DIY Water Soluble Calcium Fertilizer Using Eggshells and Vinegar 

For drying the eggshells, in the summertime I simply leave them out in a bucket in the sun and they dry quickly, in the winter I put the bucket near the woodstove. If you do need to use your oven, wait until after you have baked something, and then put the tray of shells into the oven. You can turn the oven off, as there is plenty of heat left for drying the shells.

Yes a older lady from Mississippi taught me this but I don't use all these steps and it works great my plants love it just as good as any store bought fertilizer if not better she called it tankage.... 💚 been using it for decades

For the nerds out there, vinegar (acetic acid) and eggshells (calcium carbonate) react to produce calcium acetate, water and CO2. It is water soluble, pH neutral and directly bioavailable as acetates are the most common building blocks for biosynthesis.

I gave up saving eggshells because they never broke down in my compost; now I can start saving/using them again. Thank you!

Hi Christina, Greetings from Windermere, Florida 9b Excellent video ❤ I have used eggshells in my garden for 50 years. But my uses have changed. Now I pulverize them and use as grit in my Worm bins. Their Castings are now calcium rich ❤

Yes, been using this method as I watched filipino channel & they call them CalPhos.. I panfry my smashed eggshells & then use my old blender. So far it works. Very informative video. Thanks for sharing.

I have watched several videos for making fertilizer from eggshells. However, yours was so easy to listen to that all my questions were answered. My confusion was replaced with comprehension after watching this video. I’m ready to to try it, no, DO it!

i use an old coffee grinder i got at a garage sale for a few bucks. the only thing i would change is evening spraying of leaves is less than ideal. as a general rule avoid doing this especially in humid places like most of usa. with tomatoes, when i plant the starts outside, i put in some of the powder in the hole. adding it to the compost is also excellent. excellent channel.

Well. Thank You!❤ I'm an organic gardener and have been making eggshell flour for couple years now but was not aware of this method. I'll definitely give it a try! Thx again!

actually, the powdered eggshell are great to add in the compost pile. the calcium will become available readily if add at the beginning of the heating process. indeed there is a wonderful process in biodynamics called cow pat pit you can use and tis very much like your ordinary compost in terms of maturity...blessing

I dry out the shells and turn them to powder and add to the worm farm or mix into potting soil. A flour sifter is good to dust around plants and scratch into the soil. I do the same with charcoal.

Thanks very much for this video, it was as informative as the one on composting. I wash eggshells with hot water. I gather anywhere from 1 to 2 dozen over the course of a week or so together and then microwave them for one minute. I assume that you’re putting the shells in the oven to kill any bacteria, and I am quite sure that putting them in the microwave does the exact same thing. I have been hand grinding them inside of paper towels with the edge of a jar, and I think I’m going to move to the electric grinder method. First of all, it looks a hell of a lot easier, and second it definitely grinds it to a finer powder than I can by hand. I will be adding some of the diluted mixture to my worm bin, and the rest I will add to my compost pile.

Appreciate your clear recipe to make the mother” solution of vinegar & egg shells and then the all important recipe for dilution !

I always save all my egg shells for the garden. I'll make the foliar spray. Thank you.

Greeting from Queensland Australia Chrsina, even though I'm seventy five I'm as active as and a keen garner. I'M quite a big environmentalists and greeny, I have chocks what you would call chickens I never dispose of the shells they are thrown into buckets and crushed. I'm so impressed with your way I'll do it that way from now on. I'll start tomorrow with shells and crushed one's. I also eat a lot of oranges I never thrown out the the pills as they contain Nitrogen, after peeling, place into the fridge to remove moisture for a fortnight the sit them in a sunny spot till the become stiff place in oven at 250 C for an hour, then food processor. Plus I collect used Coffee grounds where I'm a regular, they also have Nitrogen slugs and snails love it and it kills them with a hart attack, with the result there is no resistance built up unlike chemicals

Thanks! Working on first time bed w tomatoes and watermelon, hoping for the best!!

I do this with my chickens’ eggshells and use an old coffee bean grinder to make a powder. I then sprinkle that powder over their food for extra calcium.

Alaska native love you be safe stay strong God bless

throw a pinch of Epsom salt in there with it, your fruiting and flowering plants will love it ✌️💚

Watched all your vids Loved all of it need more please.😊🖖

Great information never knew to add vinegar to it and that it benefits soooo much thank you for sharing this vital information stay blessed

I just discovered your channel today and I love your videos. I am learning and laughing all at once. I love your authenticity. Happy growing!

I did teacher I'm confident my test score will be 100 thanks love you.

Actually, eggshells are very similar in composition to our own bones. Many trace and more significant minerals are in the shells. That red-pinkish color in the dust is magnesium and manganese which the latter combines with silica of the shell to make dolimite. Limestone with dolomite makes lime more usable in plants. Thanks!

Hi... Nice video! But ... I would like to give you a few hints!! First... Just throw the shells into a frying pan... Crush them up and on low heat cook them and stir them until they darken but not burnt... 10 minutes +/- Just crush them up while cooking... Do not powder them... Then using your same ratios put in big glass jar ... Put vinegar first and add eggshells slowly so it does volcano on you... Cover with cloth and tie with string.... Put somewhere cool and dark and place on some eruption if jar is not big enough. Any vinegar will do!! In about a week or so reaction stops... Strain put away... It last very long time in cool place. Always spray in late evening.. never early morning unless you are sure it will be cool and cloudy all day.

Thanks for sharing. Will be doing this. I have a huge bucket of eggshells. 😮 im a organic Gardner. 😊

Good information 👍

Well done, clear, informative

Thanks, from Nepal. I just found your channel and subscribed.

I Sun dry mine. Then I blend them to powder. I use my own homemade vinegar. Works great minimal electric used.

Very nice sharing friend.

Thank u from africa Tanzania 🇹🇿

I like your video so much you have a good idea very good see you for next videos thank you.

Thank you for the information. You say an ounce mixture to a gallon of water, but in the video you add about 3 ounces to a quart.

Very thorough! Thx!

Last season I ground the egg shells and then just sprinkle around the veggie plants and watered. Did not have any tomatoes with end rot.

I love those flowers in the kitchen it’s different

I do the same but use a 1:1 ratio and it works fine. I add 1 TBSP/gallon of water and water it into the soil. I don't need to wait with the 1:1 more than 20 minutes or once all the bubbles stop.

Mixing this with weed tea made from dandelions would be even more powerful, and the leftover grit is good for worms.

Thanks, Forever Food Forest. ❤❤❤

What does your house smell like when baking those egg shells please share 🙏 Love this video! Thanks you ❤

Thanks for the tips. ❤😊

Your simplicity and netcharAl

good information

Out in California leave them out for a day. It’s summer here so they will get dry after once day.

I just throw them in the compost pile. I’ll let the natural process takes it course. But this works too. 😃👍🏼

Thanks a lot. From Malaysia.

Thank you Lady I will do it in my garden

Hello Christina, Greetings from Michael Staten Island NY 7b. how often do you spray your plants with the eggshell solution. Thanks

I’m just wondering if you need to do the vinegar. After drying and grinding into a powder, can’t you just use it like a dry fertilizer, or will it just not produce the calcium that way?

Very cool love this thanks ,

Uhm, not on the same topic I guess but my grandmother used to bake/pulverize the shells and then add the powder to many meals especially where you couldn't tell like mashed potatoes, stews, etc. That little old lady NEVER got diagnosed with osteoporosis... (Note: I'm not a doctor and this is NOT medical advice folks).

Wow, thank you for sharing your video ❤

Excellent video thank you can be store for along time

It’s a good video to simplify methods. I follow Garden Like Vikings and his prescribe use of liquid calcium is about 1-2% while an ounce to a gallon is also around the same ratio of less than 1% How often you recommend to use as foliar spray and or drench. I have recommended a friend in Pakistan to use the concentration on their vegetables like tomato and eggplant. Tanveer Taj Calgary, Canada Zone 4

I don't wash them but sun dry the egg shells. Will it make a difference. Thank you for your video ❤

You stated 1oz to 1gal. But you measured out “1 quart” in your video. Can you confirm it is indeed “1oz to 1gal” Tnx

???I watched another video on this and my concoction 5 cups vinegar to 1/2 cup eggshell. It quit bubbling after about 2 1/2 days so I filtered out the eggshell mush. The color of the liquid is still mainly clear vinegar. The taste is different but still slightly vinegar in taste. Can I still use this as foliar?

Great video. Thanks

Hello from zone 4b in Quebec. I’ve only been growing veggies for our years and have a question. How often do I use this spray, and at what stage of maturity of the plants?

Thank you for sharing this video

Definitely worth trying out. Thank you.

Nice dear ❤

this is very good to do..tnx for sharing

I love thet thanks

Thank you so much for the advice .😀

Very Good. Thank you very much

It's been ten days- there was no high bubbling and the eggshells remain on the bottom. I used white vinegar- it only creates a tiny amount of bubbles when I stir/shake the glass jar. Is it because I am using duck egg shells? This is the type of egg we eat.

thanks

great dear queen

I have a question. You say at the end; 1oz of concentrate and 1 gallon of water. Buy in the video you’re only using 4 cups. What is it exactly?

Watching from Teacher Seve.

Sending support idol❤❤❤❤❤

Thank you, thank you!

I left my powdered egg shells in vinegar for a month, but it did not look like oat mild. I got egg shell residue at the bottom and cloudy liquid.

Nice. Tks God bless you.

Thank you. Every other source I looked at either gave me incorrect ratios or didn’t tell me what the finished product looks like.

Thank you

I usually put ground up egg shells in the ground when I plant tomatoes and they seem to grow faster. I'll have to try this method too. Do you put this on pepper plants too?

Why do you bake the eggshells? Can I use an fryer or microwave and for how long?

I can’t get my eggshells into a powder. My lil food processor only breaks them up into really small pieces. I’ve had this recipe sitting for days and they’re still not even halfway dissolved.

Not sure why you bake the eggshells fot that long. I only bake them long enough to kill bacteria for storage. They crush easily and then I pulverize them, just as you do. I have been sprinking the powdered eggshell in my gardem beds each year. I think I'll try this method this time. Thank you!

will boiled eggshells work or do they have to be roasted?

Made some last year, its in sealed mason jars, Is it still good yo use?

Hi! What is the purpose of baking eggshells? I love cutting corners and if its only for killing possible salmonella bacteria, vinegar will do it anyway.

Is it better to put it with vinegar to remove the calcium faster? I did it like that, and the vinegar killed my plants.

Thanks so much

For How many days it can be stored? And instead of viniger can i use lime juice?

Can the calcium fertilizer be stored in plastic containers or should it be stored in glass? Ty

hi guys, mine never turned into a unified milky liquid like that. however, i stored it in plastic bottles with the lid closed, opening periodically to let the gas out. is it important for the mixture to be able to breathe for it to turn into a milky liquid?

Thanks. Another guy who uses a 1:1 ratio says the egg shells will neutralize the vinegar so that dilution is not necessary. Is it different cuz you use a 10:1 ratio?

I’ve seen other videos that bake them for 20 minutes or even less. Won’t they burn at 200 for 2-3 hours? I assume this is Fahrenheit, which is about 90 Celsius?

Great in time for me tomatoes

How often do you spray the plants?

What kind of blender do you have?

Need a double blind study garden to see if the plants grow better.

Thanks friend

Can I use it on all my plants including orchids?❤

Nice, thank you 😊

when sis said im gonna show you what not to do lol i was like oh shit she serious