Do Eggshells Help Houseplants?

Regular fertilizing is necessary to keep your houseplants healthy. There are a variety of ways you can fertilize your houseplants, and many natural fertilizers you can use. There are many benefits to making your own plant food. Not only does it save you money you would have to spend on expensive fertilizers, you can also recycle household waste in the process.

One ingredient that is common in many homemade plant food recipes is egg shells. You might be wondering if eggshells really do help houseplants?

Yes, they do! Eggshells contain calcium, and calcium is necessary for adequate plant growth. There are several ways your houseplants can benefit from egg shells.

The first method for preparing egg shells to be used as a fertilizer is to make a fertilizer "tea". Make sure to rinse out your eggshells first to remove any debris that might still be clinging to them.

Place a handful of egg shells in a large bowl and cover the egg shells with boiling water. Let the mixture sit overnight. The next day, strain the eggshells out of the liquid and pour the eggshell water into an empty gallon sized container like an empty gallon milk jug. Use the homemade fertilizer tea to water your houseplants. When watering your plants, it is best to use room temperature water so you don't shock your plants, so make sure that the water isn't too hot or cold.

Another way to incorporate eggshells into the soil of your houseplants is to crush dried eggshells in a food processor and then mix a few teaspoons of the crumbled egg shells directly into the soil of your houseplants. If you don't have a food processor, you can also use an old coffee grinder to crush them. Eggshells will crush much more easily if dried. If you are short on time just put them on a cookie sheet and bake them at 350 degrees for a few minutes until completely dry.

If you are potting a new plant, place a few teaspoons of crushed eggshell in the bottom of the pot before you add the soil.

Note: You don't need to regularly add eggshells to your plants in order to get the most benefit from the eggshells. There is not much soil in your potted plants, so it is very easy to unknowingly negatively increase or decrease the pH level of your indoor plants. If you are adding eggshells directly to the soil, you only need to do this about once per year. If you are making eggshell tea, you can apply this fertilizer tea to your plants about once per month.

In addition to using eggshells to fertilize your indoor plants, you can also use them as a DIY natural fertilizer for hanging flower baskets. Eggshells have many uses as a natural fertilizer for both indoor and outdoor plants. So if you have indoor plants, give this DIY fertilizer a try and see for yourself how much healthier your houseplants will be.

Rachel Paxton has been sharing cooking, canning, gardening, and homemaking skills with the next generation for more than 20 years.