I confess, I drive with a tupperware full of seed balls (aka seed bombs, though let’s resist normalizing war references) full of sunflowers to toss wherever I feel they might just thrive, especially along highways and vacant lots, as well as to share with anyone who seems to take a shine to such a ruckus!
My four-year-old niece and I are making sooOOooooOooo many this weekend, re-filling our stash and here are a few of the things we’ve learned across the years:
- a ratio of 3:1 clay to compost is dreamy
- resist making them larger than a cherry, the size of a large blueberry is a fabulous snack while not inhibiting your sprouts
- resist adding more than 3 seeds per ball so sprouting seedlings don’t compete with each other
- the seeds that thrive in seed balls seem to be those that don’t mind direct-sowing as well as less than optimal conditions like sunflower, phacelia and cosmos. Calendula also thrives just about anywhere, though they can readily re-seed themselves as a carpet, so we tend to throw them only in the most vacant of lots.
- June is the month to toss them, here in Zone 5! We’ve passed final frost, the soil is warm and there’s plenty of time for blossoms to abound.
Should you want to join us getting your hands dirty, all the ingredients are pretty simple to come by:
~ Clay
~ Compost
~ Seeds
~ Water
And it’s true, we share a DIY Seed Balls Collection including clay, compost from our farm, our favorite seeds for such shenanigans plus some deeper details of how to knock it out of the park…or surround your ballpark with abundance!
And don’t be surprised when you see sunflowers, well, everywhere in August!
Sow Seeds & Sing Songs,
& the whole Fruition crew
What I adore about your site (and people who participate) is your generosity. I’ve been gardening for a long time…well, maybe 10 years, and the tips you offer are things I never even thought about. Like growing ginger and making seed balls. So I planted garlic in the fall after I read about the nutritional supplements you suggested. Can I add some to the soil now (I’m in zone 5…the colder part). I’d like to order it if it would be helpful. Thanks
thanks Ellim, spring fertility addition to garlic is great. we typically add it in early to mid may when the soil is warming and life is returning to the soil life.
Petra ! Got the perfect music for your compost dance(so very cute and true glee)
It’s called” Happy Dance” by Mercy Me check it out on you tube!
Thank you for sound advice on gardening !