Shell on Earth Recycled Whelk Shells for Plants

We were pretty excited when we first came across Shell on Earth. As keen (obsessive?) plant growers, both indoor and out, we're always on the look out for innovative new products which will aid us in our constant repotting of plants. 

This piqued our interest for a couple of reasons. Firstly, these are a pretty great alternative to grit or small pebbles that can be used as both a drainage layer, or a decorative topper (or mixed in with your soil if you need a gritter soil). Secondly, these make a natural weed and pest repellent, marvellous news for anyone trying to grow veg (or hostas...) at the moment. And thirdly the whelk shells used to make Shell on Earth are a bi-product from the whelk industry in Wales. It's estimated over 5000 tonnes of waste shells are generated by the fishing industry each year. Shell on Earth contribute nothing towards that. Any non shell organic waste they have is turned into biofuel. 

Each small sized hand tied paper bag of whelk shells contains approx 3kg of shells, with the mini bag containing approx 1kg. We use them a lot with cacti and succulents but they are suitable for use with all plants.