Friday, March 11, 2011

Eggshells in the Garden

This year, I've been trying to get creative with my kitchen scraps. My ultimate goal is to create less household trash, but I'm also looking for organic solutions that benefit my vegetable garden.  I created a worm bin last month so that I could A.) use the left over pulp from my fresh-squeezed veggie and fruit juices, and B.) have endless access awesome fertilizer: worm "tea" and castings.
While I cook with eggs nearly every day, feeding my red worms sharp eggshells is a giant no-no. Their small, slimy bodies would be ripped to shreds. As I considered my options for the eggshells, I thought about the new butter lettuce that has already pushed its way through the soil this year. Last year, I had an outbreak of green caterpillars that called dibs on my lettuce, and ate far more garden-fresh salad that I did. As I thought about how frustrating those caterpillars were, I crushed the eggshells in my hand. Grrrrrr! And then the light bulb went off. This year I'm cutting the caterpillars off at the pass, literally.
It may sound disgusting, but I plan on lining the beds of all my tender greens with crushed up eggshells in order to shred the bodies of unwanted worms, slugs, and snails.
I've spent far too much time stalking the perfectly camouflaged bodies of these pests, and this year, I'm hoping that my eggshell "spike strip" will help do my dirty work.

My lettuce, Swiss chard, rhubarb, lemon balm, mint, cabbage, and cauliflower are already surrounded. Once my tomatoes, eggplant and peppers go in the soil, they too will get the same treatment- not only for their own protection, but because the added calcium from the shells will help nourish the soil and keep them healthy.

In conclusion, eggshells are awesome for:
  • Stress-relief (crushing them in your bare hands can be quite satisfying) 
  • Slicing up the soft bodies of slimy garden pests and
  • Supplementing your soil
  • Plus, you were probably just going to throw them out anyway, right? So they are basically free!
Happy gardening everyone, and I hope you all have a nice weekend.
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7 comments:

  1. Ha ha "slicing up the soft bodies of slimy garden pests"! You are waaaaay to excited about the gory deaths of such cute creatures! =) I would be too! A garden is way too much work to let it be bug food. I'll have to remember this if I ever get around to starting a garden.

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  2. This is an excellent idea! I go through a dozen eggs a week and also had a problem last year with inchers on my plants. I'll start building my arsenal now!

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  3. I hear used tea bags are perfect for the garden as well, especially for root vegetables, plus a perfect excuse to feel like you're saving the planet whilst sitting down and having a cuppa!

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  4. i'll definately give this a go, used tea bags are also brilliant, they also just blend into the colour of the soil....

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  5. I swear this saved my spinach! coffee grinds also do the trick. Thanks for sharing (nice photos too!) Cheers - Ingrid

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  6. Thank you very much for this idea. I have tried it on my first herb to go into the ground a few days ago and plan to use it on a number of my herbs and veg.
    Keep up the good work :D

    http://fromtheknightgarden.blogspot.com/2011/03/planted-at-last.html

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  7. I don't know if you are aware that those colorful little marigolds that everyone has planted here and there, are also great for keeping many critters at bay. Seems critters don't like the scent. Plant one marigold in between your plants and you'll not only keep them away, but your garden will be brighter. My dad used to do organic gardening ALL the time, bless his soul!

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