Words by: Family Farm Team
If you ask us, eggshells don't get enough credit. Sure, they aren't the most pleasant addition to a French omelet, and no one wants crunchy scrambled eggs for breakfast—but too often, eggshells get tossed into the trash without a second thought. Thanks to their nutritional make-up, eggshells are actually a fantastic addition to your compost bin, vegetable garden, and even your morning smoothie. Whether you're striving to reduce waste at home or troubleshooting pests and poor soil in your garden, use these tips to put your eggshells to work.
Eggshells are mostly made up of calcium carbonate, which is essential for plant growth. So why not start your seeds in them? Just add a bit of soil, follow the instructions for germination on your seed packet, and wait for your seedlings to sprout. When you're ready to transplant, you can gently crush the eggshell, allowing the roots to grow freely and giving the soil a chance to absorb all the nutrients that the eggshell has to offer over time.
We've heard it time and time again: calcium is essential to a healthy diet, strong bones, and so much more. For many people, getting enough calcium is easier said than done. Luckily, eggshells are an excellent source of this mineral! As long as you take a few precautions (including sanitizing the eggs and choosing organic), you can safely grind your eggshells into a fine powder to add a significant boost of calcium to your morning smoothie, juice, and even your homemade broths and soups.
Eggshells are a compost bin's best friend. They break down beautifully, adding a plethora of nutrients that your garden and potted outdoor plants will love. Eggshells are considered a "green" material, which means they should be combined with "brown" materials such as dried leaves, pine needles, newspaper, and coffee filters for a balanced home compost bin.
Got garden visitors? No need to spend money on pesticides and risk harming the ecosystem in your backyard. When ground into powder, eggshells can help decrease the number of creepy crawlies in your garden, including beetles, grasshoppers, and caterpillars, all of which can wreak havoc on your plants if left to their own devices.
April 24, 2021
I grind up well cleaned and dried by baking in the oven, and add this to my dog's home cooked food. This is a perfect calcium addition to his food.
1 Reply
May 19, 2021
Perfect! Gotta love that natural calcium supplement!
April 22, 2021
Would I need to rinse shells or more if using them in compost or plants for pest control?
We recommend that you bake them at 225F for 20 minutes, and grind them into a powder for compost. At the very least, you'll want to dry them, which the baking will do!
June 28, 2020
Eggshells for seed starters works out great. We did this land what a cool way to use the shells. You need to be careful when opening the egg and then get ready for some fun. Planting is a breeze and the seedlings seemed to really benefit from the nutrients. Well done Pete & Gerry Team.
June 29, 2020
Thank you for the great feedback, Phil! We are thrilled to hear you had such amazing success with your eggshell starters.
June 27, 2020
Your creative ideas are simply amazing.
Thank you for your kind words, Martha! We are so glad you enjoyed this blog post and will be sure to keep more interesting content like this coming.
Knew about #1 & #3, but did not know about #2 & #4, thank you for the tips!
Our pleasure. We are so glad you found them helpful, Chris!
can eggshells be crushed and given back to chickens or will that encourage them to peck at their eggs.
Hi Louise, that's a great question. Yes, you can certainly do that. It is actually very common for owners to feed shells back to their chickens as they are such a great source of calcium.
Very good tips, but you missed one. I zap my eggshells in the microwave for a few seconds, crumble them and put them on the bird feeder for my blue jays and any other birds. They gobble them down!
That's a great idea too, Anne! We will have to give this a try.
June 05, 2020
Wow I love all these tips. I am way into re-purposing and reusing thing rather that throughing them away. I love the planting tip and have already read the composting section. Thanks so much for all of this great advice!
Thank you for the feedback, Cynthia! We are delighted to hear you enjoyed this read and can't wait to hear if you end up trying out any of these uses.
May 01, 2020
thank you sooo much for all these wonderful tips, I had no idea and from now on I will use all my eggshells :)
May 04, 2020
We're so glad you enjoyed them, Claudia! Can't wait to hear if you try any out.
April 16, 2020
December 16, 2019