Benefit of Egg shells in your plants.

[Pat]

I add eggshells to my house plants but I don't crush them. How do you add eggshells to your garden?

This article tells you the benefits of adding eggs shells and suggest that they be ground up.
http://ezinearticles.com/?The-Benefits-of-Adding-Egg-Shells-to-Your-Garden-Soil&id=1918618

 

[Chuck]

Egg shells are calcium, which all plants need. However, calcium is a tricky thing. In alkaline soils or soils with limestone bedrock there is already an abundance of calcium but most times the calcium is tied up in the soil and unavailable for plants to uptake. When this happens add Epsom salts as Epsom salts somehow changes the chemical makeup and allows the plants to uptake calcium. Egg shells are great source of calcium but they take a long time to completely break down so if your plants are short of calcium don't rely on them alone. The finer you can grind them up the better but they are not a quick fix in the best of circumstances.

 

[Gina145]

That's a really useful article, thanks. I like the tip about using them on the top of the ground to deter slugs - something I'm having quite a problem with right now as we've been having a lot of rain. The only problem is it will take a lot of eggshells to keep the slugs away, and we don't use a lot of eggs.

 

[marlingardener]

We have hens, which means we have egg shells, lots and lots of shells! Last year I saved up shells, ground them very fine, and put about two tablespoons of the ground shells into the planting holes before I set out my Roma tomatoes (famous for being susceptible to blossom end rot). I had a great crop of Romas, with only a few getting BER.
For deterring slugs, it is the sharp edges that make the slugs dislike an area. You can use rose clippings, any thorny plant stems, or anything else you can come up with that is sharp.

 

[Mika]

I crush my eggshells with a stick and a bowel. I normally just add the eggshells to my compost pile. Before planting the garden, I mix the compost into the dirt. I keep a bit of crushed eggshell for my tomatoes and peppers though. I start my tomatoes and peppers indoors early. Once it's warm enough for them to go outside, I dig a hole and toss in some egg shells and bonemeal. I don't really measure though: just a good handful. I don't add eggshells to my indoor plants though. I tried to once and my cat dug them out. I just buy a good potting soil and add miracle grow every once in a while.

 

[headfullofbees]

Egg shells are calcium, which all plants need. However, calcium is a tricky thing. In alkaline soils or soils with limestone bedrock there is already an abundance of calcium but most times the calcium is tied up in the soil and unavailable for plants to uptake. When this happens add Epsom salts as Epsom salts somehow changes the chemical makeup and allows the plants to uptake calcium. Egg shells are great source of calcium but they take a long time to completely break down so if your plants are short of calcium don't rely on them alone. The finer you can grind them up the better but they are not a quick fix in the best of circumstances.

Yup.
If your soil's depleted, eggshell will not provide enough, but it'll add a little if your soil calcium levels are just a wee bit low.

 

[Nikkishea21]

I usually ground up any available egg shells i have in the soil when i am starting out with planting but it is not ideal to place there after the plant has began growing if it is in a pot.