Grow tastier herbs with this one kitchen ingredient

If you want your herb garden to grow stronger and tastier this summer, then there is one kitchen ingredient that you need to add to your soil, garden experts say.

You can’t beat having your very own herb garden to add a home-grown flourish to any meal, but even the easiest herbs to grow at home require a little extra support, and this is where the classic eggshell comes in.

There are plenty of clever ways to use eggshells in your garden, but herbs with woody stems such as thyme, rosemary and sage will flourish from the added calcium that comes from eggshells, resulting in healthier, stronger and therefore tastier herbs.

Why you should add eggshells to your herb garden

Calcium can be greatly beneficial for plants that like alkaline conditions, so if you’re growing plants that like acidic soil conditions, this method is best avoided.

‘Fast-growing herbs, such as basil, coriander, dill, mint and oregano, will quickly deplete the soil of calcium, so being able to organically add calcium back using egg shells will ensure they can keep getting this important mineral,’ explains Lucy Bradley, Gardening and Greenhouse Expert at Easy Garden Irrigation.

‘Ensuring there is sufficient calcium within the soil not only improves the health of your herbs, it also improves the taste. It does this because calcium is an alkaline element and so will reduce the acidity of the soil, which affects the taste of leafy, green herbs.’

How to use eggshells in your garden

‘You can add eggshells to your herb garden by sprinkling crushed eggshells on the soil around the base of the plant, as they will eventually break down and release the nutrients back into the soil,’ explains Graham Smith MCIHort, a gardening expert from LBS Horticulture.

‘They can also be added to a compost heap to add calcium to homemade compost. If using directly on the soil or in a compost heap, ensure that you have thoroughly washed the shells so that there are no traces of egg white, as this can attract animals.

‘Alternatively, you can use eggshells as pots for herb seedlings if you are starting a herb garden on your windowsill. Once the seedlings are large enough to be transplanted, the eggshell can also be planted into the soil so it can break down to release calcium for the plant.’

Lucie also suggests using a pestle and mortar to grind clean, dry egg shells into a fine powder and adding them directly to the soil. She says you can also create a liquid fertiliser by: ‘grinding between four to five egg shells into a powder and adding these into a litre of boiling water. Leave to steep for between 48 hours and up to a week, shaking the liquid every day. It can then be used to water the soil around the base of your herb plants.’

Will you be adding eggshells to your herb garden to liven up your summer dishes?

Herb garden essentials