Tomato is a glorious fruit that keeps on giving once planted. Whether you like to eat them in a salad or on a sandwich it’s always better to use the ones that grown in your garden rather than store bought ones. So, when you decided to grow your own tomatoes in your garden, don’t forget to use eggshells on tomato plants to see wonders.
The most exciting part of growing tomato plants is harvesting. Seeing our own red tomatoes on our plants makes us happy, Right? But, what if you find a large black spot on the bottom end of that pretty tomato? It definitely disappoints you and blemishes most of the fun out of it.
You may question, what happened to your pretty tomato? Those black spots happen due to “Blossom End Rot”. Even though there are many reasons behind the cause of blossom end rot which includes temperature fluctuations, watering problems and sunlight, calcium deficiency is considered as the main one. Well, eggshells are a great source of calcium, adding them in the planting holes gives you tasty tomatoes at the right time.
Why Your Tomato Needs Eggshells?
Even though soil has plenty of calcium, eggshells add extra calcium to your wonderful plants without messing up with the PH level of the soil.
Once your eggshells break down, they provide slow release calcium and restructure the soil and improve its drainage. Placing around your plants also helps to deter slugs and snails from cohabitating your tomato plants.
For growing any type of plants, your soil should be accommodating with any kind, where tomatoes love well-rich, drained, nitrogen rich soil. Adding eggshells for your tomato plants will make them happy and you as well in the long run.
How To Use Eggshells For Your Tomato Plants:
From now, never throw your egg shells in the bin after use. Firstly, wash them before you do anything with them. For better use, put them in 300-degree oven for more than 10 minutes, then powder them in a food processor.
When eggshells are ground up in to a fine powder, they are better absorbed in to the ground. If you feel it like a big process, then crush them in to pieces with your hand after washing and place them around your tomato plants.
You can also add eggshells in to your mulch to provide other nutrients that soil needs including phosphorous, zinc, manganese, iron and copper. Since many plants take calcium out of soil during their growth, you just need to add some back in the form of eggshells in to the ground.
Washing eggshells won’t smell because the sulfuric scent is gone. If you’re still worried, putting them in oven will reduce lingering odor.