How to CORRECTLY Extract Calcium from Egg Shells for Healthy Plants

[@SJ-gj7mx]

Loved this video. It was one of the best videos I have watched recently on youtube.

[@Johan-bb4sy]

You can also do calculations on how much soluble calcium is in your end product, which helps dosing it as fertilizer. Short: 5% vinegar added to egg shells will lead to 1,67 gram soluble Calcium / liter. Here will follow some chemistry: The reaction is 2 CH3COOH + CaCO3 --> Ca+ (aq) + 2 (CH3COO-) (aq) + H2O (l) + CO2 (g). The eggshells are in excess, so all acetic acid in the solution reacts. The vinegar you are using is a 5% (weight percent) solution of acetic acid, CH3COOH. For each liter there will 5 grams of acetic acid. The molar weight of Acetic Acid is 60,0520 g/mol. So 5 grams = 5 / 60,052 mol = 0,08... mol. Out of the reaction equation it is visible that 1 part Ca+ will be formed, when two parts Acetic Acid react. So per liter added vinegar, 0,0416 mol Ca+ wil be formed. The molar mass of Ca+ is 40,078 g / mol. So per liter added vinegar, 40,078 g / mol * 0,0416 mol = 1,67 gram Ca+ is formed. So when you add a liter to eggshells, wait for the reaction to occur, then drain the excess of eggshells and catch the liguid, there will be a concentration of 1,67 gram Ca+ per liter. Actually using 5% vinegar, always leads to a 1,67 gram Ca+ / liter solution.

[@BalticHomesteaders]

Yes dusted off the dslr and put it to use at last. Thanks for the calculations.

[@paulbraga4460]

thank you so very much...blessings

[@TubeDupe]

Thank you. I have absolutely no idea but you've successfully blinded me with science. So, when I soak eggshells in 5% vinegar, and as long as eggshells remain in the solution, it will have 1,67 g of Calcium per liter? And will the solution have a neutral pH of 7? Thank you.

[@Johan-bb4sy]

@@TubeDupe yes that’s correct, let it react in an open jar, so that CO2 that comes free can escape. Good luck!

[@TubeDupe]

@Johan-bb4sy Would concentrated vinegar with 25% acid lead to five times the Calcium in the solution i. e. Ca+ 8.35 g/l? Thanks again!

[@stevethewsimpson25]

I've also heard that it takes up to ten years for egg shells to break down in the soil. But if I am adding shells every year and I am gardening the same plot for the rest of my life, then I will have perpetual calcium in the soil by adding plain egg shells to my garden every year. I've tried the crushing the shells and vinegar method, but I don't think that it worked properly. The egg shells bubbled for maybe three days and did not dissolve the shells very much. Still had a mess of crushed shells that ended up in the compost pile. I think that I was just adding vinegar to my soil. A better method is to put the egg shells into a blender and finely grind them up. You get a way better reaction and the shells dissolve completely.

[@amyblueskyirl16]

Love the practical garden science😂 What about grinding the egg shells into powder and mixing it with water?

[@-RONNIE]

Thank you for the information I seriously did not know about that method. I thought you just cracked it up and put it in the ground

[@rhondakendrick2563]

same hear thank u

[@anncazares111]

Thanks!

[@jasongood354]

Fantastic video. I've got a handful of roller derby players that turn to me for diy heath advice. Would this method of making calcium more bioavailable be useful for human consumption?

[@BalticHomesteaders]

I wouldn’t like to say to be honest. There’s probably better ways to get more calcium into your body.

[@BalticHomesteaders]

@user-dh9rx5mm7h this is for gardens not human consumption.

[@jonathanyeh3835]

Good efforts as a chemist! But one even better way is to let the earthworms be automatically attracted to the eggshells whose castings will be calcium rich and that is how you save money from buying castings!

[@BalticHomesteaders]

At the time of making we only had chickens, as explained that for us is the best way to deal with it. I do however like the idea of farming worms and having access to castings.

[@friederkrug]

How long does the reaction need in your experience? Good to hear, that it doesnt need a ratio of 1:10 shells:vinegar, like other sources say. We have lemons growing here so i will try that also. For now half a kilo of eggs are sitting in their brew, dancing and stinking! :D

[@BalticHomesteaders]

How long it takes depends on a number of things so it’s hard to say but once it’s completely stopped gassing it’s done.

[@gilbertosughrue3766]

Do you need to remove the pathogens before feeding back to the chickens?

[@BalticHomesteaders]

Well the vids out there say you should bake them before giving them back but honestly we don’t, never had a problem. They are however dried over the stove. I think there’s a lot of info out there that isn’t based on facts or logic. My question would be what pathogens, that don’t already exist in the environment that chickens are raised in?

[@PaulACallaghan]

so putting crushed egg shells on every year gives you the same result, saves a lot of stuffing around

[@BalticHomesteaders]

Maybe eventually, but if you need it quickly then no.

[@shibibi1]

Even if you get the rations a bit off and end up with a slightly acidic solution, a tiny bit of unreacted vinegar won't hurt your plants. So no need to panic about getting perfect measurements. Close enough is genuinely good enough! I have poured vinegar on around blueberry plants as a temporary soil pH fix while I was waiting for the chance to buy proper soil acidifyers. The reason it's temporary is the effect vinegar has, is temporary

[@BalticHomesteaders]

I’m told sulphur is the only proper fix for longer term acidic soil, everything else just leaches away.

[@shibibi1]

@BalticHomesteaders yes, sulphur is what I ended up buying. Bought a soluble version and applied a measure once a fortnight till the pH was where I wanted. Now I test regularly and apply only if needed. And I've not needed to for months now.

[@saptack53]

Yo this chemistry video was sick!!! 🤙🏻

[@TubeDupe]

What happened to the hydrochloric acid in method 4?

[@BalticHomesteaders]

What do you mean what happens to it? You mean stomach acid?

[@TubeDupe]

@@BalticHomesteaders 7:55 "... and for that we need hydrochloric acid" - you meant the HCl of the chickens' stomach acid dissolves the eggshells?

[@BalticHomesteaders]

@TubeDupe yes

[@TubeDupe]

@@BalticHomesteadersThanks! Well, that went above my head. But now that I grasp it, I can laugh about it.

[@theabino9718]

I have washed and dried eggshells and the out then through a grinder into powder form. It's much simpler but whether it helped I am not sure

[@BalticHomesteaders]

It’s still calcium carbonate and not water soluble so needs the same time to breakdown into a form that the plants can use. Maybe it helps a bit though.

[@beebop9808]

I imagine if you're going to the trouble, you could also cook it the same way hydrated lime is made from lime stone (calcium carbonate). And fire the shells over your propane burner for a few minutes. Guessing if the shells are crushed to reduce air space it wouldn't take but a couple of minutes.

[@humanfamilymember]

And can use for self?

[@BalticHomesteaders]

I don’t see why not but there probably are better ways to consume calcium for humans.

[@mymateian]

Surely if you’ve been adding shells to your soil for the last 5 years and you are continuing to do that, then the shells will slow release calcium into the soil continuously. Love the idea of feeding them to the chickens and completing the cycle. Really enjoy your channel.

[@BalticHomesteaders]

This is true of course although arguably still not the most effective way to do it/distribute it.

[@mamielang2806]

Doesn't say what he puts the temperature of the oven at or for how long

[@BalticHomesteaders]

Hot enough and long enough to dry the shells, kill bacteria but not burn them. 150c 20 mins...

[@SylwerDragon]

Nice video..but for sure i don't advise to add those egg shells in that condition.. What i mean if you want to add it to then it is fine but it must be fine crushed ..why..because if it will be in so big pieces it might happen then will start thinking about damaging normal eggs..so it should never be similar to eggs ..

[@ulyssees30y]

Put your crushed shells into your compost and turn it regularly. In a three or four weeks the egg shells will have disintegrated.

[@BernieMcWhinney]

Good info....but toooooslow.

[@BalticHomesteaders]

Good things come to those that wait…

[@arnaldorentes5371]

I don't need to extract anything from the eggshells. Bacteria do this for us and this way, the increase in calcium to the system will be more distributed and gradual, much better than the peaks and valleys, characteristic of human intervention.

[@BalticHomesteaders]

Sure, it will just take much longer to be plant available as explained in the video.

[@heavenbound78]

so..how many teaspoons per 1 gallon of water?

[@BalticHomesteaders]

1 per litre so that’s 4.5 roughly.

[@ashfacefriend6906]

For a small batch (in imperial), it's like 1tsp:5.21qts, but I just round it to 1tsp:5qts.

[@elzorro7235]

Good and thank you, but your 10+ minute video is competing with a reel that is 1 minute long.

[@BalticHomesteaders]

I don’t compete with reels, both forms have their audiences :)

[@oryoki]

But you’re missing the point. There’s another that is more than twice as long at 27 minutes. Let producers - produce. kzbin.info/www/bejne/q5ami6uFr7mWqdkfeature=shared

[@shibibi1]

You can't fit the same level of information in a 1min reel. I prefer a longer video explaining why.

[@ethereal369]

Or... you could just get some calcium acetate.

[@BalticHomesteaders]

You could but this was about reusing what you already have at hand.