Seedballs are a simple way to create a self-seeding garden and regenerate landscapes. I just made this 6 minute clip to show the fun, easy and wondrously muddy way my kids and I make them.

Seedballing is an ancient technique from Egypt, China and the Romans and renewed in the 1940’s by the late, Masanobu Fukuoka, who is considered the founder of Natural Farming, and an inspiration for permaculture Fukuoka used seedballs extensively to rehabilitate damaged lands and practice no-till farming. 

The mix we use is:
5 parts clay
1 part compost
big handful of seed

We mix the clay and compost together with the seeds until a firm ball can be made. I try to keep the balls just bigger than a 10c piece and allow them to dry before distributing them.

The idea is that the seeds are protected inside the seedball from birds, rats and other seed-eating creatures until the rain comes and moistens the clay. The seed makes the most of this moisture and then the compost nutrients help it to continue to grow.

You can read more about seedballs on a previous posts: Muddy hands, happy hearts: seedballs for healthy soils and diversity and A Wonderfully Easy and Fun Way to Seed a Garden: Seedballing with Nature Kids

You might want to explore more about this no-till approach to farming. A good place to start are the books by Masanobu Fukuoka: 
– One Straw Revolution
– The Natural Way of Farming
– Sowing Seeds in the Desert: Natural Farming, Global Restoration, and Ultimate Food Security