Egg shells for ph balance?

Im gonna grow in 50% MG organic soil mix, 30% perlite, and 20% worm castings. Foxfarm and dolomite lime are nowhere to be found around here! So can i add egg shells to balance my ph? How and how much would i use for a 5 gallon pot with this mix? Also any suggestions on % of my mix would be welcomed?

ILLEGAL NATURE 420 said:

Im gonna grow in 50% MG organic soil mix, 30% perlite, and 20% worm castings. Foxfarm and dolomite lime are nowhere to be found around here! So can i add egg shells to balance my ph? How and how much would i use for a 5 gallon pot with this mix? Also any suggestions on % of my mix would be welcomed?

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I don't know of anything else that does anywhere as good of a job as lime. I'd think that maybe the MG may have some in it but I don't know. Dolomite lime is inexpensive and isn't that hard to find... Home Depot, Ace Hardware, garden centers, etc... call around. You can also easily order it online but it's pretty heavy stuff and a bag will cost as much as the purchase price to ship although a 4 pound bag with shipping is probably about $12. This is a pretty common additive and it's something that gardeners and landscapers use a lot of... it should be somewhere available for puchase... in theory.

Good Luck!

I would suggest not using MG. Do you have a local nursery around? Get anything but MG, seriously. I would be willing to bet you'll have fungus gnats for sure, not to mention other problems. TBH most of the home depot, lowes etc stuff is infested with bullshit. Support your local businesses and go to a local nursery if possible.

Dolomite for sure tho.

oyster shells

ur right 420 i hate miricle grow products.

the only thing it's good for is balancing ur Ph

go with a quality organic soil from a nursery 1/3 soil 1/3 perlite 1/3 wormcastings u should be good to go

420 is absolutely right about MG. I got one bag and everything worked out great. Got another bag and boom everywhere I used it spider mites and thrips. Jacked up half my entire flowering crop. I refuse to by any soil from any large store again, staying strictly local so I know who to call if my crap is infested.

Happened to me once and believe me once is enough to never try again.

Best of luck to you and hope all works out well but i would stick to something else from now on.

ILLEGAL NATURE 420 said:

Im gonna grow in 50% MG organic soil mix, 30% perlite, and 20% worm castings. Foxfarm and dolomite lime are nowhere to be found around here! So can i add egg shells to balance my ph? How and how much would i use for a 5 gallon pot with this mix? Also any suggestions on % of my mix would be welcomed?

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Lime is everywhere. Home depot, wal-mart, every local garden store. eBay.

The MG w/ some dolomite seems to be pretty good. I've read good things and a friend is using that mix with success.

I was under the impression egg shells were used to give your plant calcium and deter slugs. I heard they do raise the ph a little but over a lengthy time. Any insight on this would be great.

Is there an organic alternative to the synthetic pH up & down solutions?

Egg shells take forever to properly break down into usable calcium and mg. but when finely crushed they make a good amendment to your soil if you plan to grow their multiple seasons. also if spread out on the surface, the sharp edges deter slugs, but if not washed off they can attract small carnivores which can destroy your plant hunting for dinner.

iloveit said:

Is there an organic alternative to the synthetic pH up & down solutions?

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Down = Cider Vinegar
Up = Dolomite + water


Back to egg shells, we used to use crushed up shells in the tomato garden when everything else seemed to be OK. The pH wasn't really affected much because of the acidic medium, and amendments.