Garden soil affected by climate change may become increasingly acidic without maintenance.
Adding calcium carbonate helps balance the soil so it can produce healthier, stronger plants. Here are three easy tips provided by specialist garden designers at Groby Landscapes which can introduce calcium carbonate naturally into your garden soil using eggshells.
Try Egg Planting
It’s a bit of a Pinterest fad, but it can work. Start your seedlings in the rinsed, discarded halves of eggshells like you would in a plastic planting tray. Don’t forget a drainage hold in the bottom; you can use a needle or toothpick to carefully create one. Then, place your tiny eggshell pot back into its carton to hold it upright. Place this on a waterproof tray for stability, and proceed as normal with your seedling routine.
When you’re ready to transplant, gently crush the bottom of the eggshell and remove several shards to ensure the seedling’s roots don’t have to fight their way into the soil.
Egg planting can also be a fun way to get kids involved, too. However, while some blogs suggest decorating the eggshells, be sure to only use organic dyes and other decorating supplies if you go this route, or you could undermine your own good intentions.
Feed Your Worms
Ground eggshell added to your worm bin can greatly enhance the efficiency and quality of the soil your worms produce. Pulverize your eggshell in a coffee grinder or similar kitchen gadget, then mix into the bin and let the worm’s internal grinding craw break down the shell, releasing the calcium carbonate into the soil.
A Great Liming Agent
Grinding eggshell to a fine powder can reduce the time it takes for the nutrients to be released into your garden soil. Use a coffee grinder as in the previous paragraph, then pour the powered shell into your planting hole instead of a store-bought liming substance. Not only will you reduce your own waste, but also avoid accumulating the plastic packaging of the liming substance. For faster results, boil the eggshells in water, then allow them to sit overnight. Strain the solution and pour the calcium carbonate solution that’s left into your planting hold. Be sure to spread out the liquid solution over two weeks toa void overdoing it.
It’s the little things that count. Using eggshells as a natural, waist-free liming agent is an easy way anyone can contribute to supporting both local and global ecosystems.