Start your seedlings
Use half shells as seedling containers. Fill the shell halfway with soil, carefully place your seeds and wait for them to grow. To keep the eggshells safe, you can put them into empty egg cartons.
When the plants are large enough, you can transplant the whole thing to the garden, where the shell will break down, providing added calcium to the soil around it.
Herb garden booster
Herbs like basil, parsley, and rosemary enjoy the calcium boost from eggshells. Mix crushed shells into the soil or sprinkle around the base to keep your herbs lush and strong.
Deter garden pests
Sprinkle crushed eggshells around plants to deter slugs, snails, and even some caterpillars from devouring your garden efforts – they don’t like crawling over the sharp edges.
Fertilise your plants
Crushed eggshells are a brilliant natural fertiliser! Rich in calcium and other minerals, they’re especially helpful for veggies like tomatoes and capsicums, which often suffer if the soil is lacking nutrients. Just crush them up and sprinkle them around your plants – your garden will thank you with happy, healthy growth.
Lawn care helper
If your lawn is looking a little tired, crushed eggshells might be the secret weapon you didn’t know you needed. Ground into a fine powder (using a blender or pestle and mortar) and sprinkled over the grass, they slowly release minerals into the soil to help strengthen and revitalise your lawn over time.
Add them to compost
Eggshells are a wonderful addition to your compost bin. Not only do they help balance the pH levels, but they also add a solid dose of calcium to the mix. Give them a little crush before tossing them in, and they’ll break down more quickly while helping create a nutrient-rich compost for your garden.
Give your houseplants a boost
Put eggshells into a jar and cover them with water. Use the mixture for watering indoor plants with an added nutritional boost.
Houseplant drainage
You can also pop some broken eggshells at the bottom of indoor plant pots to help improve drainage and prevent soggy roots. They act like tiny rocks, but with the bonus of slowly releasing nutrients.
Calcium tea
Soak eggshells in water for a few days to make a homemade ‘calcium tea’. Use this mineral-rich liquid to water your plants and give them a gentle nutrient top-up, especially during the growing season.
