We use eggshells to fertilize the garden. Fertilizer for indoor plants from eggshells Where eggshells are used as fertilizer

Eggshell, as a fertilizer for the garden, has been used since ancient times. Until now, people are divided into two warring camps. Naturally, these are opponents and supporters. Only those who maintain neutrality do not understand what exactly both sides stand for.

Get supporters. They foam at the mouth to prove the usefulness of eggshells as fertilizer for the garden. They do not perceive any evidence that calcium is there in a form that is difficult to digest.

Opponents talk about the complete uselessness of the shell and add that plant roots are injured by sharp edges. However, all this is fiction. Eggshells are not that hard. And it does not cause any harm to plants, except for excess and individual intolerance.

Well, let’s not enter into this eternal struggle, let them decide for themselves where the truth is and where the myth is. We will remain neutral and simply talk about the most common options for using eggshells as fertilizer in the garden.

It is used ground or made into infusions. In any case, the plants still manage to extract calcium from the shell. Just don’t say now that it decomposes in the soil for a very long time. Already a year after the usual sprinkling of the soil, not a trace remains of the eggshell.

General rules

You can’t just squeeze an eggshell in your fist and then throw it into the garden. You need to prepare it first:

1. Thoroughly rinse the inside of the shells, completely washing away any remaining protein. The film is left.
2. Now it needs to be completely dry.
3. Next, the egg shells are placed on a baking sheet and heated in the oven.

Why is this being done? To remove protein and any bacteria from the surface. Otherwise, this whole mixture will only bring harm instead of benefit. Putrefactive processes will begin, a stench will set in, and mold will develop. And warming up allows calcium to dissolve more easily in the soil.

Advice. To prevent the shells from taking up much space, chop them after preparation. Just don’t spoil the meat grinder knives! It is better to use a hammer, rolling pin, or coffee grinder.

For seedlings

To make sprouts appear faster and be strong, sprinkle the soil on top with a small amount of finely ground eggshells. When watering, it will reach the seeds and activate their life processes.

You don’t have to sprinkle the soil, but immediately stir a little powder in water and water it with this mixture. What should the proportions be? There are no exact data, but without fanaticism. No need to sprinkle thick layer, because the shell is very biologically active. For example, for watering 1 liter of seedlings clean water A quarter teaspoon is enough. Accordingly, very little soil is sprinkled.

According to reviews, eggshell powder prevents the appearance of “black leg”. To do this, you need to take 10 egg shells and pour 2 liters of boiling water over them. Now the mixture should sit for 4 days. You need to stir it once a day.

After this time, the prepared liquid is used to water the seedlings.

Advice. An excess of calcium in the soil is detrimental to some plants, so don’t overdo it.

In the garden

The generally accepted rate for applying eggshells as fertilizer is about 2 cups per 1 square meter. m. But not everyone has the opportunity to collect so many shells. Therefore, it is customary not to scatter them in handfuls on the soil, but to add them to the planting hole. By the way, this procedure not only nourishes the plants, but also protects young roots from wireworm larvae.

Important! Before using eggshells, be sure to know the acidity of your garden. This fertilizer cannot be used on alkaline soils!

But for acidic soils, the shell is only indicated. Calcium carbonate perfectly levels the acidity level to the neutral side. In this case, only 30 shells per 1 square meter are enough. m. Naturally, the finer the grind, the faster the calcium will start working. It is recommended to carry out the procedure before winter digging of the soil. In this case, during the cold season the shell will have time to give away before spring. most their useful substances.

Just don't leave the shells on the surface of the ground. After you leave, the birds will eat it and there will be nothing left.

Liquid fertilizer

There is a recipe for one mixture that is a real treat for plants. To prepare it you will need:

• barrel with a volume of at least 100 l
• 100 prepared and finely ground eggshells
• sheet of iron, plywood or thick film
• a large number of green grass (nettle, dandelions, chickweed, chickweed)
• 1 packet of potassium humate
• pure water

The grass is chopped and placed in a barrel at half the height. Eggshells and potassium humate are also poured there. Fill with water, not reaching the top by about 15 cm. Cover with a sheet of plywood or thick film, and forget for 6 days in a sunny place.

Naturally, the smell will be deadly. But what kind of composition will you get in the end? Potassium, phosphorus, magnesium, nitrogen, calcium. And in an easily digestible form. And if you add phytosporin to the resulting mixture, your plants will change literally before your eyes. They become stronger and more resistant to diseases. Lush greenery and early fruiting are the result of such feeding.

Advice. The fertilizer is very concentrated. Therefore it needs to be bred clean water in a ratio of 1 to 8 or even 10. Otherwise, there is a high risk of burning not only the roots, but also the entire green mass.

The second recipe for liquid fertilizer does not require such effort. But the results from using it are also excellent. For 10 liters of clean water, take 40 shells and chopped rinds of 1 lemon. All this is infused for about 4-6 days.

If by the end of the period the liquid begins to smell bad and becomes cloudy, then you did everything right. By the way, be careful. This bad smell if it gets on skin or clothing, it practically cannot be washed off with anything and disappears for a very long time. This fertilizer is less concentrated, but it still needs to be diluted plain water in a ratio of 1 to 3. All crops can be watered with this mixture, preferably at the root. Because calcium is not absorbed by foliar feeding.

Opponents of using eggshells as fertilizer in the garden say: now stores are full of lime, chalk, dolomite flour. Why bother?

To which we can answer them: why spend money on lime when you can simply not throw away the shells, but use them?

Do not indiscriminately scatter powder from the shells throughout the area. Always use your head. After all, you don’t scatter mineral water in handfuls, you always sprinkle a little. And eggshells are the same mineral fertilizer. You also need just a little bit of it.

Some sources claim that only eggshells from domestic chickens can be used in the garden. They say that store-bought ones are not suitable - they will not be of any use. Let me ask you, does the store-bought casing consist of other microelements? Absolutely identical calcium in its pure form. And the benefits from it are the same. Therefore, do not throw away shells from factory hens. Use them as intended.

Another misconception: you cannot use the shells after boiling. Allegedly all useful elements evaporate. I wonder where? Or does the cooked shell disappear after boiling? Nonsense. Of course, some of the trace elements go into the water, but it can also be used for irrigation.

Another myth: brown shells are healthier than white ones. They just don’t say what exactly is more useful. Or do they have a different composition? Let's reveal a terrible secret: the difference is only due to the greater thickness. Accordingly, there are more nutrients per egg. And the composition in terms of microelements content is no different.

For better absorption of calcium by the plant, any biofertilizer is added to the eggshell infusion. It could be Baikal or Spring. And for greater benefit, you can splash a drop of an adaptogen - zircon or epin. You will see, your plants will say thank you and reward you with lush growth and a rich harvest.

By the way, you can use the shells of absolutely any eggs as fertilizer. Quail, goose, duck, peacock, guinea fowl, chicken, even ostrich. True, with the latter you will have to work hard to grind them into powder or at least break them into small pieces.

There is only one conclusion: whether to use eggshells as fertilizer for the garden or not is up to you to decide. But don’t forget that in nature everything has already been invented before you, and there the shells fall to the ground.

Video: organic fertilizers for the garden

Having a garden, you can use almost all food waste for good: to fertilize the soil, in the fight against pests and diseases. It is quite natural that for these purposes they take the remains of vegetables and fruits that grew on the ground. But you can also use waste of animal origin. In this article we will tell you in detail how to use eggshells in the garden.

How are eggshells useful for the garden?

In order for vegetables and fruits to develop and bear fruit, they must receive a certain set of nutrients from the soil. If there is an insufficient amount of one or another element, signs of disease begin to appear on plants: loss of color and deformation of foliage, cessation of development, etc.

Adding eggshells to the soil helps enrich it with calcium, magnesium, copper, iron, potassium, fluorine, etc.

Eggshells for the garden

All of them enter the soil in a form that is easily digestible for plants. Thanks to this, the growth of the above-ground parts of plants and seed germination are accelerated. In addition, the acidity of the soil decreases and its looseness increases, which has a beneficial effect on its fertility.

How to use eggshells in the garden?

You can’t just scatter eggshells around the area like some fertilizers; they need to be “cooked” for plants.

If you want to use shells for fertilizer, you should take them from raw eggs, wash and chop.

It can be made into a coarse grind, for this you just need to crush it in a mortar, and fine (egg flour), you can achieve this state by grinding it in a coffee grinder.

Larger particles can be added simply during autumn or spring digging, and smaller particles can be added during planting directly into the holes under the plants.

What plants can I apply eggshells to?

Eggshells can be used for almost all groups of plants that can be found in the country:

To get the effect, even on small vegetable garden it is necessary to add a large amount of ground eggshells (to reduce acidity 500 g -1 kg/m2, as fertilizer - 120 - 250 g/m2). Start collecting valuable product better in winter, when it contains more useful elements.

Egg shells can be used not only in the garden, but also for feeding home flowers.

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All gardeners and gardeners know that the soil needs constant feeding, only then will large, healthy plants grow on it. But few of them are aware of the use of eggshells, the benefits of such fertilizer for the garden and how to use it. In this article we will look at how to make eggs from scrap scraps. ideal fertilizer for the soil and what is the best way to apply it.

Egg shell composition

The main share in the composition of the shell chicken eggs– this is 95% easily digestible calcium. In quail shells this percentage is slightly lower, up to 92%. The remaining organic trace elements that make up the shell are: magnesium (0.65%), potassium (0.11%), phosphorus (0.13%), other elements - sulfur, aluminum, iron. The content of certain components depends on what the chicken eats and what its variety is.

In order for the egg shells to contain a maximum of useful substances and easily digestible calcium carbonate, the bird must be fed only natural, fresh, vitamin-containing products. If a chicken lives under the conditions of a poultry farm, then with the feed it receives additional vitamins for rapid growth or production of eggs. This method of raising birds affects the thickness of the shell and chemical composition macronutrients. Scientists have proven that the brown shell of eggs is thicker and contains more calcium than the white shell.

Collection and preparation of chicken and quail shells

• Collect all egg shells and wash them thoroughly under running water. The main thing is to remove excess protein and yolk. This step is allowed to be omitted only if the eggshells are further dried.
• Dry future soil fertilizers under the sun. Keep in mind that if the shell is washed, the water will dry within an hour, and if there is excess white or yolk left on the shell of the eggs, they can dry for about a day.
• When the shell has been cleaned and dried, you should start grinding it in a coffee grinder, mortar, meat grinder or other device. To turn the egg shell into powder, it is possible to spread it on cutting board and roll it over it several times with a dough roller. This way it can be crushed very quickly and easily, which is why many housewives use this method.
• The degree of grinding depends on which fertilizing method was chosen. For infusions, you need to use shells crushed into small pieces, and for direct addition to the soil, it is better to grind them into sand.
• Under no circumstances should you boil or steam eggshells; such heat treatment will damage them. chemical bonds and get lost beneficial features eggshell. It is possible to use decoctions, but the amount of calcium in them is significantly less.

What are the benefits of eggshells for the garden?

Often scrap materials or waste can serve good fertilizer for the earth, this applies not only to eggshells, but also to ash, wood shavings, sand, humus. The composition of egg shells contains a large amount of useful calcium, and this naturally increases soil fertility. If the soil is fertilized with ground shells, air permeability increases, which allows the plant to receive more oxygen. Positive feature is considered to be an increase in soil looseness.

Fertilizer to improve soil fertility

Soil fertility directly depends on its acidity. At high rates, the land will not be able to produce a large harvest. To reduce the acidity of the soil, it is worth adding 30-50 crushed chicken egg shells per 1 sq.m. Before adding this fertilizer, it is recommended to calcine it in the oven so that calcium is absorbed by the earth faster.

Soil acidity is often reduced by expensive mineral fertilizers, and so that they are better absorbed, eggshells are mixed with agrochemicals, and the mixture is added to the soil. This method helps to avoid negative consequences from use chemicals and significantly increase soil fertility by affecting its acidity.

When adding eggshells to the soil, it becomes more free-flowing, so the water that falls on such soil passes faster and does not leave behind open channels. This will reduce the number of weedings to maintain the moisture of the bed, and reduce the amount of watering. Although visually it may seem that the digestibility of eggshells is very low due to its density, this is absolutely not the case; over the course of several years, the crushed shell will improve the condition of the earth.

What plants can you apply eggshells to?

Egg shells as a calcium fertilizer can be applied under the following types plants for their better growth and development:

• Vegetables: tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, carrots, beets, potatoes, eggplant, cabbage.
• Fruit trees: apple trees, pears, plums, apricots, cherries, sweet cherries, cherry plums.
• Bushes: raspberries, gooseberries, currants, dogwoods, viburnum.
• Flowers - any.
• Other types of plants that positively take up calcium.

It is recommended in some cases to grow seedlings of some garden plants right in the egg shell halves. In this manner young plant will receive the necessary calcium, and when its root grows in the hole, it will break the shell. This method not only primarily helps the plant obtain the necessary microelements, but also fertilizes the future soil in which growth continues. Often this method of calcium fertilization is used when growing tomatoes, peppers, and cabbage. Sometimes it can be effective when growing watermelons and melons.

How to use shells in the garden

Egg casing can be used in different ways, depending on the purpose and expected results. It is easy to add in powder form, whole or slightly crushed. The main thing to remember is that even shell film can be an excellent addition to improve the condition of the soil, although it gets in the way a little when working with the shell.

Application of dry powder

• Dry egg powder should be poured into a bottle, and several holes should be made there to pour out evenly. It is easier to scatter such fertilizer with your hands, but there is a possibility of getting the result “thick there, but empty there.”
• After this, you should water the soil well until the egg powder is completely absorbed. If there are small places with fertilizer left on the surface of the earth, it’s okay, it will be absorbed later.
• The procedure must be repeated several times, so it is better to stretch this process over a couple of days so as not to walk on wet ground.
• For quality fertilizer It is recommended to use 80-100 egg shells per 1 square meter of wilted soil.
• Dry powder can be diluted with water, watered with indoor plants or seeds during planting, so they will receive the necessary calcium.

How to make and use an infusion for the garden

1. We collect several fresh egg shells (about 3-4 pieces) and, without washing them, put them in a jar. Next we fill warm water until completely covered and cover loosely with a lid or plate. When this mixture is infused, hydrogen sulfide will be released, which has a not very pleasant odor, so it is better to put such a container with shells in a dark and distant place.

   After 3-4 days, the infusion is ready for use; it can be used to water indoor or garden plants, without even diluting it with additional water. This fertilizer must be used in winter and spring, when the soil needs feeding.

2. In 1 l warm water add 5 egg shells and their whites, mix thoroughly, cover with a lid, and place in a cool, dark place. After 10-15 days, when a not very pleasant smell appears, the mixture is ready to be applied to the soil. To do this, it must be diluted with 10-12 liters of water. room temperature and use a watering can to spray onto the soil. If it gets on the leaves of plants, this fertilizer will not burn them, so this infusion can be used for greenhouse crops, for any greenery in an open area.
3. Prepare 20 chicken eggshells, crush them a little, add 3 liters of water. Bring the mixture to a boil and simmer for about 2-3 minutes. After cooling, dilute the mixture with 5 liters of water and use for watering indoor plants, garden crops. This infusion is very useful for growing spring seedlings; it will allow plants to grow quickly and take from the soil maximum amount minerals.
4. Mix 100 eggshells, onion peel, leaves walnut, add 50 g of lime.

   Eggshell fertilizer for the garden

   Fill it all with 1 liter of boiling water and leave for 1 day. After filtering, the liquid should be diluted with 10-12 liters of water and the fertilizer is ready. It is recommended to apply it in the spring, when the plants in the garden are just emerging. This infusion will help the greenery grow healthy and large.

Video: How to prepare fertilizer from egg shells and orange peels

To do this, you should prepare 5-6 egg shells and the peel of 1 orange. Grind these ingredients, mix, and place in a 3-liter container. Boil water in a saucepan, pour it into the mixture of shells and oranges, stir. Let the future fertilizer brew for several hours until it cools completely. This infusion will be good decision To improve the condition of the soil of indoor plants, it should be prepared 1-2 times and applied every month. As an addition, watch the video with this recipe:

What summer resident does not dream of a rich harvest? It is this cherished dream that makes the owners personal plots pay so much attention to each crop planted. Weed removal, loosening, watering, pest and disease control - all this is included in the busy life of every farmer.

And of course, so that the return from land plot was maximum, it is impossible to do without fertilizers. They can be purchased in specialized stores, but most summer residents prefer self-cooking. Egg shells As a fertilizer, it is used quite often and there is a reasonable explanation for this.

Why plants welcome eggshells

Eggshells are no substitute for a complex fertilizer that provides plants with absolutely everything they need. But nevertheless, it is a rich source of certain substances necessary for the development of many cultures.

Using eggshells as fertilizer in the garden

If you decompose an egg shell into its components, you will find among them:

• calcium carbonate (95%),
• phosphorus,
• potassium,
• magnesium,
• protein.

Eggshells reduce the acidity of the soil

Adding eggshells to the soil also helps loosen it and reduce its acidity. Most garden crops and flowers like to grow in such conditions.

In addition to the fact that eggshells are 94% calcium carbonate, they contain 27 different microelements: silicon, potassium, phosphorus, magnesium, manganese, zinc, nitrogen and other components from the periodic table. The crystalline structure of the shell, which differs from chalk and lime, does not allow it to be quickly absorbed by the soil, but due to the fact that calcium carbonate has already undergone synthesis in the bird’s body, the shell can rightfully be used as a lime fertilizer, improving soil fertility, deoxidizing it, and nourishing plants.

Which shells should be used as fertilizer?

Experienced gardeners agree that simply scattering egg shells around garden plot It’s useless, and you shouldn’t add it in a crushed state for planting seedlings either. It is more necessary for “adult” plants than for seeds or young shoots, the growth of which can only be delayed due to excess calcium.

In order not to harm the soil and plants and get the maximum benefit from leftover eggs, it is important to know some storage rules and preliminary preparation shells. Both boiled and raw eggshells are used, but raw eggshells are much more beneficial, since a significant proportion of calcium is destroyed during cooking. Although shells from boiled eggs.

It is important to store the shells correctly, because in a plastic bag, if there are protein residues on the inner walls of the shell, it will quickly begin to rot. As a result, instead of benefit, harmful bacteria can be introduced into the soil. It is better to put a special container for dropping the shells. This could be a cardboard box or paper bag. It is better to rinse off the remaining protein under running water. In an open box, the damp shell will soon dry out, and there will be no need to transfer it for this purpose. The dried shells are crushed in a mortar, coffee grinder or with a hammer. The chosen method depends on the amount of accumulated product.

Methods for preparing fertilizer from eggshells

It is recommended to add shells broken into small fragments to the soil for digging. It can also be scattered over the surface in places where cabbage and cucumbers are planted to prevent the proliferation of slugs. Crushed eggshells in powder form can be poured directly into the hole. The recommended rate is 2 cups per square meter.

Their dry crushed shells can be used to prepare liquid fertilizer. To do this, pour the flour from 5 chicken eggs into a liter of boiling water and leave, stirring occasionally. The “ripening” time of the solution, depending on the room temperature, may take 1–2 weeks. Cloudiness and an unpleasant odor should not be alarming; this indicates the readiness of the fertilizer.

The resulting infusion should be diluted with water 3 times and used for watering plants once every two weeks. Some gardeners prefer to add large shells directly to a barrel of water intended for watering their beds. Since water is constantly used, it does not have time, but after 2–3 days of infusion it warms up and is saturated with microelements from egg waste.

To reduce the acidity of the soil, eggshells are used in equal parts with ash. True, you will need a lot of money for the entire garden. Two teaspoons of the mixture can only liming 1 kg of soil, but if you carry out this procedure year after year, adding fertilizer to the holes, over time the fertility will improve and the acidity will decrease.

Experts have calculated that the average family eats almost eight hundred eggs annually. However, few people know that their shells are a cheap and universal fertilizer. Considering that its weight is about ten grams, it is easy to collect about 8 kg of very good feeding for the vegetable season. The use of eggshells in the garden is very simple.

The product under discussion contains a record amount of calcium, as well as 27 other elements that are very beneficial for plants. These are potassium, phosphorus, iron, magnesium and others. With constant application of this composition to plants, the soil will become much richer and the yield will be higher.

The films that are inside the shell contain a lot of organic matter, especially keratin.

Calcium salts, which are present in abundance in the shells of any eggs, are a natural substance, and therefore they are much better absorbed by representatives of the flora.

What are the benefits of shells for plants?

Feeding based on shells will undoubtedly be useful for your garden, because it promotes:

• Soil deoxidation. Only with normal soil acidity can plants absorb as much as possible. nutrients. Very acidic soil can even be toxic.
• Enrichment of the land.
• Improving soil looseness. Often, areas have heavy soil that does not allow air and moisture to pass through, which negatively affects the development of plants. The addition of eggshells in any form significantly improves the aeration qualities of the soil.
• Repelling pests. Many insects simply leave the area if shells in powder form are regularly added to the ground. You can simply break it and scatter it around the area.
• Protection from pathogens.
• Repelling moles and mole crickets.

What plants are suitable for this fertilizer?

Egg shells are an excellent nutritional complex for tomatoes, peppers of all kinds and eggplants. Also crops such as onions, watermelons, fruit trees, berry and conifer gardeners are very fond of such fertilizers.

We collect and store shells correctly

The main problem that gardeners face when collecting shells throughout the year is their smell. But there are two ways to properly store such fertilizers.

1. The first option is washing cold water before storing. This way you can get rid of organic residues and films.
2. The second method is calcination in the oven at high temperature.

Once the shells are washed, gardeners can dry them next to the radiator and they will not emit an odor. But the downside is that the films contain valuable substances that will simply be removed during washing.

Calcination is a more troublesome option, since you still have to collect a certain amount of shell. But this will make it easier to grind the fertilizers and crush them into powder.

Making fertilizer

You can use the tincture to fertilize your garden. It is good for feeding both seedlings and adult plants.

It’s easy to prepare the tincture:

1. A liter jar should be filled with shells, which must first be mashed. You can use a meat grinder.
2. Fill the jar to the top with warm water, close the lid tightly and leave to infuse for 5 days.
3. The contents need to be shaken every day.
4. You can determine the readiness of the tincture by the appearance of an odor and strong turbidity in the water.

The liquid from the jar is drained and refilled with water. The drained water can now be used. You can fill the shell 3-4 times.

The tincture should be infused in a warm and dark place and used immediately after preparation.

The jar must be closed, because the shells will emit a smell due to organic residues.

Eggshells are traditionally used as a fertilizer for gardening, ground into fine powder. It is permissible to make it in any way, and then simply scatter it over the beds.

How to use eggshells to benefit a plant

It is important to learn how to properly apply such nutritious fertilizers to the soil.

• The powder should be scattered over the beds in small portions. The first time the powder is sprinkled on the beds is when planting seeds or seedlings. This is the primary feeding. It is advisable to apply fertilizer directly to the planting holes, since there is often not a lot of it. Usually, it is enough to add about 300 g of powder per square of land per season to enrich it.
• The tincture is diluted with water at the rate of 1:5. It is simply used to add seedlings or plants in the garden a little at a time.

Which plants can be harmed by fertilizer?

Despite all its beneficial properties and high content of micro- and macroelements, not all plants can be fertilized with eggshells. For some crops, such environmental fertilizing is even harmful.

The shells of any eggs oversaturate the soil with calcium, and some crops cannot tolerate this element at all.

As a result, plants may become sick or develop poorly, the quality of the harvest decreases, or the plants stop bearing fruit altogether.

• Cucumbers of all varieties, as well as strawberries and wild strawberries, do not tolerate such fertilizers. These crops react very violently to such feeding.
• He does not like calcium and beans of all types, as well as cabbage.
• Spinach also does not tolerate such additives.

When it comes to growing indoor plants, some indoor flower crops also do not like calcium. This is a hydrangea that is planted on summer period into the garden, as well as delicate violets, pelargonium and azalea.

Help in the fight against insect pests

Shells against insects can even be used in greenhouses. The powder simply scatters over the area. The shell protects tomato seedlings especially well from diseases and insects. You can scatter the crushed shells instead of scattering them, but simply put them in their entirety next to the bushes.

To summarize, it must be said that it is possible and necessary to use eggshells in the garden. This a budget option mineral fertilizing, which is too expensive in the store. In addition, such fertilizer is completely natural, which allows you to grow an environmentally friendly crop.

So, without spending a penny on the purchase of fertilizers, you can use waste from the kitchen to fertilize berry fields, gardens, vegetable gardens and indoor plants.