Last updated on September 26th, 2022 at 12:37 pm
After consuming your eggs, do you often throw away the shells? Well, if you have been doing so, this article will help you see an alternative way to put eggshells to good use.
And because eggshells are used in improving regular soil, many people wonder, are eggshells also good for cactus?
Yes, eggshells are good for cactus since they excellently provide it with calcium carbonate that keeps the cell walls of plants strong and stable and promotes the growth of new cells, roots, and pollen tubes. A lack of calcium will cause the tips of leaves to become gelatinous and deformed, and roots will turn black, which may lead to the death of plants. However, the Cactus will not accept every form of eggshell application.
What Do Eggshells Do on Cactus Soil?
When eggshells are used on cactus soil, it helps to improve the soil quality. Without grounding them into fine dust, they can also serve as mulch and protect the soil from moisture loss. The use of eggshells on cactus also protects the plant from pest infestation.
Read on as I explain these benefits individually below.
1. Improving Soil Quality
The presence of calcium carbonate on eggshells plays a key role in the health of your cactus plants. Although nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium are the most fundamental nutrients in the growth of plants, calcium is also important in building healthy cells in plants.
When crushed, powdery eggshells mix with organic matter in your cactus soil, they will assist the newly introduced plant to grow and efficiently thrive.
The calcium carbonate found in eggshells can also be used effectively in cactus soil for liming (reducing the acidity) of soil pH. Also, eggshell helps in aerating the soil.
2. Control of Pests
The smell of the albumen inside the egg keeps deer away, while the broken, crushed eggshells keep snails and slugs away.
Although animals like deer hate the smell of eggs, others are easily drawn to them, like rodents. So, I will advise that you use a different deterrent if you intend on applying it close to the house.
3. Starting Seed Vessels
Eggshells make excellent seed starters or succulents propagation vessels. In this form of propagation, you will grow the seeds inside the eggshell. Immediately these seeds begin to sprout.
You will have to take and plant it, the egg and all, into the soil or a bigger pot where they will continue to grow.
4. Mulch
Eggshells provide striking importance in gardens since if you apply a very large quantity of eggshells, it can provide a tougher layer that will serve as mulch and prevent the growth of weeds, protect soil from insulation and retain moisture.
What Plants Benefit Most from Eggshells?
There are so many plants that benefit from eggshells being applied to their soil, and some of these plants are:
1. Water Thirsty Plants and Young Plants
The essentiality of calcium to the growth and development of plants cannot be overemphasized. To boost this nutrient in young plants, you will make a mixture of water and powdered eggshell, which you will use to water these plants.
2. Peppers, Tomatoes, and Eggplants
When faced with a lack of calcium, the plants mentioned above suffer from blossom end rot disease, which may destroy your entire crops.
But when you use eggshells with vegetables in a planting hole, you can prevent and adequately combat blossom end rot.
Upon decomposition of these eggshells, a slow but steady calcium release will prevent the blossom end rot disease.
3. Plants That are Prone to Pests
For plants like marigolds that snails and slugs usually attack, it is wise for you to use eggshells as deterrents.
The eggshells are placed encircling the plant, and any attempt of pests to come close to this plant will result in the soft body of the pest (snail or slug) being eviscerated by the edges of the eggshells. It is a natural alternative to chemicals when controlling pests.
4. Plants in Pots
Here you can use eggshells to generally block holes in pots. This method is done by placing the shells at the bottom of the pot; you can also do this for every plant. Also, upon decomposition, they can supply nutrients to your soil.
How to Apply Eggshells on Cactus Soil?
There are so many ways to apply eggshells to plants, but since we are considering its application on cactus soil, we will be discussing three of those ways, which are as natural fertilizer, as eggshell tea water, and as seed starters.
1. Natural Fertilizer
It would be best to introduce eggshell into your cactus soil in powdered form, and to make it in this form – you need a grinder, mortar, pestle, and a mixer to grind the eggshell.
Apply the eggshell into the soil. I will advise you to place the shell into the soil in the fall to mix well with the soil by the arrival of spring.
2. Eggshell Tea Water
Also popularly known as organic calcium water, it is a homemade all-natural fertilizer that you can make by crushing clean eggshells, then pouring boiling water over the eggshells.
Then you will need to allow this tea to stay overnight, after which you will then remove the shells the next morning and spread the tea right onto the soil.
This homemade fertilizer does not need to be put into a refrigerator because houseplants want it best at room temperature.
3. Seed starters
You can also apply eggshells into cactus soil through this avenue, and to do this, you would need some materials. They are – eggs (that will carry the young succulent plant), cuttings, cactus soil, a small spoon, and a needle.
To begin, you will break the egg a little at the pointed end in a way you can use your finger to remove the shell and then pour out the egg.
While the next thing to do is to thoroughly clean the shell, use the needle used to make holes under the egg, and then use the spoon to fill the shell with cactus soil.
Finally, you need to make a hole in the soil with your finger and then place your succulent plant.
Note that eggshells are not applied to potted cactus soil because cactus soil needs well-draining soil, and this will be a challenge because these shells will block the holes of the pot unless they are applied in powdery form.
Conclusion
Eggshells are good for cactus soil because they contain calcium carbonate and help to improve soil and plant.
They also benefit plants by giving nutrients, combating diseases, deterring pests, and controlling drainage. And you can apply eggshells to cactus soil as fertilizer, eggshell tea, and seed starters.