Tracey Bool Garden Writer
  • Home
  • Photo Gallery
  • In The Garden
    • Permaculture >
      • Borage
      • Bringing in the Good Bugs
      • Building Beneficial Insect and Solitary Bee Accommodation in Your Garden
      • Comfrey My Garden Back to Life - Symphytum officinale
      • Climate Change Gardens
      • Growing Lucerne as a Green Manure Crop
      • Grown & Gathered by Matt & Lentil
      • Handy Link: ACT for Bees
      • Jerusalem Artichoke
      • Make Friends Using Companion Plants in Your Garden
      • Marigold
      • Pip: Australian Permaculture Magazine
      • Queensland Arrowroot
      • RetroSuburbia
      • The One Straw Revolution
      • The Weird and Wonderful World of Compost Brewing
      • Urban Homesteading Goulburn Mulwaree Library reference list
      • Yacon
    • Australian Native plants >
      • Bush Foods and a World of Wonder
      • Brachychiton populneus
      • Correa alba x pulchella 'Pink Pixie'
      • Correa pulchella 'Little Cate'
      • Correa pulchella ‘Ring A Ding Ding’
      • Eremophila racemosa
      • Grevillea iaspicula
      • Handy Link: Birds in Backyards
      • Lomatia myricoides
      • Lovely Locals
      • Lovely Winter Natives
      • Olive Pink: A Life in Flowers
      • Photographic Guide to Native Plants of the Australian Capital Territory
      • Plants of Goulburn Wetlands
      • Kembla Cherry Orchard: Seasonal Winter Maintenance
      • Poa labillardieri
      • Wahlenberia stricta
    • Fruit, Veggies & Herbs >
      • Flavour and More with Spaghetti Squash
      • Green Zebra Tomatoes
      • Grow. Food. Anywhere
      • Growing Blueberries
      • Growing Chillies in Pots
      • Growing, Eating and Enjoying Radish
      • Growing Garlic
      • Growing Passionfruit in Canberra
      • Leaf Curl and Codling Moth on Fruit Trees
      • Maintaining Blueberries
      • Mild Mannered Turnips
      • Preparing veggie seedlings for planting
      • Reaping the Harvest: Broad Beans
      • Pumpkin True Green Hubbard
      • Scented Geranium
      • Snowpea 'Oregon Sugar'
      • Summer Hardy Perennial Herbs
      • Summer Savory
      • The Seed Savers' Handbook
      • The Vegie Box
      • Tomato 'Honey Drop'
    • Garden Creation & Maintenance >
      • Australian Dreamscapes: The art of planting in gardens inspired by nature
      • Autumn in The Garden
      • Adhoc Gardening Tool Box
      • Bokashi Composting
      • Biofumigant Seed Crops
      • Canberra Soils
      • Carbon Storage in Urban Environments
      • Clay Seed Balls
      • Comfrey Tea
      • Composting
      • Cool Season Garden Bed Maintenance
      • Enliven the Senses with a Sensory Garden
      • Creating a Wildlife Friendly Garden: Reference List
      • Gardening Down-Under
      • Green Manure Crops
      • Growing and Maintaining Windbreaks
      • Handy Organic Sprays
      • Handy Tip: Plant Gazebo
      • Hardwood Cuttings
      • In the Garden: Re-potting Your Plants
      • Let There Be Light
      • Local Invention: Downpipe Garden
      • Maintaining Citrus During Winter
      • One Plant or Many: Creating Harmony in the Garden
      • Photography in the Garden
      • Plant Selection and Design Considerations
      • Protect Your Garden from Jack Frost this Winter
      • Save Time, Water and Money with No-Dig Gardening
      • Summer Pruning Fruit Trees
      • The Art of Pruning
      • The Key to Successful Seed Germination
      • Tree Borers
      • Tree Selection with Christine Rampling
      • Winter Maintenance and Preparing for Spring
      • Yates Nature’s Way Citrus & Ornamental
    • On The Forage Trail >
      • Chickweed
      • Fat Hen
      • Foods of the Forest: Canada
      • Fruits of the Forest, On a Roadside Near You
      • Native Raspberry
      • On the Bush Food Trail: Annual Celery
      • On the Bush Food Trail: Warrigal Greens
      • Purple Salsify
      • Shepherd’s Purse
      • Sticky Weed
      • The Overlooked Bounty - Free Food
      • In Season Now: Purple Salsify
    • Ornamental Plants >
      • Arbutus unedo
      • Growing Ferns in Cool Climates
      • Growing Indoor Plants
      • Indispensable: Rosemary
      • Loropetalum chinense 'Burgundy'
      • Pineapple Sage
      • Plants of Nepal
      • Root Nurture Grow: The Essential Guide to Propagating and Sharing Houseplants
      • Taxodium distichum
    • People & Places >
      • A Garden for all Seasons with Deb & Adrian
      • Ainslie Urban Farm
      • An Interesting Mix at Majura Vineyard
      • Aquaponics and Natural Beekeeping in Suburbia with Karen Dahl
      • Be Enchanted at VizArchie
      • Botanical Artist Cheryl Hodges
      • Cacti and Succulent Extravaganza
      • Canberra City Farm
      • Canberra Environment Centre: A whole lot more
      • Community Gardens Abroad
      • Crookwell Seed Potatoes
      • Edna Walling
      • Good Life Permaculture
      • Gardens on the Move with Barbara
      • Gardens to Visit in Vancouver BC
      • Goulburn Community Garden
      • Goulburn Wetlands: A transformed space for the Community
      • Handy Resource for Eating Seasonally in Canberra
      • Historic Calthorpes' House
      • Historic Kentgrove Goulburn
      • Kembla Cherry Orchard Royalla NSW
      • Lanyon Homestead
      • Melliodora Permaculture Gardens
      • Parkesbourne Produce
      • National Bonsai and Penjing Collection NAC
      • Out and About in Namadgi
      • Permaculture Systems with Organic Gardener Christine
      • Plants, Bees, Veggies and a Preserving Wonderland
      • Revered Bonsai Artist Tony Tickle Visits Canberra National Arboretum
      • Richard and Pheap's Garden
      • Royal Sydney Botanic Gardens
      • Roogulli Garden
      • Shona's Garden
      • STEP into Canberra's Local Plant Space
      • Suburban Permaculture at its Best
      • The Crisp Galleries
      • The Honeysmith
      • Think Global Act Local with Global Worming
      • Veg Engenders Community on Roseglen Farm
      • Village Life in Nepal
      • Westbourne Woods Arboretum
      • World Class Homeleigh Grove Olives
      • Wynlen House Farm
    • Preserving the Harvest >
      • Preserving Rhubarb
      • Preserving the Harvest
      • Rosehip Tea and Cordial
  • Recipes
    • Baba Ganoush
    • Barbara's Passionfruit Muffins
    • Chocolate & Feijoa Muffins
    • Curly Fries Slinky Style
    • Double Choc & Raspberry Muffins
    • Growing and Eating Globe Artichokes
    • Luscious Berry Ice Cream
    • Mediterranean Roast Vegetables
    • Quince Jelly
    • Rhubarb Chutney
    • Seasonal Garden Salad with Bocconcini and Sourdough Bread
    • Spicy Apple Muffins
    • Tabouleh-inspired Barley Salad
    • Warm Tomato Salad
    • Spicy Pumpkin Soup
  • Fact Sheets
    • Building and Maintaining Insect Hotels in Your Garden
    • Gardening in Pots
    • Preserving the Harvest
    • Propagation: New Plants from Old
    • The Art of Pruning
    • The No-Dig Garden
    • The Wonderful World of Composting
    • Veggie Gardening Basics
  • Resources
  • About
  • Contact
                      What on Earth are Clay Seed Balls?
                                  (25 September 2014)

Clay seed balls are literally that – plant seeds which are encased in a predominately clay mixture to aid in their germination and initial growth. It is a technique commonly utilised in permaculture circles and can easily be adapted in your backyard. The idea is to supply seeds with all they need to get started when the surrounding conditions are favourable and also to protect them from wildlife, rodents, and the like.

 
The concept for clay balls originated from Japan, where 1-3 seeds of the same species were pelletised and broadcast in mostly agricultural applications. Clay balls have evolved to contain anywhere from 1 to 30 seeds of one or many plant species, and range in size from a marble to a baseball. There are many advantages to using clay balls to sow and germinate seed, not least that they are simply broadcast onto the soil’s surface, letting Mother Nature take care of the rest. They can be used in all climates and suit many plant types such as natives and vegetables. You can also incorporate a selection of mutually-beneficial varieties including those used for green manure crops and fixing nitrogen in the soil for instance.


Clay seed balls are made up of around 1.5 parts clay and 1 part compost. You can also add worm castings and rock dust (or similar) to supply mineral component and wider range of nutrients than using clay and compost only. Simply mix ingredients before incorporating seed, and then dry seed balls in the sun before broadcasting them on the soil’s surface (drying is not necessary if applying at the appropriate time of year for the chosen species). Then watch the magic unfold when it rains and the seed balls swell with moisture, providing the enclosed seeds with all they need to get the best possible start.

Picture
Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.