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Pennsylvania

A lot of people spray calcium onto their fruits to help reinforce the skin and keep it from splitting, so I got an idea. Why buy expensive calcium while you can just mix powdered eggshell with water and spray it on? It is at least 95% calcium carbonate, and may be even better because it also has trace minerals. What do you guys think?

3/13/2009 10:10:54 PM

Menomonie, WI ([email protected])

Calcium carbonate is not soluble enough to spray and be absorbed. You would be simply whitewashing your plant..Save the egg shells for the compost bin

3/14/2009 12:31:28 AM

Boise City, Oklahoma, USA

Shells take 2 or so years to break down and be useable... compost or pulverize and add to soil expecting 2-3 years for them to break down enough to be useable.

3/14/2009 12:23:09 PM

Manchester,N.H.

Would it still take 2 years to break down even if you put the egg shells in a blender and turn them into powder.

3/14/2009 12:58:47 PM

Boise City, Oklahoma, USA

Yep. The carbonate needs to break down and become a more useable/absorbable form.

Get some other source of calcium and use it. I am putting shells in my tomato patch but it's mostly to make my hubby happy he's contributing somehow to my composting/organic/natural soil improvements (he saves shells for me to work in), this will be second year of that, and I use other calcium sources right now.

3/14/2009 1:01:28 PM

Williamsburg,KY

Dennis, you will burn up your blender, believe me I have done it. Take Linus's advise.

3/14/2009 2:03:29 PM