Using seed balls to distribute wildflower seeds is a fun and effective way to help pollinators. Seed balls are usually loose seeds, mixed with clay and soil then formed into balls (or any shape really!) that can be easily scattered in a dry, sunny spot. Seed balls can be more effective than just scattering loose seeds because the clay protects the seeds from being eaten by birds or insects before they’ve had the chance to grow and the soil gives them that little boost when they start germinating.
We often see lovely seed balls for sale in garden centres and gift shops, but you can also make them yourself- the key thing is to find a good mix of pollinator-friendly seed, ideally with a mix of annual and perennial native wildflower seeds.
We recently made a few batches of seed balls to test out the process and we share below our favourite method. It was a fun, if not messy process and they would make lovely gifts for your nature-loving friend, colleague or relative.
Materials for seed balls:
- A packet of your favourite pollinator-friendly wildflower seeds
- A packet of Air-dry clay
- A small bag of fine compost
- Optional- chili powder
Optional things to help you:
- A teaspoon
- Rubber/latex gloves
- Old newspaper
How to create your seed balls:
Step 1. Prepare your table by covering the area you want to work over with Newspaper, protecting the table and creating a space to lay out your seed balls. Break off small chunks of your air-dry clay and roll them into balls, then flatten into small disks. Depending on how big you want your seed balls to be, we suggest about 3-6cm in diameter. Make a batch of these, you may not need all of your clay, we found that making about 50-60 max was plenty for a batch. We added some food colouring to our clay to give them seed balls a lovely pink hue as we were using Corncockle and Sweet William seeds which have beautiful pink flowers. If you use food colouring the gloves will come in handy!
Step 2. Fill each clay disk with a teaspoon full of fine compost and a generous sprinkle of your chosen seeds.
Step 3. Optional- add a pinch of chili powder, it’s supposed to keep those slugs and snails away.
Step 4. Gently secure your seed ball parcel by wrapping the clay around the compost and seeds and roll or shape into your desired shape. There’s a bit of ‘trial and error’ here with working out how much you can fill the clay disks, we were frequently overfilling ours! As for the best seed ball shape – we like traditional seed balls or mini Cornish pasties!
Step 5. Once done, place your seed balls (or pasties) on the newspaper to dry out for at least a day, when they are thoroughly dry you can store them until you want to use them or even package them up and give them away as presents.
Don’t forget to wash your hands afterwards!
Don’t want to make your own!? check out our Wildflower Collective store for our handmade seed ball Gift Boxes!