Do you hate those blank vacant lots on the side of road and city streets? Have you wanted to put a flower garden in one of those lots but have been afraid of being arrested? Do you not have the money to buy all those flower transplants? Is the lot just to hard to get into? And think of how many times you have seen a bare plot with nothing in it or a neglected flower bed that you just wished you could plant on? Well the seed bomb is just right for you. The seed bomb is cheap compared to buying transplants, is natural and organic, easy to make, pocket sized, and you can easily cover a large area with seed bombs in a very short time. The seed bomb is also a great weapon in the guerrilla gardeners arsenal when the guerrilla gardener needs to quickly get the job done.
Step 1: Materials
All materials in this instructable are cheap or free, easy to find, and are natural and organic.
Clay from your area if available or if clay unavailable in your area you can use crayola air dry clay and is found in walmart for about $5.00 (used to protect the seeds from insects, birds, etc. that might eat them)
Water (For forming clay, do not water seed bomb when finished)
Seeds native to your area (Check with your local Nature Conservancy or your state's department of natural resources for which seeds/plants are native to your area)( buy seed mixtures of native flowers and plants. Not only will they grow well, they will not crowd out other plants, disrupt bird and insect populations, or do other environmental damage)
Compost or worm castings
Yogurt container top or any large flat surface
For the dried red clay mix 5 parts clay with 1 part compost and 1 part flower seeds, put some careful drops of water into the mixture(make sure not to make it into a goopy sloppy mess!), Knead with hands into a ball, flatten it out and cut to desired size. Now just make into a small ball and let it dry in the sun. Now you have a red clay seed bomb.
Clay from your area if available or if clay unavailable in your area you can use crayola air dry clay and is found in walmart for about $5.00 (used to protect the seeds from insects, birds, etc. that might eat them)
Water (For forming clay, do not water seed bomb when finished)
Seeds native to your area (Check with your local Nature Conservancy or your state's department of natural resources for which seeds/plants are native to your area)( buy seed mixtures of native flowers and plants. Not only will they grow well, they will not crowd out other plants, disrupt bird and insect populations, or do other environmental damage)
Compost or worm castings
Yogurt container top or any large flat surface
For the dried red clay mix 5 parts clay with 1 part compost and 1 part flower seeds, put some careful drops of water into the mixture(make sure not to make it into a goopy sloppy mess!), Knead with hands into a ball, flatten it out and cut to desired size. Now just make into a small ball and let it dry in the sun. Now you have a red clay seed bomb.
Step 2: Cutting
Cut a very thin piece of the clay
Tip: (The thinner you make it the easier you can press it down and shape it into a ball)
Tip: (The thinner you make it the easier you can press it down and shape it into a ball)
Step 3: Cutting (Continued)
Press down on a large flat surface (making it not paper thin but not as thick as a book)
Cut to about 2 and a half inches wide and 2 inches high
Cut to about 2 and a half inches wide and 2 inches high
Step 4: Adding the compost
Sprinkle the finest compost onto the clay and the more compost you put on the better the chance the seeds will germinate)
Step 5: Adding Seeds
Add about 2 seeds to the mixture (depending on the quality you think the seeds are)
Step 6: Adding the Water
BE CAREFUL ON HOW MUCH WATER YOU ADD!
Add just a few drops or it will become a sloppy mess that's almost impossible to take off ! The water will also help the compost stay inside the seed bomb
Add just a few drops or it will become a sloppy mess that's almost impossible to take off ! The water will also help the compost stay inside the seed bomb
Step 7: Making Into a Seed Bomb
THIS IS GOING TO BE DIRTY!
Scrape off with your fingers the clay and roll into a ball and make sure you don't let the seeds go out of the seed bomb!
Scrape off with your fingers the clay and roll into a ball and make sure you don't let the seeds go out of the seed bomb!
Step 8: Adding More Compost
To have a better chance of your plant in your seed bomb of growing put your seed bomb into a pot of compost and rub the compost in and take it out and rub it in again. You can keep repeating this process till about the 5th rubbing then you have most likely covered the seed bomb with the compost.
Step 9: Your Finished
Now just let your seed bomb air dry and your finished. You can fit about 9 seed bombs or more in one pocket (estimated from size 12 boys blue jeans) and if you multiply that by how many pockets you have in your pants, jacket, and even hat plus the number of people you bring with you then you have a lot of area you can cover with your seed bombs! Now throw your seed bombs of change into any vacant lot, neglected flower bed, or bare lot and don't forget to water your new brand new guerrilla garden!
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You only dry them to keep your pocket clean, a damp ball tossed into the planting bed will sprout sooner. seeds need moisture and warmth, think spring! sunshine and rain
Amen, and Amen some more! Grammar aside, there is a fine line between giving enough instruction, and being too long-winded. Heaven forbid that the author of an "instructable" expects one of two things; that the reader has a certain level of intelligence and understanding to be able to complete the project, or that they will be able to simply ask the author a simple question to clarify things. Slamming someone never clears up confusion, and often adds to the problem.
The clay is there to protect seeds from being eaten, especially by birds. Birds won't eat things covered with clay or clay dust. So alternatives like papier mache wouldn't work (and would possibly be more expensive.)
The seed bombs shouldn't break open. In fact they should stay relatively intact even after they have been wet by rain a few times. That way the seeds stay protected and moist. When the seeds germinate, they will break through the clay.
They seeds don't need water right away. They will stay dormant until rain comes. If the seeds are the right for the area, then they will do fine. Of course, not every single seed will sprout.
But the comment about using plants that are native to the area is an important one. Buy seed mixtures of native flowers and plants. Not only will they grow well, they will not crowd out other plants, disrupt bird and insect populations, or do other environmental damage.
Panchito
And then, I would say, make a little prayr when you throw the bomb. The natural beeings will love it. They ll be gardening what they can!
“Weeds” may well not actually exist, outside of our minds.
Just some food for thought.
Panchito
Like volunteer corn in a soybeen field.
Remember the song "The Lonely Little Petunia in The Onion Patch"?
I define weeds as plants that are growing where they are not welcome. For me, a weed is a plant that is a non-native invasive species. In California, this means Oxalis pes-caprae, Scotch Broom, Pampas Grass, Dandelion, Raphanus raphanistrum, running bamboos, and Euphorbia lathyrus, among others. 'Weeds can be useful in emergency situations, but I consider the state of our fragile ecological system more important. If, in California, the non-native invasive Scotch Broom out-competes native Asclepias species, Monarch butterflies will be in grave danger. Ironically, Asclepias is known as Milkweed as it can spread aggressively; in western Europe where Scotch Broom originates, Asclepias spp. may be weeds.
So, I think weeds do exist outside of our minds, but our minds are subjective.
Personally, I like rats, and have had friends that were rats.
Regarding weeds, a rather ubiquitous “weed”, a very invasive species, is the Dandelion. I’m in Ohio, and as far as I can tell, dandelions are EVERYWHERE. I am entirely unsure as to whether they have any detrimental effect on other plant, or animal, species. What I do know, is that in an emergency, dandelions are VERY good food, at least good for you. I don’t personally like their usual bitterness, but others do.
I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt on your definition of the word “weed”. Invasive, destructive species are indeed weeds. So touche to you!
Cheers,
Panchito
I had no money in college, so I made a meal of dandelion flower petals and clover heads. It actually was pretty good, filled me up, and cleaned me out, very beneficial.
Panchito
Otherwise this is a very interesting Instructable. Thanks for posting!
Anyway, I think it's wonderful that you're teaching people how to make these. Thanks! :)
The only thing that Masanobu Fukuoka (many people attribute his name as Fukuoka Masanobu) CREATED was the term "seed balls"; he did not create this technique. Please don't confuse the readers of Instructables with your opinions, as this may sometimes slow or stop the transfer of ideas! If you had read a little more than Masanobu Fukuoka's treatise "The One-Straw Revolution", you might have gleaned that even as far back in antiquity, Pliny the Elder was using this technique in 1 AD. Proto-Native Americans (North & Central) used similar techniques for several thousand years. Many apologists (Jim Bones, in particular) for Masanobu Fukuoka, look too precisely for the proof that no other tribe, person or culture came up with an idea that may discredit, or at least disprove, the mythology of Masanobu Fukuoka. This is partially proved by the use of many of his acolytes and apostles who refer to him as Sensei. Yes, he was the first to write these ideas down on paper, but there are many others who went before that shall receive no credit. Rudy Steiner, J.I. Rodale, Hans Müller & the Lady Eve Balfour have had similar "epiphanies", yet they don't have quite the following of the Sensei.
Panchito
Just to add to the grammar comments...your use of you're is correct. If you had not used the contraction your sentence would have been " Anyway, I think it's wonderful that you are teaching people how to make these." Thus, the contraction of "you are" to "you're" is in fact correct.