Once they’re done containing the tasty egg within, eggshells become an annoyance. Picking the shell off a hard boiled egg is a chore. We all hate it when a bit of eggshell sneaks into the mixing bowl — omelets aren’t supposed to go crunch. Chances are you just toss eggshells in the trash. After all, they’ve served their purpose and now there’s no real use for them. But in fact that isn’t so. There are a number of uses for eggshells.
The shells of chicken eggs are almost entirely calcium carbonate. It’s the same stuff that seashells, coral, chalk, and limestone are made of. They also contain a little bit of phosphorus, potassium, and sulfur. If you’re a gardener, you’re definitely going to want to have a look at this video that will tell you all about how to make use of eggshells you’d otherwise just throw away.
The first trick is to use them as planters for seedlings. Once the seedlings have outgrown their cozy little container, you take the whole thing, eggshell and all, and plant it outside. The eggshell will soon decompose and help fertilize the surrounding soil. The second idea: if you do composting, you’ve surely had problems with the compost becoming overly acidic. To correct the problem, you’d have to go buy some lime to mix in. But why buy lime when you’ve already got it in the form of eggshells? Simply dry the eggshells in an oven, grind them up, and add them to the compost. A third, similar, use for eggshells is to make them into fertilizer for your garden. Once the shells are dry, grind them up, preferably with a pestle so you get really small pieces (smaller pieces break down in the soil more quickly).
For more details and to learn the other three gardening uses for eggshells, check out the video that’s posted below. Your plants will thank you!
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