By CAGIS
April showers bring May flowers! Flowers are great for pollinators like bees and butterflies, they are beautiful to look at, and some you can even eat! So, get ready to plant your summer flower gardens by following this recipe for wildflower seed balls.
You Will Need:
- 3 tablespoons of wildflower seeds (search online to find seeds native to your area)
- 1 cup of peat-free compost
- ½ cup of powdered clay (found in craft shops)
- Water
- Mixing bowl
- Aluminum foil
- A tray or cookie sheet
Instructions
1. Add 1 cup of compost to your mixing bowl.
2. Add about ½ cup of powdered clay to your mixing bowl.
3. Finally, add in 3 tbsp of wildflower seeds to your mixing bowl.
4. Mix these dry ingredients well. It is important to thoroughly mix before adding any water.
5. Now, add 1 tbsp of water and mix well. Continue adding 1 tbsp of water at a time until the soil and seed mixture sticks together (roughly the consistency of cookie dough).
Pro Tip: Be patient and add water slowly! You can always add more water, but taking it away is difficult, so try forming the balls intermittently to see if they stick.
6. Use your fingers to gently form the seed balls. Aim for a ball that is no larger than the size of a ping-pong ball.
Pro Tip: When forming the balls, squeeze gently to drain excess water, but not so hard that you lose all the water. We want seed balls that dry quickly and don’t break down easily.
7. Line your tray or cookie sheet with aluminum foil and place your formed seed balls on the sheet to dry. Place the sheet in the sun or a warm area to speed up the drying.
8. Seed balls should dry for at least 24 hours. They should be as hard as rocks when done.
9. Now, you can release them into the world! Throw or place seed balls into open spaces in your gardens or on other open land. Be sure they can touch bare ground and don’t land on already established plants.
10. There is no need to water, plant, or otherwise tend to your seed balls. Just sit back, relax, and let nature do its thing!
