I am growing a large vegetable garden with heritage seeds with a friend. I have read in the past that wood ash can be a good thing to spread in a greens plot and crushed egg shells are good to put under your tomatoe seedlings when planting out. Also that crushed egg shells can be good for insect control around plants.
My friend is concerned that the ash is somehow very bad in a vegetable garden and the eggshells will pass salmonella to the plants. Are her cocerns valid?

I can't help with the wood ash,however I have use egg shells. I don't think you have to worry about the egg shells!! I have boiled the crushed eggs and use it and the water on my potted plants. Good luck!!

Speaking of which...the tomatoes are going in their permanent pots this week. What else can I put in their soil besides organic tomato fertilizer to help them? I've heard of eggshells, oystershells, blood meal...all sorts of stuff.

Suggestions?

Hi SquashQueen. The ashes in the cabbage family plants is goo to keep the cabbage fly from laying eggs there. The larve eat the roots and climb up the plant. It will not harm anything. The egg shell will help to add calcium to your tomatoes. They love this.

Hi, I use egg shells, I bake mine, smells bad so do it on an open the door kind of day, it makes them more brittle. I use them for slug control, it helps. I have used them around my toms, but not usually. I add a little bone meal with an OG fertilizer at planting time it helps with different things. I also use kelp and seaweed when the toms are green and a nice size.
Angelswings

i have been putting egg shells into my garden for years and have no major problems from this(racoons like to come and get the shells now and then, but, hey, they were here first). wood ash can alter your ph level, but if you are adding enough other plant matter and spreading the ash over all the garden area, i wouldn't worry about ph level. can egg shells spread other diseses, i don't know or care because , like i said earlier, i have been using egg shells for years and i am still here with a healthy garden. one last thing about egg shells, if you crush them up and add them to your coffee while it is brewing, you can lower the acid level of your coffee for a better tasting coffee. peace be with you and may your garden be peaceful.

I recently attended a local compost workshop organized by Penn State Co-op Extension in conjuction with the DEP. The speaker strongly cautioned against the use of egg shell in compost,UNLESS YOU RINSE THEM, especially near edible crops. I didn't note the science behind the reason, but, in lay terms, the liquid left inside the egg is extremely fertile and a good growing medium for harmful bacteria.

Of course plenty of us have been dumping in unwashed egg shells forever with no problems--learn something new, every day.

PS. Each person in this seminar got a FREE compost bin--a 3 ft high plastic one you set up outside-not a tumbler, but still a sturdy piece of equipment! She said the program has given away thousands so far. Maybe other areas are doing this too!