What I want to say today is 7 facts about using coffee grounds and egg shells to make fertilizer. This includes many common misunderstandings and wrong ways of using this type of material. Of course, the most important thing is to share some good methods and precautions for using coffee grounds and egg shells.
Coffee grounds contain a lot of nitrogen, and when used correctly, vegetables can grow and flourish. The main component of egg shells is calcium carbonate, as well as some protein and other trace elements. They also need to be used correctly to be effective. I often add coffee grounds and egg shells to the soil for growing vegetables. These are very easy to get, no need to spend money to buy. In addition to accumulating some in our own kitchen, we can also go to the coffee shop to get coffee grounds and go to the cake shop to collect egg shells.
Keep adding coffee grounds and egg shells to the soil. After a long time of accumulation, the soil in your vegetable garden will become more and more fertile. However, the premise is that the correct method is used.
Let's sort through the facts about using coffee grounds and egg shells in the vegetable garden.
One, coffee grounds will not make the soil sour. Many people say that coffee grounds are acidic, and long-term use will reduce the pH of the soil. I don't think this situation will really happen. Because, although coffee is acidic, the coffee grounds used in vegetable plots are left over from brewing coffee. During the brewing process, most of the acid in the coffee has been dissolved in every cup of coffee. Even if there is a small amount of residue, it will not have any impact on the soil, unless all your vegetable plots are coffee grounds. So, you don’t need to worry about coffee grounds changing the pH of the soil. Instead of worrying about the acidity of coffee grounds, it is better to consider the impact of the alkalinity of the egg shell on the soil.
Second, putting fresh coffee grounds and egg shells in the soil will not work immediately.
Many people believe that by adding coffee grounds and egg shells to the soil of the vegetable garden, vegetables can immediately absorb the nutrients they release. A friend planted tomatoes, and found that some fruits had calcium deficiency such as navel rot, so he hurriedly used eggshells to supplement calcium for tomatoes. I looked at the results every day, and after a week, there was no improvement. Some friends saw that the leaves of vegetables such as zucchini turned yellow and lacked nutrients, so they quickly added coffee grounds to supplement nitrogen. However, after waiting for several weeks, no change was seen. I don't know where the problem is.
The fact is that when these materials are added to the vegetable garden, nothing will be released in a short time. It takes a long time for coffee grounds and egg shells to decompose, and only after decomposition can they release nutrients that plants can absorb and utilize. The vegetables you grow now, such as tomatoes and zucchini, may not be able to enjoy the nutrients released by these coffee grounds and egg shells. When you plant the next crop of vegetables, the nitrogen and calcium in the coffee grounds and egg shells will begin to be released. The same is true for other food waste, and it takes some time to decompose. The difference is that some materials decompose faster, and some take longer to decompose.
Egg shells decompose naturally, and it takes about two years for the calcium inside to be released; coffee grounds decompose faster than egg shells, depending on the soil temperature, humidity and microbial activity. If other conditions are suitable and your soil is rich in microorganisms, it can be decomposed as fast as 3 months; if it is in a very dry soil with few microorganisms, it may take 6 months for coffee grounds to decompose.
So, after you add coffee grounds and egg shells to the soil, don't expect them to take effect immediately, so that the vegetables will grow faster and better immediately.
Continuously adding nutritious materials such as coffee grounds and egg shells to the soil will make the soil more and more fertile, and slowly, the effect will be revealed.
Third, add coffee grounds and egg shells to the surface of the soil without any processing.
Add coffee grounds, egg shells, and any kitchen waste or other materials to the soil of the vegetable garden. Be sure to disinfect to ensure that there are no pathogens. Egg shells may contain Salmonella. The disinfection method can be exposure to the sun for a few days or baking in an oven before using it in the vegetable field. I use an oven to process the egg shells at 300 degrees Celsius and bake it for half an hour. It is thoroughly disinfected. With such eggshells, there is no need to worry about pathogens. If you put fresh coffee grounds on the surface of the soil, it is easy to breed mold. If you want to use it directly, at least