When you prepare a recipe, you crack eggs and throw away the shells. It is believed that the life of the shell stops there. Too bad really, because the shells are 95% calcium carbonate! It is therefore not surprising that they strengthen our bones and protect tooth enamel. What if we reused the shells instead of throwing them away? We may have never told you, but anything in an egg can be eaten. A bit like fruits and vegetables. Shellfish are an amazing source of calcium, half an eggshell is enough to meet the recommended daily calcium intake. If you keep chickens, you must eat hundreds of eggs a year. With these tips, you’re done throwing away shells! You can use them in your home, garden, and even in your food. Here are 15 great reasons to never throw away your eggshells again:

  1. To make seedlings

Sowing seeds in the spring without using small plastic pots is not always easy to find an environmentally friendly solution. Some use yogurt pots, food packaging such as strawberry baskets again, but it’s still plastic. Of course there are peat, wood, coconut fiber pots, but eggshells are the most natural. Fill the shell halfway with soil, then place the seeds inside and wait for them to sprout. To keep the shells in place, place them back in their boxes. When the plants are big enough, you can put the shell in the ground, it will decompose and provide the necessary calcium for the plant.

  1. To mulch your garden

Store your eggshells carefully, and when you have enough, crush them coarsely. Then place them at the base of your plants or shrubs. As they slowly decompose, they aerate the soil by improving water flow and gradually releasing calcium. The finer you chop them, the faster they will decompose.

  1. To grow beautiful and large tomatoes

You can put the eggshells directly under the tomato plants when transplanting. And when you see a tomato plant from the previous season reappear, you can help it grow well by giving it some natural fertilizer in the form of eggshells. Adding calcium to tomato plants prevents blossom end rot (which is not a disease, but a disorder caused by a calcium imbalance). Eggshells are also good for squash, peppers, cabbage and broccoli as well for the same reason.

  1. To feed your chickens

If you want your chickens to produce healthy, hard-boiled eggs, just let them peck eggshells! They need plenty of calcium. So, if you find that your chickens are eating their own eggs, it may be due to a vitamin deficiency. Dry the shells at room temperature and when you have collected enough, lightly mash them and then place them on a baking sheet. Bake in the oven at 280°F for ten minutes. Give your chickens a small amount of this powder after it cools. Some people don’t like this method, it’s up to you to make up your own mind.

  1. To keep away snails

While ducks readily eat snails, they don’t eat them all. And most importantly, we can’t leave them in the garden because they do a lot of damage. So, for natural slug control, roughly crush eggshells and sprinkle them around the base of plants. It will keep slugs and snails from eating your pretty green vegetables.

  1. To enrich your compost

A compost helps reduce waste and then reuse it for the vegetable garden. And again, calcium content comes into play. To improve the quality of your compost, add eggshells in addition to the usual shells. A compost pile reduces your household waste and also helps fertilize the garden.

  1. to feed the birds

If chickens love eggshells, so do wild birds. So, you can give it to them. Bake the shells in the oven like you do with your chickens, then crush them up and sprinkle some on their feed or on the ground for them to find and peck.

  1. To sweeten your coffee

The shells / coffee association is wonderful for 2 reasons that no one knows. First, an eggshell takes the acid out of your coffee. Very handy if your coffee has been brewing too long! The powder from just one egg or just the finely broken shell will sweeten 4 cups of coffee. Secondly, the eggshells prevent the coffee grounds from boiling, especially if you make coffee on a stove while camping. No more wasted coffee with this tip! All of this naturally adds some calcium to your coffee, which you can drink dairy-free.

  1. Make a nutrient diet

In a vegetable broth or in a huge pot-au-feu you can add a few pieces of eggshell. This will not change the taste of your dish at all, but will provide important minerals such as: Magnesium, fluoride, selenium, zinc, iron, and Phosphorus. Perfect for a little vitamin kick without having to take tablets, some of which are heavily manipulated.

  1. To make a home remedy

Eggshells are also the basis of an unknown but extremely effective grandmother remedy! To do this, put dried eggshells in a jar filled with apple cider vinegar. Then let them for 3-4 days. At the end, you get a tincture that relieves acid reflux, treats minor skin irritations and itching.

  1. To prepare your homemade toothpaste

When you look at what a commercial toothpaste contains, you no longer want to put it in your mouth, to avoid these toothpastes, there are quite a few alternatives such as baking soda, ash or clay formulas. What if I told you that eggshells can also be used in homemade toothpaste? To make it, mix 1 cup of oven-dried eggshells, 1 tablespoon of baking soda, 2 tablespoons of liquid coconut oil and 1 gram of clove powder. This paste is perfect for pearly white teeth without cavities. Try it out and let me know!

  1. To make a homemade mask

To nourish and tone your skin, crush your dried eggshells in a mortar with a pestle. This makes it possible to obtain a fine powder. Then, beat an egg white until stiff and add the eggshell powder. Apply this cream on your face and let it dry. Rinse it off with cold water. Here is an effective treatment for the skin and totally free!

  1. To whiten your laundry

If your white laundry is not as white as it used to be, you don’t need to add bleach. To make your laundry sober, put eggshells in an old stocking with lemon slices and Presto in the machine. You’ll be impressed with the results. And all this for next to nothing!

  1. To clean heavily soiled pans

Having trouble salvaging a burnt pan? Put a pinch of eggshells with soap and warm water to clean it. By breaking them, the very abrasive shells will remove the encrusted dirt. You can also use crushed eggshells in vases or bottles that are difficult to clean.

  1. To replenish calcium

The best way to eat eggshells is to grind them into a fine powder and add them to juices, smoothies, soups or stews. If your diet already contains enough calcium, it is not worth abusing this trick. For your information, half an eggshell a day more than covers your basic calcium needs.

Why eat eggshells?

Besides replenishing calcium, the shells improve bone density, remineralize teeth, and relieve joint pain and inflammation. All this on the condition that the shells come from chickens raised in freedom and in good conditions. You will understand, in the egg everything is good!

What kind of eggshells to use?

For a healthy and natural diet, eat eggs and shells from organic or free-range chickens. Factory farmed eggs are much less nutritious and may contain pathogens. If you don’t have chickens at home, buy your eggs from a local farmer or farmers market. You will be sure to have fresh and healthy eggs. Obviously, these tricks work with duck, turkey and even quail eggs.