Home gardener shares game-changing hack using eggshells: 'Awesome effects'

Healthy bones need calcium — but so do healthy plants. While giving your garden a glass of milk isn't an option, eggshells are a great way to give your plants a dose of the essential mineral.

If you're looking for the best way to harness the power of eggshells, one home gardener has a game-changing DIY hack for making a plant-reviving solution for calcium-deficient flora.

@mygardenburner Eggshells in the soil are great! Just don't expect any benefits for awhile. Instead, if your plants need calcium right away, consider this tip. Water soluable calcium is an easy way to foliar feed your plants. Credit to University of Hawaii's white paper on this method. If this was interesting or helpful, be sure to like, follow and share for more garden content. It really helps! #garden #gardening #gardentip #gardenhack #gardentips #gardenhacks #calcium #eggshells #eggshell #wsc #gardendiy #gardendesign #gardeninspiration #nwagardeners #mygardenburner ♬ original sound - Humblebee House

The scoop

In a TikTok video, the home gardener shows how they use crushed eggshells, vinegar, and chemistry to create a plant superfood. Though the hack takes zero special skill, it does require a dose of patience.

First, the gardener bakes discarded eggshells at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for an hour. Then, they crush the shells into small bits. After pulverizing the shells, the gardener mixes 10 parts vinegar with one part crushed shells in a mason jar.

"When you combine these, you can start to see the chemical reaction immediately as the CO2 escapes," the gardener says.

After simply letting the mixture sit for a week, you have water-soluble calcium. Add one tablespoon of the strained liquid to four gallons of water, and mist it on the leaves of your plants.

"By spraying this on young plants, they'll get instant calcium, whereas the eggshells may have taken much, much longer," the gardener advises, adding, "Water soluble calcium like this may take your plants to a whole new level this season."

How it's helping

Calcium is an essential plant nutrient that helps plants build healthy cell structures, per a study in Frontiers in Plant Science. The element makes plants especially resistant to disease and resilient in stressful environments.

Real Simple reports that symptoms of calcium deficiency in plants include stunted growth, leaf curling, dark leaf veins, weakened stems, and blossom-end rot in fruits.

Do you worry about the quality of the air inside your home? Yes — often Yes — but only sometimes Only when it's bad outside No — I never do Click your choice to see results and speak your mind.

While using crushed-up eggshells to support plant health isn't new, using shells to foliar feed plants — or applying nutrients directly to a plant's leaves, as explained by crop nutrition company Yara — isn't a common application method. Usually, eggshells are added to compost or applied directly to soil as a natural pest deterrent. But that may not be an effective way for plants to uptake the essential mineral.

Calcium is an immobile nutrient, which means it's difficult for roots to absorb under saturated conditions. According to Yara, applying a calcium concentrate to leaves as a mist makes the element easier for a plant to absorb.

Using eggshells to support plant health is also a great way to give new life to your trash. Plus, any remaining eggshell remnants from the vinegar mixture can go into your compost. As part of your compost, the eggshells can help further boost your garden, increasing your harvest of low-cost produce — and will be diverted from landfills.

What everyone's saying

Many commenters were excited to try the tip, while others were skeptical of the need to make water-soluble calcium. Fellow home gardeners said they had experienced great results after leaving eggshells in their compost to break down into calcium-rich fertilizer.

But those who did use the method were thrilled — even if a little patience and extra work was required.

"Game changer! I needed this so bad," one commenter wrote. "My tomatoes thank you."

"Been there, done that," another commenter added. "Awesome effects!"

Join our free newsletter for easy tips to save more and waste less, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.