Not Banana Peels: This Natural Fertilizer From Your Kitchen May Help Cucumbers Thrive

You're thrilled to see the first little cucumber growing in your garden. That is, until you take a closer look and notice a mushy, black spot on one end. Blossom end rot develops on cucumbers, tomatoes, and other plants due to a lack of calcium uptake. It makes the vegetables look unappetizing and can also encourage the growth of bacteria and fungi. Not exactly what you want when you bite into a garden-fresh cucumber.

One way to keep blossom end rot away and ensure your cucumbers stay crisp and unblemished until harvest is to make sure they get plenty of calcium. Since they need calcium, cucumbers may be one of many plants that benefit from adding eggshells to the soil. But before you start cracking eggs and tossing the empty shells into your garden, know that it's not a miracle remedy. It can take years for the shells to decompose and seep calcium into the soil.

Preparing the shells before you add them to your garden will speed up decomposition or make the calcium more available to your plants. Water-soluble calcium is the most direct way to get calcium from the eggshells to your plants. After soaking roasted eggshells in vinegar, you spray the solution directly on the plant. Another option is to grind the shells into a fine powder and add to your compost pile or near the cucumber plant when you prepare the soil. 

Before you do anything with eggshells in your garden, test the soil to see how much calcium it contains. If there's an adequate amount of calcium in the soil, but your cucumbers aren't thriving, a watering mistake like under-watering may be to blame. If you do need to give your cucumbers a calcium boost, make a water-soluble calcium spray.

Gather up as many eggshells as you can, rinse them off, and remove the sticky inner membrane from each before crushing them into tiny pieces. Place the crushed shells in a skillet or baking sheet and roast either over low heat on the stove or in the oven at a low temperature, until the eggshells are dry and browned but not burnt. Pour brown rice vinegar into a jar, filling it about two-thirds full, then add the roasted shells to the jar at a ratio of 1:10 by weight. Cover the jar with a tea towel and set in a dark spot for about a week. 

The spray will be ready to use when no more bubbles are visible. Strain the shells from the liquid. Before spraying the calcium solution on your cucumbers, dilute it, using one part calcium solution to 1,000 parts water, or 0.06 ounces per half gallon of water. Pour the mixture into a spray bottle and spritz in a fine mist on the leaves of your plants first thing in the morning.