Cool idea!

Any form of animal or vegetable proteins will add extra nitrogen and phosphorus and many micro-nutrients to your soil.

Also all proteins are great foods for the beneficial soil microherd, not to mention the amazing earthworms!

I tried this amazing fertilizer for the first time last summer. A single Columbine had 50+ blossoms on it, whereas an adjacent Columbine (unfertilized) had only 15. The dried egg is easy to use and didn't burn even those plants I was a little too generous with. Looking forward to using it on vegetables this year! I read that it works wonders on Gem Dandy watermelons (the seedless variety.)

That does seem like an incredible fertilizer material. Looking at the website they recommend an application rate of 3 tablespoons per square foot of surface area. That translates to 2.5 cubic yards per acre. Being a relatively available animal product (blood is available - feathers are unavailable) and of such a high protein level, I think that application rate would be an incredible overdose. I would start at 1 teaspoon per square foot.

Why not just purchase regular, edible powdered eggs on line. Same thing and a bit cheaper. Unopened packages will store for about ten years. I have ordered some not only for fertilizer but also to have on hand if bird flu hits the country. Should that happen chicken eggs may be unavailable (or very expensive) for cooking.

You're right, nandina. Buy bulk sacks of the good stuff for half the price and you've got something you can bake with or eat when you run out of fresh eggs. Not sure why the rejected product costs more than the good stuff.

This post sounds like a commercial to me. I've seen the same one on many different forums lately.

Kimmsr, I have posted a similar message on another forum, but not because I am a commercial. I am simply trying to find someone who has used the stuff. I will state here what I said on the other forum. This is not a commercial because I have in NO WAY attempted to make someone buy this product! I am simply a customer who was curious.

Thanks for the advice on edible eggs being cheaper, but can you tell me where to get it because all I can find is s 50lb bag for over $100. Any help you can provide so I can save money would be great!!

Get some chickens and you'll have 2 kinds of fertilizer from the same source. But you may have to cut down on those tomatoes due to high colesterol ;o)

If the stuff is that expensive it is not something I would ever consider using. There are better, less expensive, materials available, oftne so inexpensive they are free.

Would anyone know how to go about drying eggs for fertilizer?
My chickens are laying profusely and we are up to our ears in eggs. I would like to save the eggs for use in the growing season as a fertilizer.

I assume you are composting, right? So why not just put the excess eggs in the compost heap? Make sure you get them into the middle of the pile, where it is warm, broken shells and all, and add some shredded newspaper to provide the necessary carbon to prevent it from going all sulphur-y.

But it is an interesting question about "how do they make powdered eggs?" I would guess it is some sort of freeze drying process like they use for making instant coffee but I don't know. It might also be challenging on a home scale but I would still be interested in what is involved.

As to the special fertilizer made from powdered eggs and why it costs more than regular powdered eggs. Probably because some one packaged it for such use and put instructions on the package figuring it might be a quick way to make money. I noticed that the canola oil based insecticidal oil sold for more than twice what canola oil sells for in the grocery store. Same stuff. People manage to make money doing such things because the shopping public tends not to educate themselves before going to look for a product to take care of each and every one of their problems. Then again, the cooking oil doesn't come with instructions about how to use it on your shrubs. Many people also want some one else to take responcibility if something doesn't work instead of taking the time to observe carefully and thoughtfully decide what to use and give up using.

Anyway, back to powdered eggs, I expect powdered milk could be useful in the garden as are many other kitchen items like corn meal.

Posted by dchall_
"CHICKENS: the ultimate garden helper.
Count on them for fertilizer (eggs), fertilizer (dung), fertilizer (feathers), fertilizer (blood), and food!"

also a non selective insecticide.

They spray-dry eggs...they shoot it into an "oven" and by the time it hits the ground it is powder. The inedible egg powder is less expensive than is the edible. The eggs are not fit for human consumption as they are the ones that got cracked, etc. during processing. They spray-dry the eggs and sell it to the pet food industry as protien for pet food. It is a 7-1-0 NPK. You can just crack your raw eggs and stir them into the soil if you do not derive a way to dry them. It smells for approx. two days, but after that, they work almost as fast an inorganic fert. Two to three raw eggs per 8" pot is about right if you have raw eggs. Good luck.
Ed

Raw eggs might contaminate veggies with salmonella according to the following webpage:
http://www.lifespan.org/services/infectious/diseases/sal_sal-veg-qa.htm

Here is a link that might be useful: Salmonella in Vegetables

A 'free' source for eggs is a local diner whose specialty is breakfast. For about 2 years my dailly hangout has supplied about a hundred or more 5 gallon buckets of the morning eggshells. The ground loves 'em and rewards me with great vegatables. Slugs and most pests become non-existent. My favorite plant food. Free.

Hey Curi!
I know that the inedible eggs I was using were pasturized prior to spray-drying, testing free of salmonella. As to the raw egg application directly to the soil, I am unaware if it is possible "infect" the veggies without getting the raw egg directly on the veggies themselves. Thanks for the thought.

I had some extra organic eggs from my chickens and threw a few in my garden 2weeks prior to planting season here in maine...do I need to worry about salmonella with 2 weeks til planting?

If you are afraid of salmonella how about cooked eggs? Cook them until they are dry and then spread it out.. may not stink as much either.