Happy Friday!

Nutrients: Do you use crushed eggshells or eggshell-infused water in vegetable container gardens? Do eggshells attract critters (like the squirrel I see on my balcony sometimes!). I’ve read that people heat them in the oven to rid them of impurities as one collects them. But, wouldn’t the heat kill off the beneficial nutrients as well? I have only used eggshells topically in a raised garden to deal with slugs.

Fertilizer: What is the best non-toxic, organic fertilizer to use for vegetable gardens?

Milkweed Seeds: I just received a free package of milkweed seeds (labelled "save our monarchs") & was planning to plant them in a container on my balcony. Will milkweed cause problems for my vegetable garden (attracting caterpillars, etc.?).

Welcome to ATP!!!

Plant that milkweed, it will attract different types of butterflies while it is in flower but only Monarchs will lay there eggs on it. They will not bother your vegetable plants.


I have not tried crushed eggshells. Yes, they are a good source of calcium but much too slow to break down to be of any help on a container.

There are many good organic fertilizers. One of my favorites is Neptunes Fish/Seaweed liquid fertilizer. I use this on my flowers and veggies both.

I have seen a couple of videos where egg shells are soaked in certain liquids to obtain the calcium much quicker than letting them slowly release it in the soil. I don't remember the specifics though. I do grow a cherry tomato ('Reisentraube') in a huge container every year and I don't totally remove the old soil so the eggshells that I add are still in the pot, hopefully releasing their calcium.