2024 Author: Gavin MacAdam | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:38
Eggshells have been used in everyday life since the days of our great-grandmothers - they perfectly help relieve coffee from bitterness, sharpen kitchen knives, clean kitchen utensils, remove stains from clothes, strengthen nails and even reduce wrinkles. Eggshells are also considered an excellent fertilizer! How to properly prepare her so that she becomes a faithful assistant to the summer resident and makes her contribution to the full development of the growing harvest?
Why are eggshells considered a great fertilizer?
Eggshells are very rich in calcium carbonate - they contain up to 95%! And, what is especially valuable, calcium carbonate is in the shell of eggs in a form that is ideal for assimilation. This allows not only to nourish the soil, but also to significantly reduce its acidity. In addition, eggshells contain phosphorus, as well as potassium, magnesium and organic protein, respectively, they can be used as a wonderful vitamin and mineral supplement, not only in the summer cottage, but also in indoor floriculture.
What crops would be grateful for such feeding?
In moderate doses, calcium is necessary for absolutely all plants - and berry bushes, and vegetables, and even flowers. And the most susceptible to feeding with eggshells are potatoes, pumpkin and tomatoes. Peppers and cucumbers with eggplants will be no less sympathetic.
The need for calcium is mainly experienced by adult cultures. As for the seedlings, an overdose of this element can harm it quite badly.
How to prepare the shells?
Eggshells, which will later be used as a natural and incredibly valuable fertilizer, should be thoroughly washed and dried thoroughly. If you ignore this point, the shells can quickly become an excellent breeding ground and the subsequent development of a wide variety of microorganisms. And the smell of such organic fertilizer will be very unpleasant, so do not tempt fate. As soon as all the shells are completely dry, they are thoroughly crushed or even ground into powder.
How to fertilize plants?
Crushed eggshells are introduced both when digging the soil and when planting all kinds of crops - valuable fertilizer is poured directly into the holes. Also, an infusion is prepared from the eggshell - in this case, vegetative plants receive liquid feeding. To prepare a nutritious infusion, crushed shells from five eggs are poured with boiling water (1 l) and, shaking regularly, the mixture is infused for five days.
Shells will also serve well when composting. And they also grow seedlings of garden crops endowed with a compact root system. Egg "pots" will become not only an excellent container, but also an excellent top dressing in the future (when transplanted into open ground - in this case, the plants are planted together with pre-mashed shells).
What else do you need to know?
Eggshells intended for fertilizing plants should ideally be obtained from raw eggs - the fact is that during cooking a fairly decent part of the calcium is washed out of the shells, which leads to an inevitable decrease in the effectiveness of this fertilizer.
Do not discount the fact that shells are just an additive, but not the main food for vegetation. That is, you will have to additionally feed the growing crops with fertilizers containing phosphorus, as well as potassium and nitrogen - these elements are also very important for plants. By the way, when making ready-made mineral dressings, eggshells will help to avoid extremely undesirable acidification of the soil.
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