Comments on The Compost Bin: Egg Shells

I would not compost a whole carton of rotten eggs....

2008-05-06T07:37:00.000-04:00

I would not compost a whole carton of rotten eggs. That would stink!

So I have a whole carton of eggs that have long pa...

2008-05-03T11:15:00.000-04:00

So I have a whole carton of eggs that have long past expired. Is it okay to put an entire egg, (whites, yolks and crushed shells) into the compost?

For years i collect a few weeks worths of eggshell...

2008-04-13T22:29:00.000-04:00

For years i collect a few weeks worths of eggshells and then grind them up in my spare mini food processor. In 30 seconds they have been turned into the consistency of sand. Then I just spoon my bounty to the plants that benefit the most. very easy and no waiting around for the eggshells to break down.

We raise our own chickens and save the shells to c...

2008-04-01T09:31:00.000-04:00

We raise our own chickens and save the shells to crush and give back to the chickens to peck. They need the minerals to make strong shells. (Some people actually buy chicken grit for this purpose, if their chickens are free ranging.) However, if they taste raw eggs they learn to bust open the eggs that have yet to be collected from the coop, so yes, we microwave them for a minute or two before crushing them and throwing them over the fence. And, I agree, child labor is best for this task, but a mortar and pestle isn't necessary. (If I had one, I'd let them use it. More fun!)

Hi Ki,Yes, I notice the birds making off with my s...

2008-03-31T09:24:00.000-04:00

Hi Ki,
Yes, I notice the birds making off with my shells sometimes too. I don't really mind.

I just throw the eggshells in the garden bed and s...

2008-03-31T07:57:00.000-04:00

I just throw the eggshells in the garden bed and stomp 'em. Trouble is the birds pick up little pieces and pretty soon the shells have disappeared!

Oldroses,I don't crush my shells, but I do turn my...

2008-03-28T15:34:00.000-04:00

Oldroses,
I don't crush my shells, but I do turn my compost a lot so they wind up in small pieces anyway. I don't notice them when I spread the compost so I'm guessing they're breaking down.

R Joe,
You get the overachiever award of the day. Wow, that sounds like a lot of work to me but if that's what you're into, then go for it.

Didn't consider the salmonella part although I know that there's less risk of that with organic free range eggs. So I should be fine. Thanks for the comment

I'm a little more anal retentive with my egg shell...

2008-03-28T15:02:00.000-04:00

I'm a little more anal retentive with my egg shells, I suppose. All year long the wifey and I rinse and collect them after meals until we fill an old soup container from chinese take-out. Then they are placed on a cookie sheet - or in the toaster oven - for 20 minutes on 220(F) to kill of any dormant salmonella.

When they come out they're crushed using our mortar & pestle and placed into an old coffee can. It takes us about a year to fill up the coffee can but come spring it serves two purposes.

First, in early spring when you first notice the birds starting to become active, place some of the crushed egg shells near a bird-feeder and watch them come pick at it. The crushed shells make for great gullet-gravel and the steady supply of the enriched form of calcium helps encourage them to build their nests nearby.

The other half of the coffee can gets deposited into the new season's first compost pile to be added to the various garden beds in the yard.

---
If you were just going to compost the egg shells I'm sure you could skip the steps of baking them off but it really does help them crush much more easier once they've been dried out anyways so it's up to you. Not all that much more work once you get into the routine of it.

The only problem I have now is my backyard is quickly becoming a aviary, lol.

I didn't crush my eggshells last year, and now I k...

2008-03-28T14:40:00.000-04:00

I didn't crush my eggshells last year, and now I keep digging them up everywhere. They are slow to break down. Our family seems to produce a lot of eggshells and tea bags.

This year, I started saving our shells separately and drying them (unwashed). I read several suggestions that scattering them around plants deters slugs. And I sure do have slugs (not bears, thankfully). Worst case, it does nothing and the shells break down faster.

My 11 year old daughter enjoys grinding them up with a mortar and pestle for me.

Do you crush your eggshells before adding them to ...

2008-03-28T13:41:00.000-04:00

Do you crush your eggshells before adding them to your ocmpost? I throw mine in whole but they don't seem to be breaking down completely. When I topdress with compost, my beds are covered in pieces of eggshells.

Bears!?! I guess I have the luxury of being lazy ...

2008-03-28T06:59:00.000-04:00

Bears!?! I guess I have the luxury of being lazy but if you have bear problems, please do what they suggest. I thought I had a hard time with my woodchuck, I can't imagine worrying about bears.

I was reading that I should wash my egg shells (wh...

2008-03-27T23:37:00.000-04:00

I was reading that I should wash my egg shells (which I really don't want to do!) in order to avoid attracting bears to my compost. Every spring and fall we have trouble with black bears - last year one ripped apart my very solid black plastic composter. I can still see the puncture marks from his teeth :) I wonder if washing them really makes any difference. I eat an egg every morning, but compared to all our fruit and veggie scraps and coffee grounds their a pretty negligible part of the compost.