A gardener has revealed how your flower bed (Image: Getty)
A gardening expert has revealed how you can make the most of – utilising them amongst your plants and to encourage growth.
Laura, who founded the Young Growers Club which encourages children to get involved in growing their own food, took to to detail the little-known technique. “This eggshell fertiliser is so easy, and cheap to make,” she penned in a caption alongside her clip.
“You basically need to cook the eggshells so you remove any water and contaminants, crush them, put them in and jar with organic apple cider vinegar and then let the magic happen.”
Showcasing the finished product at the beginning of her video, Laura said: “I’ll use this during the growing season to fertilise my plants – I’ll use it during the growing season to provide calcium.” She then took a dozen eggs and baked them in the oven for 15 minutes at 160C.”
Laura advised to continuously check on the eggs to ensure they don’t burn, and once ready they should be carefully removed from the oven and broken up. She suggests wrapping them in a tea towel and striking them gently with a rolling pin.
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Next, Laura adds the pieces of eggshells to a small jar, ensuring its around 10% full. After adding the apple cider vinegar, Laura warns it is crucial to leave a gap at the top of the jar, otherwise you’ll be left with a foamy mess.
Instead, you should be left with a small amount of foam residue. She explains: “The chemical reaction that occurs looks awesome but also makes the calcium available to plants in a water-soluble form. This can be used to feed the soil for tomatoes and peppers.”
Laura closes her tip by advising that prior to use, the jar should be gently sealed and left in dark surroundings for a few weeks. “Once ready, dilute and use over the growing season. Note: it’s strong so it will needed to be diluted to a ratio of one tablespoon to 10 litres of water.”
Seeking further advice, one of Laura’s followers asked: “Why do you bake them?” Laura explained: “Gets rid of any contaminants. You could just wash them and crush them. But Nigel Palmer (who I learned this from) always bakes them.”
“I have never seen this method before, how fascinating!” exclaimed a second. “Now I want to try this myself.” Laura enthused: “Definitely worth it. You can use it on your tomatoes and peppers in the summer.”
As we are approaching growing season in the UK, it could be wise to give this tip a go. Who knows, it could help your flowers and produce be even more fantastic than usual.