I have many passions in life. Crafts, gardening, my pets, and trying new things are on the top of my list. Today I wanted to share a lovely tutorial that my better half put together.  In his tutorial he is showing you how to make Milkweed seed balls.  Why are Milkweed seed balls important? Milkweed is the only host plant for the beautiful Monarch Butterfly. The process of urbanization has led to the destruction of the Milkweed fields and thus, has resulted in a decline of the Monarch Butterfly. The decline of the Monarchs is so severe that in some areas they are thinking of adding the butterfly to the endangered species list.  Even places that are a common ground for the Monarch migration have noticed a decline.

Making seed balls for your seeds is a good way to ensure a larger success rate of the seeds you plant. The reason being is that the seeds do not start to germinate until the conditions are right.  The seed balls serve has an additional protection barrier for animals and insects that may generally disturb a freshly planted garden.  In my area, we have several raccoons that LOVE freshly turned dirt. I have tried many measures to try to  keep them out when I have to replant my garden. The seed balls offer a nice compromise between me and the raccoons.  I get to plant my garden. They get to dig it up looking for grubs,  and the seeds, although moved from where I placed them, are pushed out of the way and allowed to grow on their own time.

It only took about two years after planting my butterfly garden to see naturally occurring Monarchs in my front yard.  They stumbled across the plants all on their own! They have since started laying eggs on my plants, and  I have even started seeing chrysalises on my fence.

you will need the following items:

• Milkweed seed (seeds can be purchased online and I do sell small packs on my Etsy store  @ www.etsy.com/shop/dipintojewels
• air dry clay, red clay, or red clay powder
• potting soil
• a mixing bowl
• water.