Rural Smallholdings Magazine

Okay, so you’ve had your eggies and soldiers for breakfast, but then what? What do you do with your egg shells? Do you put them to good use, or simply throw them in the bin?

Here are some ideas of how you can recycle your egg shells. You’ll never have to throw an egg shell away again!

We recommend that you rinse out all egg shells and air dry before reusing elsewhere.

Deterring Snails and Slugs

In the garden, give your plants some added protection from hungry snails. All you need to do is scatter crushed egg shells around your favourite plants. If you have a lot of plants, then obviously you’ll need a lot of egg shells. You can always save your egg shells over the winter months by storing them in a canister or container of some sort, ready for use during Spring and the Summer months.

Forget Seed Trays!

Pop your seeds into cleaned and dried egg shells that you have filled with compost, to give them the best possible start in life. Then pop the egg shells back into the egg box to contain them. If you can get your hands on the cardboard egg trays that hold around 30 eggs, then even better. Once your seedlings are ready to be planted out, all you have to do is to gently break the egg shell around your seedling and then plant the whole lot (egg shell included) into the soil / compost. Egg shells contain calcium, which is why they are so good for your very young seeds and plants.

Better Compost

Mix crushed egg shells into your compost to give your plants additional nourishment.

Quick Boost for your Plants

Add crushed egg shells around the base of your plants to give them an injection of nutrients. Particularly great for your tomato plants!

Did you have boiled eggs for breakfast this morning?

If you did, what did you do with the water that your eggs were cooked in? Some nutrients are released into the water from the eggs during cooking, which would be a shame to waste. After letting the water cool, use it on any of your plants that you feel need that little extra bit of a boost.

Slightly straying from the topic at hand, we put to good use our small coffee cups and saucers – make great egg cups (providing you’ve got large eggs!).

Ditch the Bleach

Apparently egg shells are a really good cleaning agent. Finely crush your egg shells into a powdery like substance. Add a little water and use in drains, and, for example, a heavily stained teapot. Works wonders, I’m told.

We hope that we have given you food for thought. That’s all the ideas we have here at Rural-Smallholdings.co.uk, but if you have any of your own, please let us know by leaving your comments at the bottom of this page. Thank you!

Article and Photography by Rural-Smallholdings.co.uk