I am on this egg-white diet and I am constantly starving- lol. I have been saving my eggshells for my fig plants. Since I love boiled eggs, I make a huge batch of it. I peel and save the eggshells to dry for a few days. After a few days, say 2-3 days, I take those eggshells and put it in my Magic Bullet Blender, and blended until powder consistency. 

Eggshells, are great for fast growing plants and have great nutrients for soil (so I have read)- CALCIUM. Usually I use dolomite lime. But, the garden centers here are closed and I usually have to hunt them down. Powdered eggshells are sprinkled here and there in the pots. So far, the figs love it.

Have you tried this?

Jennifer

http://www.theprairiehomestead.com/2012/08/9-things-to-do-with-eggshells.html
I'm gonna save mine now thanks Jen.

thank you tony. loved the link.. 

jenn

one of my aunt in korea used to do that along with lot of bird droppings and left over fish bones. at least egg shells don't smell as bad as fish bones or bird droppings x)

I put all my compostables including egg shells in a gallon zip top bag. This goes in the freezer right in the kitchen. When the bag is full and I have time I put it in the compost bin outside. When turning the compost the shells get broken up. By the time the compost is finished they are in small pieces. My thinking is that as they break down further they will slowly release calcium.

Wait a minute! What are doing with your egg yolk? That's the tasty part. When I was wee little, my grandmother had a raspberry patch right outside the back door. Coffee grounds and eggshells always went on the raspberry patch. When the chickens were particularly productive, we would get egg custard (flan in some parts) topped with fresh raspberries. I suppose the coffee grounds would be too acidic for the figs, but eggshells - yes.

My chicken started lying more eggs as the weather is warming up. Would organic free range eggs work better?

Lol- my father still does. He doesn't care, but he lives in Guam. We raise chickens, fish/fishing, rabbit, and pigeons. He uses all decomposed droppings, ground bones, and ground eggshell and throws it in the garden.

Jennifer

That is what I am using- I like organic, so I buy mine from locals. But I am sure store bought eggs will do just fine too. Just make sure you crush it up before you throw the shells in compost or when you sprinkle it in your pots. Eggshells decompose at a slow rate, that is why I grind mine up. I store my ground shells in an airtight container.

Jennifer

FYI - It takes a very very long time for microbes in the soil to break down eggshells,
ground or not.  That is why people still see them in their finished compost piles.
 
So adding eggshells to a small container is kind of pointless,
as it does not accomplish anything for the plant.


Best way to use your eggshells.
Bake them until almost brown.
Crush/grind up.
Put in a jar and cover with vinegar.
After 2-3 weeks, eggshells are dissolved.

Take solution, dilute 20:1 with water
and spray on your plants before flowering begins,
apply once a week at most.

Calcium Phosphate

Thank you Hungryjack,

Hey whatever works. I do appreciate the information. If I want faster results, I will try that method. It was slow to break down when I sprinkled eggshells 2-3 weeks ago but i dont do this daily. I also incorporated powdered eggshells into my mixing medium too: perlite, compost, eggshell powder, manure, and vermiticulite. Usually after two weeks, cuttings grow either rapid or slow, in either case they use soil for nutrients. It is still winter here, so I am in no rush.

Jennifer

Musillid,

I throw the egg yolks away or I give it to my pet parrot or my dogs. I don't like yolk- lol

Here is a picture my kiddo's

Jennifer

I appreciate it.

and I like results too. I will pan roast it today, why not? Thank you for your advice.

I'm having eggs for breakfast and loving the smell of coffee in the morning. Spring is coming I can feel it. Hang on everyone.

Jennifer

Enjoy your breakfast.

Whats for lunch,
eggs also ?   :-)

Yes...."eggs" also (but only the whites!) AND I am having beef Pho soup for dinner thank you very much- lol

Jennifer

your dog has better taste than mine. mine for whatever reason love digging for earth worms. they will be renamed "earth worm hunters" from "fig guards".

That is just too funny. EARTHWORMS? Like he digs for the worms and eats it. Oh that is hilarious

Jennifer

Jennifer, try the Paleo life style.  Get this book The Paleo Solution by Robb Wolf.  Try his challenge for 30 days and see how you feel.  The book is great to read and explains the challenge.  You learn a lot!

I dropped 15lbs in 30 days and the funny thing is....I have not gained any back.

Jennifer, nice dogs and parrot, I too have a chihuahua, actually 3 long hair chihuahuas, also an African grey parrot who talks constantly. What breed of parrot is yours? I crush up my eggshells and throw them in the compost pile along with all other food scraps and grass clippings. It makes good compost for the figs.

I like it, I will order. I am tiny, so I don't need to lose too much. I am itty-bitty-5'2. For some ODD reason my howlie hubby likes meat on my bones. I enjoy reading that you have not gained the weight back. Good job

Jennifer

I used egg shells before the big Ant invasion.   Just make sure you rinse the albumin off if you don't want THEM.

I lasted on that Paleo Diet 2 days!!  Good info on the Eggshells.  I like the vinegar cocktail fertilizer!

Suzi

Actually, egg shells are almost 100% calcium carbonate. Calcium phosphate is pretty water soluble at neutral pH unlike Ca carbonate. Vinegar will solubilize the Ca carbonate leaving a solution of Ca acetate and releasing CO2. While vinegar (acetic acid) will solubilize your egg shells, take care to get the balance right. Too much vinegar results in an acidic solution being applied to your plants that can really damage them. Too little vinegar and you will have solid egg shell still there.

If your potting mix has added mycorrhiza and beneficial bacteria, the Ca carbonate will be gradually solubilized. Grinding them up does speed that process as Jennifer points out. I use egg shells as part of the nutritional regime for tomatoes I grow in pots. It is pretty cool. In the fall, when you dump your pots, you can pull out the egg shell shards and determine the approximate amount of calcium remaining on a % weight basis using a colormetric test compared to a fresh egg shell. In my tests, the amount of Ca is reduced >95%. OR you can throw the egg shells in your worm bin and let the microbes in the worms' guts do all the work. Worm castings are developing are becoming recognized as one of the best nutritional amendments you can add to plants.,