Here is another garden input that can be made in the winter over a fire from cheap, easy to find materials. Don’t waste these winter months, it’s a perfect time to make your own inputs!
Plants need calcium to form structures like fruit and seeds. They pull calcium from the soil so it is important to replenish it on a regular basis. A simple way is to crunch up egg shells and spread them on the soil or mix them in your compost. However, your plants may need the calcium faster than the microorganisms in your soil can break down the egg shells. Help them out by partially breaking down the calcium using vinegar!
I got this method from Korean Natural Farming. It is one of many methods they use to make homemade organic inputs from materials that are easy to come by. They use the abbreviation WCA for Water-Soluble Calcium.
What You’ll Need
- 2-8 cups cleaned, crunched up egg shells
- 1 quart to 1 gallon apple cider vinegar or brown rice vinegar (don’t use white vinegar)
- Cast iron skillet or pot
- Stove, barbeque, or fire pit
- Hot pad, large spoon, and a towel
- 1 – 4 quart glass jars or equivalent
- Paper towels or Coffee Filters and Rubber bands
- Strainer
Steps to make WCA
- Save all of your eggshells in a container. Rinse them off to avoid smell.
- When you have several cups worth crunch them up and put them in a cast iron skillet over a heat source. It is a good idea to do this outside because it creates a smell and can smoke.
- Toast the egg shells on medium to high heat until the white parts become tan. Don’t let too much of it burn. Blow on it or let the breeze carry away the little flakes of egg membrane.
- Take off heat and let cool. Fill jars just under halfway with toasted egg shells. Put the jars on a towel to absorb any spill over.
- Very slowly pour the vinegar in the jars until it just reaches the level of the egg shells. This will create a violent reaction. Allow the reaction to happen for 10 to 30 minutes before adding more vinegar. Slowly add more vinegar, allowing the reaction to die down between pours. This can take several hours. Stop adding about 1 inch from the top of the jar.
- Cover the jar with a breathable material like a paper towel and let sit for 2 weeks.
- You can gently stir the egg shells with a spoon every few days to help the reaction.
- Pour the vinegar through a strainer and put in a sealed container.
How to Use WCA
Plants need calcium the most while they are fruiting. If you test your soil and find that it needs a lot of calcium, you can add it immediately. If you have enough calcium in your soil, start adding it when your plants start fruiting and continue until the end of harvest.
Dilute 1 to 2 teaspoons of vinegar in each gallon of water and use as a foliar spray or to water the soil. At this dilution you can use it once a week to daily. Do not increase the concentration, just use it more often if you need more calcium.
You can add the eggshells to compost after you strain them.
Links to More Information
Korean Natural Farming Hawaii https://naturalfarminghawaii.net/
Chris Trump’s WCA how-to https://youtu.be/8_NdGTkxiUY
