Don't Dump It — Here's How Boiled Egg Water Can Help Your Garden

One of the best things about having a garden is the way in which it recalibrates us to the resources and realities of the natural world. For example, water is a renewable resource, but liquid water isn't infinite. Or infinitely accessible. If that fact matters to you, then there's a chance you've looked at boiled egg water once or twice and thought, what can I do instead of dumping it down the drain? Reader, get this. You can pour that pot of water into your garden. It may even add trace minerals.

Most gardeners, especially those who dabble in making their own compost, know that eggshells can be pretty useful as an amendment to soil, because they are rich in calcium. (Anecdotally, some say crushed egg shells are a good garden slug repellent.) Calcium content is the same reason why boiled egg water can be a good thing to irrigate with periodically. Although the amount of calcium or nutrients is considered to be low by some and negligible by others, your plants will still enjoy that water more than the municipal system, where it will go by getting dumped down the drain.

Depending on what you're planting, the garden might call for a fair bit of extra calcium. Blossom-end rotting, common in tomatoes, is caused by a lack of calcium. In some brassica vegetables, too little calcium is the reason for tip browning. Peppers, eggplants, and other leafy greens all need soil with a balanced amount of calcium. So, it can't hurt to water with boiled eggshell water if the pH test calls for it. Still, if your soil is lacking calcium, you will likely need to exceed the microscopic amounts found in eggshell water.

Adding finely ground eggshells directly to your soil is a good place to start. Once a year, raking small amounts of fireplace ashes into your soil can also be a no-waste way to supplement calcium. (Fireplace ash is calcium carbonate, and too much can spoil the ground. Tread lightly.) The zaniest way you might add a little calcium to your soil while making use of inedible leftovers? Milk water. In the right ratio and frequency, expired milk is a tool for watering regimens thanks to its proteins, carbs, and calcium.