Egg Shells and Coffee Grounds

[karadawn]

I know this was briefly mentioned in another post, but figured it needed it's own topic. I am a big believer in organic gardening and living, so always try to find ways to naturally "boost" my plants when needed. I have found two of the most common household "waste" items are true favorites of tomato plants - egg shells and coffee grounds.

Coffee ground are rich in nitrogen, and help the plant itself grow big fat leaves. Careful with this one - while you do want healthy green plants, we don't eat the green part. Too much of this nutrient will not help it bloom, just grow wild. I found this out last year when we added a whole bucket of grounds around the plants. They grew beautifully, but didn't bloom for awhile. Alternatively, coffee grounds could be used with greens that you do eat, such as spinach or lettuce.

Egg shells, on the other hand, I believe are high in calcium and other minerals, and help tomato plants bloom. My year old indoor tomato plant got a boost a few months ago with crumbled up egg shells and is now blooming like crazy. I did make sure the shells were clean before I added them in, so no unwanted bacteria grows in strange places.

Have you ever tried either of these items on your plants?

 

[Ashanti Duggins]

I've never thought to put egg shells in my mini compost. I knew some plants liked caffeine but I didn't know why until your post. Thanks for all the info. Now I need to go rinse off some egg shells, my mini compost needs a new ingredient. #EggShells

 

[Owdboggy]

Many years ago one of my relatives lived and gardened near to an Egg processing factory (not sure what they made, but they used a lot of eggs). He used to get skip loads of them to dig into his allotment soil. The crops were superb!

 

[IcyBC]

I use coffee ground, banana peels and egg shells in my garden and in potted plants too. I think I gave it just enough and not overloaded either. My soil seemed to be more healthy looking and less bugs on the plants too.

 

[marlingardener]

I put coffee grounds in my compost, but since there are just two of us, and we drink perhaps three-four cups in the morning, there aren't a lot of grounds! We do have hens, so use a lot of eggs. I have found that rinsing the shells, crushing them, and putting about 2 tblsps. of crushed shells in the planting hole for tomatoes really helps prevent blossom end rot. We never had much luck with Roma tomatoes (susceptible to BER) until we started using crushed shells in the planting hole. Now we have big, healthy Romas.

 

[Beth_B]

I absolutely do...eggshells I save and crush, they go into the compost pile now (previously I was just tossing them into the soil around plants.) Same with coffee grounds and banana peels too.

My local Starbucks store has coffee grounds free for the taking. Check anywhere that sells a lot of coffee, they likely give the grounds away.

 

[Corzhens]

My nephew who is a habitue of Starbucks would sometimes give me a bag of coffee grounds that he gets from Starbucks. He said that coffee ground is good for the plants and I agree because it seems that the odor drives away the pests. With egg shells, my aunt used to that in her garden. But when I made a research (from the garderners in a flower show) they said eggs shells should be ground and better yet powdered to have a good effect on the soil.

 

[karadawn]

My nephew who is a habitue of Starbucks would sometimes give me a bag of coffee grounds that he gets from Starbucks. He said that coffee ground is good for the plants and I agree because it seems that the odor drives away the pests. With egg shells, my aunt used to that in her garden. But when I made a research (from the garderners in a flower show) they said eggs shells should be ground and better yet powdered to have a good effect on the soil.

I have to agree - it probably is better to ground up egg shells before using them. I had forgotten that's what I did with the egg shell and water mix when I was attempting to get my tomatoes to bloom. I used a pestle and mortar set to grind up the shells before I put the powder in water. It was still a bit chunky so I probably should have ground it down further, but it seemed to work pretty well ground up only slightly.

That's a good idea asking local coffee shops for coffee grounds! We seem to have plenty all the time since we make two pots a day.

 

[Corzhens]

I have to agree - it probably is better to ground up egg shells before using them. I had forgotten that's what I did with the egg shell and water mix when I was attempting to get my tomatoes to bloom. I used a pestle and mortar set to grind up the shells before I put the powder in water. It was still a bit chunky so I probably should have ground it down further, but it seemed to work pretty well ground up only slightly.

That's a good idea asking local coffee shops for coffee grounds! We seem to have plenty all the time since we make two pots a day.

I texted my aunt about those egg shells that she used to put in the garden. Well, it's for the decoration and not for fertilizing the soil. She said that in those days, egg shells were used to adorn the plants so it would look attractive. On grinding the shells, she advised me to soak the egg shells in water for 1 day before grinding and mixing into the potting material. That way, the nutrients will be more potent.

 

[arthnel]

I heard about coffee grounds helping plants but I've never tried it. I often thought it might make the fruit taste bitter. I've been using eggshells in my composts for years now and I can tell you they really work. I don't know if it's because of the calcium or what else because this was a practice just past down from earlier family folks. We started out putting them in flower pots of plants that were not doing so well and I cannot recall even one plant that did not begin to grow beautiful after adding some eggshells and simply stirring the soil and watering often. They all looked more alive after adding the shells.

 

[Beth_B]

I heard about coffee grounds helping plants but I've never tried it. I often thought it might make the fruit taste bitter. I've been using eggshells in my composts for years now and I can tell you they really work. I don't know if it's because of the calcium or what else because this was a practice just past down from earlier family folks. We started out putting them in flower pots of plants that were not doing so well and I cannot recall even one plant that did not begin to grow beautiful after adding some eggshells and simply stirring the soil and watering often. They all looked more alive after adding the shells.

Don't think it makes fruit bitter but you might get caffeinated tomatoes!

 

[arthnel]

@Beth_B I know, I know....
It's amazing where your mind can take you without you even putting effort into thinking. I just thought the roots would suck up the bitterness and it had to go somewhere, so I just thought it get stuck in the vegetables or fruit. Caffeinated tomatoes were a definite possibility Beth. You know how I was thinking for sure.

 

[Momhardatwork]

I have not tried the coffee grounds because I am more of a tea drinker, however, I have tried egg shells. I also agree that they should be crushed or pulverized before use. The first time I used the eggshells, I did not see a huge effect and I believe it is because I did not crush them properly. Most of it will eventually break down in the soil, however, it takes a long time. I have also tried banana peels but did not consider it for providing nutrients to the soil and plant. I was using it as a natural remedy for white flies that were attacking my bell pepper plants. Thanks for the tips and I will try the coffee and banana peels for enrichment of the soil!

 

[headfullofbees]

http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11738-007-0132-4

 

[Pat]

I make a tea with the egg shells and coffee grounds for my plants, outdoor plants and indoor plants get a good drink at least once a month.