With holiday baking season in full force, we thought we’d share one of our favorite zero-waste tricks for all those eggshells you’d normally toss in the trash. Instead of dumping them, keep them in their carton and turn them into a propagation tray! ⁠

Benefits:⁠

No plastic:

No need for a plastic propagation tray!

Wonderful for a windowsill:

We’ve all had run-ins with pots or containers being too big for a windowsill, and our succulents end up landing face-first on the ground.

Resuable:

You can plant the whole shell, so the roots aren’t disturbed. The decomposing shell can add a boost of calcium to your soil. ⁠

Materials:⁠

• Paper egg carton⁠
• Egg shells (save the larger half after breaking)⁠
• Succulent leaves⁠

Steps:⁠

Step 1. Rinse your egg shells after use to keep them from smelling. You can also bake them in your oven at 250 for about an hour if you’re going to be baking anyway! ⁠

Step 2. Place the shell back in its tray to stabilize it.⁠

Step 3. Fill the eggshell with dry cactus soil. ⁠

Step 4. Place your callused leaf on the cactus soil, set the tray somewhere with bright, indirect light, and spritz with water every other day! You should see roots and a small rosette growing out of your leaf in 5-7 weeks. ⁠

*Want to know more about propagating leaves? Check out our Propagation Prep and Leaf Propagation blog posts.

⁠When you’re ready to plant your propagation in a larger pot, you can plant the whole egg shell. This keeps the roots from being disturbed, making the transition easier on your tiny succulent bb! Just give the shell a little crack on the bottom before planting it fully so water doesn’t get logged in it. Happy propagating!