How To Make Calcium Powder For FREE!

I eat a lot of eggs.  Mostly scrambled.  For dinner.  But I put them in all sorts of things from baked goods to mock chicken fried rice and then some.

For years, I was saving the used shells in my freezer to use later in the garden when planting everything, especially tomatoes.  But about a year ago, it occurred to me that I could keep them without having to use up freezer space.

So now I save the used shells in a container in the fridge until I use the oven (usually a day or two later).  Then I spread them out on a cookie sheet and bake them to dry them out.  I just pop them in with whatever else is baking at any given time.  20 minutes is usually enough but I let them cool in the oven too, just to ensure they get thoroughly dry.

Once dry, I toss them in the food processor (you can do this by hand too- just be careful as the shells are now sharp) and grind them up into a powder.

Then I simply store them in a container, adding to it each time I have a new batch of egg powder, until the next gardening season.  This is an awesome way to add calcium into your soil, save waste from going to a landfill, give any extra nibble to much desired garden worms, and get a valuable resource for free.  So much better than buying chemicals!

Do you have any homemade tricks for your garden?  Have you ever added eggshells in any form to your garden soil?  I've read that you can sprinkle the shells around plants too, to deter slugs.  I've not tried it as I've been lucky enough not to have a huge slug problem yet.