Has anyone got a good recipe for masking/eliminating the odor of baking egg shells? I put mine in the oven at 350F for about an hour to “bake” them before grinding them up to put into the compost (crushed egg shells take years to decompose - grinding them into a fine powder makes it accessible to plants right away). But the smell!!! I have the overhead fan, candles, vinegar and water heating on the stove, window open … still … the smell! Anyone got any suggestions? Can I bake them at your house :)) ?
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Put them on a tray and bake in your BBQ outside.
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Why do you ‘bake’ them? Could you place the shells on a tray in the sun?
I guess one could do that, however, I would be concerned about attracting more rodents to the yard (we already have plenty of rats and raccoons) and that the sun, especially in winter months would not be hot enough to equate to 350 for an hour.
I doubt it would attract more rats. Egg whites sprayed on plants can be used instead of bobex to deter deer.
We just throw our egg shells into rat proof compost bin and build decent soul. The worms love them, gathering inside them.
Sorry for the delay on this. We too bake our egg shells, but don’t find that the smell lasts too long. I’m sure you rinse them before baking, which may help with the smell. You could try putting baking soda in the oven in a glass dish–that might help. Then we grind them up and add to the compost periodically. Otherwise they take ages to break down.
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Baking sofa, eh? I will give that a try. If you look up Donna Balzer’s blog, you will see a picture of an egg shell going back to like the 17th century (it was in a museum exhibit) or something ridiculous like that - egg shells take forever to break down and until they do, are little use for the plants.
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