If you require a fast hit of calcium the easiest thing to do is to increase the surface area of the eggshells and letting them decompose. Don't use hardboiled eggs, as the shells would be brittle. Then, place the dried shells in the blender, and pulse until they are powdery-fine. Sprinkle in your garden. Or, if you’re transplanting a plant, mix some ground eggshell in with the potting mix. This will add nitrogen, potassium, phosphorus, and other minerals beneficial to plants. Eggshells make a great fertilizer that adds minerals and nutrients, like calcium, to your soil. It contains calcium carbonate that dissolves in various acids including vinegar used for cooking. http://ps.oxfordjournals.org/content/79/12/1833.short It is best to make apple cider vinegar at home, but if this isn’t possible, then buy only raw, unfiltered ACV packaged in glass. Is the herbicide claim verified? http://www.hi-tm.com/RFA/food-path-summ.pdf This article was co-authored by Andrew Carberry, MPH. Researchers in the Netherlands had eggshells from a number of sources analyzed and found that the concentration of calcium in eggshells averaged around 390 mg/g or 39% of the shell. Is the eggshell-vinegar claim verified? This reduced my contact with the shells and increases their contact with soil that has billions of competing bacteria. Eggs can contain salmonella. Later this year I am going to take a look through the Testing Garden Assumptions Series at a number of other resources that may be local to you. Soaking eggshell in an acid like lemon juice or vinegar reacts with the calcium carbonate in the eggshell, thus releasing water soluble calcium thus making it more easily absorbed in the body 🙂 mixing pulverized eggshell in a 1:1 ratio with the edible acid of your choice and letting soak for 30-60 minutes suffices. Thanks! The organic matter might be a surprise since it is not mentioned by any gardening sites. Save your eggs shells, and allow them to air dry. ", "The application of eggshells is quite clear and vivid! Andrew Carberry has been working in food systems since 2008. Alternative methods such as the commercial product like antacids are still made primarily of calcium carbonate and would require time to break down. "I read the farmers almanac, which gives great ideas, and I don't like wasting items, so I recycle lots of things. Vinegar has, among other things, a chemical called acetic acid (about 3% of it is acetic acid). They also contain a small amount of sodium, but not enough to harm your plants. The remaining egg content left on the shell may be a location where pathogens like Salmonella or E.Coli can colonize. I will try these methods. The calcium found eggshells can help control the acidity in soil. Most … For more tips from our Gardening co-author, including how to use eggshells as seed starters. Eggshell are a great source of calcium for the garden. You can clean it with water to remove salmonella. ", "This post helped me out a whole lot. {"smallUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikihow.com\/images\/thumb\/6\/69\/Fertilize-Soil-With-Eggshells-Step-1-Version-2.jpg\/v4-460px-Fertilize-Soil-With-Eggshells-Step-1-Version-2.jpg","bigUrl":"\/images\/thumb\/6\/69\/Fertilize-Soil-With-Eggshells-Step-1-Version-2.jpg\/aid263321-v4-728px-Fertilize-Soil-With-Eggshells-Step-1-Version-2.jpg","smallWidth":460,"smallHeight":345,"bigWidth":"728","bigHeight":"546","licensing":"