Abstract: The present invention provides a method for coating seeds with biological materials such as bacteria, fungi (e.g., yeasts and molds), parasites, recombinant vectors, and viruses. The method comprises (a) applying a moistening liquid to seeds to moisten seeds, wherein the moistening liquid comprises a moistening polymer, and (b) coating the moistened seeds with an effective amount of a dry composition, wherein the dry composition comprises biological materials, one or more disaccharides, one or more oligosaccharides, one or more polysaccharides, one or more carboxylic acid salts, and one or more hydrolyzed proteins. The coated seeds may have an initial water activity (Aw) below 0.4, and the microorganisms on the coated seeds have initial viability of at least 5 logs of colony forming units per gram of seeds (CFU/g seed). Also provided are coated seeds.