the tomato plant's soil without neutralizing the coffee grounds first, because coffee grounds can sometimes be too acidic. Sprinkle about one cup of this mixture around the base of your tomato plants and onto the topsoil about once a week. 

Coffee grounds can also be mixed in with compost piles to neutralize the grounds.

Adding coffee grounds to the soil doesn't only benefit your plants from nutritional standpoints, but it also helps aid in soil drainage and earthworms thrive on it too.

And don't forget that leftover cold coffee can also be used as plant food as well. Just dilute the pot of coffee down first with water before giving your plants a drink.