What can we do with sugar gum balls from the trees

make a wreath

Six Great Things To Use Sweetgum Balls For:

The spiky seed pods from the sweetgum tree are not only fascinating to look at, they can actually help out in the garden. Who knew?! Go out with a bucket and fill it with seed pods, and in the spring you may just use some:

1. Lay the seed pods around young plants to deter snails and slugs who would rather not tangle with them

2. Put them around plants that you also want to protect from rabbits (press the spikes in the ground a bit so they don’t blow away)

3. Use them as mulch (you can’t have too much mulch!)

4. Like Noah suggested, you can always throw them in your compost for some much needed brown material. However, they will take a long time to compost

5. Use them in the bottom of planters as the drainage filler instead of stones

6. If you have hard, compacted soil that you are trying to amend, dig deep and place a thick layer of the seed pods down to help aerate and drain–cover back up with soil and other amendments

The pods would also be great for making wreaths or ornaments. They have a natural beauty to them, even if they do look like weird little baby bird beaks.

If you walk by a sweetgum tree like we do almost every day, now you know they can be useful for more than twisting your ankle or causing a bike wreck!

P.S. If you are feeling really motivated, get on ebay and sell some like these folks are! I’m totally kidding. Maybe.

Via: Andrea @ Little *Big* Harvest.

I hope this helps! Jewell

My mother spray painted them gold and made a wreath, gluing the gum balls on a wood ring.

I have spray painted them every color and make ornaments for every holiday. Jewell Martin offers a good list.