Garden Route Therapy

I’ve been hearing a lot of interest in seed balls lately and wanted to post some information on my blog. I was first introduced to the neat concept at an introductory workshop on permaculture offered by Garden Jane. During the summer I was fortunate to have the first-hand opportunity to view people of all ages, especially children, interact with seed balls at various community events. I found people to be generally inspired by the concept and that they had a lot of fun getting their hands into the mixture to form the little truffle like balls. Seed balls are a method for distributing seeds by encasing them in a mixture of clay and compost. They are great because you don’t have to do any digging to get planting.  The clay protects the seeds from animals and also ensures there is enough moisture available before the seeds germinate. You can also use-up old seeds when you are unsure about the rate of germination. By having a denser crop, this approach encourages the strongest plants to thrive. Masanobu Fukuoka, a Japanese farmer and author of the One-Straw Revolution is considered a pioneer of no-till farming methods. He is credited with re-introducing the ancient technique of seed balls (direct translation “Earth Dumplings”). On the Evergreen Forum you can download a recipe for seed balls & read or join the discussion on seed ball experiments in Canada.