Your Broccoli Plant Will Thrive With The Help Of A Common Kitchen Scrap

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Growing vegetables that thrive and produce a great harvest is a top gardening goal. Broccoli is a popular choice among gardeners but is a little slower to grow, so starting the seeds indoors before spring officially begins can give your broccoli a nice head start. Beyond the seed-starting process, using a common kitchen staple almost everyone has on hand — eggshells — can help your broccoli thrive. Adding eggshells to the soil as fertilizer may provide a variety of benefits that result in healthier broccoli plants.  These benefits include lowering the acidity of your soil, which is good for plants that prefer more alkaline soil, adding nutrients to the soil, deterring pests, and adding calcium to the soil when ground up and mixed with your existing soil. 

Calcium is an important nutrient for plants that can help strengthen cell walls so the plant is stronger overall. A calcium deficiency can occur in overly acidic soils, soils that are rich in aluminum or sodium, and drought conditions. One way to potentially help boost calcium intake is with crushed eggshells. The calcium carbonate in this kitchen scrap can help make up for any deficiencies in the soil and possibly prevent blossom end rot. The potassium in eggshells helps reduce water loss and wilting that can plague garden plants. Magnesium is another important nutrient that eggshells provide, which aids the photosynthesis process.  Whether you add the crushed up eggshell powder directly around the plants or put them in your compost pile, there could be a marked benefit that your plants will appreciate.

There are many unexpected uses for eggshells in your garden that might improve the health of your broccoli plants and other vegetables too. But, take these steps before adding this kitchen staple to your broccoli plants' soil.  Start by washing the eggshells gently to get rid of all egg residue, and place them on a towel to dry. Once they are dry, grind them up into a powder. You can do this with a mortar and pestle, a plastic bag and a rolling pin, or a food processor like this Ganiza Electric Food Processor until you make a powder. However, be careful not to breathe in the eggshell powder — it may be worth it to wear a mask. Once the powder is ready, sprinkle it around your broccoli plants and mix it into the soil thoroughly. 

Another method you can use is to add a couple of dozen eggshells to a full gallon of boiling water in a large pot. Let the entire pot of eggshells and water sit overnight. The next day, strain the pot retaining the water and use this calcium water for your broccoli plants. Repeat every couple of weeks. If you are adding eggshells to your compost pile, you don't have to crush the shells first, but keep in mind that crushing them will speed up how fast the eggshells break down. There are things you should never put in your compost bin – such as internal contents of the egg — but the shells themselves are an excellent addition to any compost pile once washed.