I've mixed lemon juice with egg shells before and let it sit for a few days, and then added that mixture to water before watering my plants to add extra calcium. I think that makes calcium citrate. But, I haven't tried adding the entire egg or sugar. Seems like a good idea. I will try it in the future.
That’s a good question! I really don’t know if it matters. I do know that fresh eggs have a coating on them that prevents air from getting into the egg, so maybe that coating could slow down the process? It doesn’t hurt to wash them just in case.
I've been using dilute Maxi-Grow to water my cuttings and recently added a small amount of Doc Bud's mineral mix to the top soil and water it in when I water with Maxi Grow. I don't want to overdo it, so do you think a dilute watering with EAA would probably be ok only periodically before I uppot? Most of them still have many white roots, so I'm taking my time with uppotting.
Once they have that little bit of reduced N, the whole food web …bacteria, fungi, nematodes, arthropods … has enough fuel to begin building those legacy deposits. Rotted plant matter alone can’t do that on its own…it’s mostly carbon, and without available N the biology can’t build biomass fast enough to leave anything behind.
Exploded? No, that hasn’t happened yet. They do release a lot of stuff though and it develops quite a bit of sediment, which is desired. It seems to come through the pores in the eggshell. The citric acid in the lemon juice should cause the shells to soften. Some say that the eggs can dissolve within the 15 days, probably depends on how acidic the lemon juice is. Did you have one explode on you? I’m curious now! 🤔
They do swell! But do not explode to my knowledge. Here is the science-y reason for why the eggs swell:
“The reason is because water entered the egg via osmosis. The concentration of salts, proteins, and other molecules inside the egg is greater than the concentration in the cup. The egg membrane is semipermeable. It allows the movement of water, but not larger molecules. So, the egg swells with water to try to dilute the inside of the egg so it has the same concentration and outside of the egg.”
I've mixed lemon juice with egg shells before and let it sit for a few days, and then added that mixture to water before watering my plants to add extra calcium. I think that makes calcium citrate. But, I haven't tried adding the entire egg or sugar. Seems like a good idea. I will try it in the future.
I have a source for fresh chicken eggs - yay! $64 question-do I need to wash them first since they are straight from the chicken? 😁
That’s a good question! I really don’t know if it matters. I do know that fresh eggs have a coating on them that prevents air from getting into the egg, so maybe that coating could slow down the process? It doesn’t hurt to wash them just in case.
I've been using dilute Maxi-Grow to water my cuttings and recently added a small amount of Doc Bud's mineral mix to the top soil and water it in when I water with Maxi Grow. I don't want to overdo it, so do you think a dilute watering with EAA would probably be ok only periodically before I uppot? Most of them still have many white roots, so I'm taking my time with uppotting.
Yeah, it’s totally fine. None of them are too strong and so there should be no worries. I would use EAA no more than every 10 days or longer.
Thank you! This sounds like another good way to make the up potting process less stressful. For them and me 😂.
Once they have that little bit of reduced N, the whole food web …bacteria, fungi, nematodes, arthropods … has enough fuel to begin building those legacy deposits. Rotted plant matter alone can’t do that on its own…it’s mostly carbon, and without available N the biology can’t build biomass fast enough to leave anything behind.
Have any of your eggs exploded before the 15 days are up?
Exploded? No, that hasn’t happened yet. They do release a lot of stuff though and it develops quite a bit of sediment, which is desired. It seems to come through the pores in the eggshell. The citric acid in the lemon juice should cause the shells to soften. Some say that the eggs can dissolve within the 15 days, probably depends on how acidic the lemon juice is. Did you have one explode on you? I’m curious now! 🤔
No, but it appears to have swollen a bit, so I just wondered if exploding was a possibility. It would be kind of exciting, as long as it's contained 😂
They do swell! But do not explode to my knowledge. Here is the science-y reason for why the eggs swell:
“The reason is because water entered the egg via osmosis. The concentration of salts, proteins, and other molecules inside the egg is greater than the concentration in the cup. The egg membrane is semipermeable. It allows the movement of water, but not larger molecules. So, the egg swells with water to try to dilute the inside of the egg so it has the same concentration and outside of the egg.”
Now I kind of wish I had pH papers and a lab notebook. This would have made a great chemistry experiment!