Do Jade Plants Like Eggshells

What is fertilizer, and why do we need to use it for our plants? Nutrient-rich soil is not always enough for a plant to grow to its full potential. Plus, as they grow and develop, they absorb all of the nutrients from the soil around them.

So even if you used nutrient-rich soil to plant your seedlings, you still need to replenish those nutrients throughout the rest of your plant’s life. Fertilizer is any material of organic or synthetic forms that provides nutrients to plants.

One excellent method of fertilization is using eggshells; since most people already have them in their homes, they are easy to use and readily available. Even those more low-maintenance plants like succulents, specifically jade plants, need fertilizer to continue growing. So, do jade plants like eggshells?

Yes, jade plants do like eggshells. Eggshells provide calcium which is essential for jade plants to thrive.

To keep your jade plant fertilized with all of the nutrients it needs, you can add some eggshells to their soil. This will remain an easy and low-maintenance process for you, and your jade plant will love it.

Do Eggshells Make A Good Fertilizer

Eggshells make for an excellent fertilizer because of the calcium they offer to the plant. Much like humans, plants need lots of calcium to grow big and strong.

Eggshells contain high amounts of calcium, so adding these to the soil around your jade plant is a fantastic way to get that calcium to their roots. Using eggshells as fertilizer also helps to reduce your waste. Next time you cook eggs, set the shells to the side for your plants instead of throwing them in the trash.

What Is The Best Fertilizer For A Jade Plant

While eggshells are an excellent way to fertilize your jade plant, you might also want to invest in liquid fertilizer. Your local gardening center should have a variety of liquid fertilizers that you could introduce to your jade plant.

Look for one that is specifically for cacti and succulents so it will have all of the nutrients your plant needs. You must water your plant first. Watering your plant first helps to ensure the fertilizer gets deep into the soil to the plant’s root so it can start to absorb it. Even after adding the liquid fertilizer, you should go over the soil again with more water. This helps to push the fertilizer down further to be properly absorbed.

What Plants Do Well With Eggshells

If you wonder if you can fertilize other plants in your garden with eggshells, you can! Plenty of plants benefit from the added calcium from eggshells and will thrive if you add some to their soil. Fruits like strawberries and tomatoes love to have eggshells added to their soil.

If you have more of an edible garden, squashes like eggplant and zucchini will benefit greatly from some eggshells, as would some leafy greens like spinach, swiss chard, lettuce, and broccoli. If you have some decorative marigolds, you can also add eggshells to their soil, and soon you will see them growing brighter and bushier than ever!

How Do You Fertilize Plants With Eggshells

To fertilize plants with eggshells, there are several methods you could use. The first step is to gently wash the eggshells and set them to the side to dry for each method. Once they are dry, you can choose to crush them up with your hands, which happens to be the most popular method.

Most gardeners crumble up the dried eggshells in their hands and stir them into the soil surrounding their plants. You can also use a coffee grinder to pulverize your eggshells into a nice fine powder. Coffee grounds are rich in nitrogen and potassium, making them an excellent addition to your fertilizer. You can blend the eggshells and coffee grounds and add them to compost or mulch to add on top of your soil.

Do Eggshells Help Plants Grow

Eggshells do help plants to grow. The calcium they offer to the soil helps plants continue a healthy growth cycle. They also help with the soil’s acidity, keeping it at the perfect PH balance. Jade plants begin their active growing cycle in the spring, so consider this if you consider incorporating eggshells into your gardening routine.

During the winter months, you can add them, but jade plants go dormant and slow their growing cycle. This means they are not actively drinking as much water as they usually do, so adding eggshells to their soil during this time of year is pretty wasteful.

How Often Should I Put Eggshells In My Garden

Jade plants need to be fertilized about 2-3 times a year. You should be fertilizing them once in the early spring before their growth cycle begins and again in the late summer as an extra boost before they start to slow down and go dormant. If your jade plant is in a lot of sunlight frequently, you may feed them one extra time in the summertime to keep them growing nice and strong.

Once they go dormant, they do not need to be fed or bothered; they need to rest. The idea is you should be giving them enough nutrients during their growing cycle so that they can survive the entire winter. Kind of like when bears eat extra food before going into hibernation.

Things To Consider

Make sure your eggshells are healthy before using them as fertilizer. If your eggs have started to go bad or have strange spots, it is best to throw them away. Any disease that the eggshells have will seep into the plants and ultimately get them sick. Inspect your eggshells and wash them thoroughly before preparing them to be fertilizer. If you wouldn’t eat it yourself, you shouldn’t feed it to your plant.