Egg Shells in the garden

[StephenLee]

Grandfather Lee is my gardening guru. He has kept his family in fruit and vegetables since Moses was a lad. He worked in a foundry since14 and, being fairly lowly paid for most of his working life, the vegetables were a valuable addition to the household economy. His garden and allotment must be the most productive bits of land in the known world. He has won so many competitions over the years that he has lost count.

However, He has a dark side. Sometimes when I ask him about one of his gardening techniques or methods, he reverts to his native impenetrable black country accent and speaks at length with me not understanding a bl**dy word except his finale of “yungun”. He then fixes me with a mischievous stare and laughs his socks off.

He has done this recently when I asked him why he collected egg shells in a container in the kitchen. Periodically he would put them on a baking tray and put them in the oven while it was heating up for Sunday lunch. He then pulverises them in a pestle and mortar into a coarse crumb and then sprinkle this onto his vegetable beds and rake it in.

Given his production success, I have no doubt that his is beneficial but I have not the slightest clue why.

Can anyone enlighten me please.

Stephen

[Red Doe]

My uncle used to do the same, it helped keep slugs and snails off the plants and seedlings as they don't like the sharp grit of the shells.

[Ian]

There are a number of minerals and trace elements 'trapped' in eggshell notably calcium but many others as well, they come from the grit that the hen grubs up as it forages and is one of the reasons hens have to have grit for their health. The egg shell is one way in which they excrete the excess in their body. So as the shell breaks down the minerals will be available to the plants.

We just put the shells in our compost which eventually gets dug into the garden

[preppingsu]

Both great responses.

We use them around plants that attract slugs (cabbages, lettuces etc) and we also put them in the compost. Hopefully getting the best of both worlds...