Do not regret that the summer season is coming to an end – the cold season can be spent with no less benefit for your favorite cottage. During the winter months, you can stock up on valuable products that are at everyone’s fingertips. Next season, they will help you to get a generous harvest without spending too much. First of all, take a closer look at the eggshell-the traditional “garbage” that regularly appears in every kitchen.
Eggshell – “garbage” is in quotes, because many do not even realize what value is constantly sent to the garbage. This natural product helps to increase soil fertility in the garden and in the garden, becomes a lifesaver for the owner of the site with acidic soil type, disarms some garden pests, acts as an excellent mulch and is indispensable during spring sowing. But about all under the order.
1. Use as fertilizer
Traditional medicine has long used eggshells for medicinal purposes, because it contains a large number of valuable minerals and trace elements. In its composition, the largest share is calcium carbonate (up to 90%), the rest falls on other 27 compounds, among which it is worth noting the rare fluorine, zinc, iron, silicon and molybdenum. These elements are indispensable in the nutrition of any plant. So why don’t we turn eggshells into fertilizer? It will be especially useful on light sandy soil, where plants often have calcium starvation.
Rotting in the soil, the eggshell gives the plants their elements, and does it gradually-the effect of its application is observed for a long time. In addition, this bioproduct presents food to cultural plantations literally on a platter – in an easily digestible and accessible form. Such a natural top dressing does not contain additional ballast, which many store-bought drugs sin, so it is not necessary to talk about the reverse side of the shell medal.
To increase soil fertility, it is enough to scatter the crushed shell evenly over the surface of the bed (1-2 handfuls per m²), and then seal it in the ground when digging. The larger the shell, the longer it will rot, and the effect, accordingly, will come later.
To speed up the impact, pre-grind it in a coffee grinder or food processor to the state of flour or as finely as possible grind in a mortar.
2. Deoxidize the soil
The same sandy soil often gives an increased level of acidity, so the owners of such land holdings eggshell will bring double benefit: increase fertility and simultaneously shift the pH level to normal. This effect is achieved due to the high content of calcium in the shell. This element plays a primary role in other deoxidizers-lime, chalk, ash, etc.
If the soil on your site is devoid of such a disadvantage, egg waste is useful for preparing humus, which includes fresh mullein, fresh sawdust, fallen leaves or other similar materials, acidifying the contents of the compost. The shell will smooth out such a reaction and saturate the mixture with additional useful compounds.
3. Fighting pests
Some cottagers use eggshells to successfully fight the voracious Gryllotalpidae. To do this, dig in the aisles of the bait-finely crushed shell, flavored with unrefined vegetable oil. Gryllotalpidae, having tasted a fragrant delicacy, quickly dies.
Other comrades, thanks to this product, find justice for the larvae and adults of the Colorado beetle-powder them with flour from the shell. After a few days, the lifeless insects fall from the potato bushes to the ground.
Very popular are inedible remnants of eggs from summer residents, whose areas are attacked by slugs and snails. To protect plants from pest attacks, resourceful gardeners around the perimeter of the bed or the barrel circle make a border of crushed shells. Soft-bodied insects are unable to overcome the thorny barrier and either turn the other way or die from cuts.
4. Mulch the beds
To collect for a year such an amount of eggshells, which would be enough for mulching the entire garden, is unlikely to succeed. However, the area of all plots is different, as well as appetites. In one house, scrambled eggs appear on the table a couple of times a month, and in another, where a large family lives, the daily diet includes not only everyone’s favorite fried eggs and omelets, but also a variety of salads with the addition of this product, casseroles, homemade cakes, etc.Here, the number of inedible shells can be measured by buckets. This will be enough to cover the surface of the soil on several beds or to mulch all the trunk circles of berry bushes.
In any case, the benefits of shell mulch are undeniable. Due to its strong structure, it does not rot for a long time, so it reliably protects the soil from drying out in drought and does not give weeds any chance of survival, and at the end of its mission saturates the soil with useful compounds. To such mulch well passed the air to the roots of plants, it is not necessary to turn it into flour – break the shells into large pieces.
5. We accelerate the germination of seeds and grow seedlings
Calcium carbonate, which is full of eggshells, is able to activate the proteins contained in the seeds. Due to the cooperation with calcium seeds germinate much faster and give strong shoots. To do this, it is only necessary to sprinkle the seeds sown in a moistened furrow or hole with shell flour, and then cover them with soil. The same is done with seeds that are sown in seedling boxes.
Another bonus is the opportunity to save on the purchase of seedling containers. If you carefully remove the shell from the tops of the eggs, pour the contents, wash them and dry, you can get natural cups for growing seedlings.
Make holes in them with an awl to drain the liquid, fill with moistened soil and you can start planting seeds. Seedlings can be planted on the bed with the shells, after tapping them with a spoon, so that they crack. Cardboard cages, in which eggs are sold, will help to conveniently place egg cups on the windowsill and transport seedlings to the country without loss.
Additional tricks
If you live in a rural area and keep a poultry farm, you are incredibly lucky – you always have a large amount of priceless eggshells at hand. Eggs of domestic chickens (as well as ducks, geese and turkeys), which are fed with natural products, are famous for their rich chemical composition and undeniable health benefits. The same applies to the shell left over from domestic eggs — valuable minerals and trace elements in it much more than from the store. But do not write off the waste from purchased eggs: they contain the same compounds, only in smaller quantities. Why put them in the bin?
Closer to winter, laying hens begin to lay eggs with a denser shell, that is, calcium in it is much more than in summer. Therefore, the cold season is the best suited for the collection of this useful product. Moreover, the most valuable in this regard are brown eggs — they always have a higher calcium content than white ones.
But when heat treatment in any shell of nutrients is very small-such egg residues are better to start mulching and pest control. To fertilize and deoxidize the soil, as well as accelerate the germination of seeds, use the shells from raw eggs.
Waste from boiled eggs should be spread on a plate or newspaper and well dried. The shell of raw eggs before drying, be sure to first rinse under warm running water, so that it does not exude an unpleasant smell. Egg waste will take up less storage space if you chop it right away and then put it in a jar or box. It is better to store such bioproduct in a cool dry place.
If you are going to use the shells for growing seedlings, select the most beautiful and durable, rinse them carefully and dry thoroughly. To prevent damage to egg cups during storage, fill them with cotton wool and gently fold into a cardboard box.
Eggshell stands out for its rich chemical composition and unique texture, so it will be an indispensable assistant in every garden plot. Therefore, I advise you to definitely develop a useful habit-to collect valuable eggshells throughout the year. This natural product will not only help to get a generous and environmentally friendly harvest, but also reduce the amount of the check in the horticultural store.
Dear readers, do you use eggshells in gardening? Share with us in the comments your and experience and tell us what benefits you derive from these kitchen waste.