How to Make a Seed Bomb

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!

Comments

[karlchwe]

Going by the comments, a lot of people don't understand how these things work. Of course, the instructions don't explain it either. 

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. 

[fmcavinchey]

You’ve got to wonder about the wisdom of growing non-native vegetables as well. That thought never seems to come up, no matter where you look. If we stuck to those plants that grow here, in our own zones or areas, we would never infect an area with invaders. We would also, after awhile, not have to do much planting, as seeds would drop and spread by themselves. I am aware of horticulturists that are developing native plants (native to North America, since that is where I live), such as Apios americana, locust trees, and other food producing natives, to come up with varieties that produce more and better foodstuffs. That is a good idea.

Panchito

[treesneedtobehugged]

will add to my instructable on this information

[GreenTara]

Thank you for your explainings. The thought of the reginal Biodiversity seems very important to me too.
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!

[treesneedtobehugged]

Yes thats how the seed bomb works, instructable would be terribly long and boring if i included how it all worked

[Skyriam]

Thanks for the explanation, got one more question. Once the seed germinate... how would they attach to the earth? I'm having a hard time imagining how they could... Thanks!

[treesneedtobehugged]

When a seed germinates it usually sends roots into the ground and becomes a sapling. There are multiple seeds in a seed bomb so if one doesn't work then the others should

[dewexdewex]

What about one of these?

http://www.lakeland.co.uk/F/product/12104?src=gfeed

Put greaseproof paper on the dies to stop the clay sticking, or dust them with flour first.

[snow athlete]

i love this idea, i have some poppie seeds which i just collected. Not the red wild type, but the cultivated double pink type. Very pretty. I have thousands of seeds, and they tend to germinate very well. The problem i have had is that there is grass and weeds ontop of the plots that i have in mind. So this little trick combining the soil with the seeds is ideal. The only thing is i dont want to make a thousand seed bombs, and only 1 seed will be needed per bomb. I need some way to mass produce these easily, or a proper exploding seed bomb which spreads the seeds would be even better. I thought i could lay a piece of clay down, then seeds and soil, and then cut into lots of pieces and roll up, would be a little quicker, but still not really quick enough. I would be doing this for another 6 months mind cause its late summer now...

[Stonehenge541]

 Well, here's an idea, I work with clay quite a bit being a ceramic student and if you got basic throwing clay you could form hollow balls with the seeds and compost inside. Now depending on how thick you make the walls when these hit the ground they explode with some force and recess everything into the ground. 

[Arano]

roll out the the clay thin and long  and behave like this
________________ (end of clay)
================ (clay without anything on it)
**********************  (compost)
'''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''  (line of seeds)
________________ (the other end of clay)


all three parts schould be equal in size... after setting it up like this fold the clay with seeds on the compost part and then folt the pure clay on thop of that... roll the whole e few times through compost and cut it in about 2 inch long parts and you have got many seedbombs with a sqarelike shape

[Forcelord50]

Why not just mix it all together in a large bucket or bowl? Then separate into small balls. Iike making cookies!  I doubt it is essential that the seed be near the middle of the bomb, and if you're mass producing them you should end up with lots that work anyway. 

[treesneedtobehugged]

you could if the flowers like it over seed it and maybe it could drive out the lawn grass kind of what mint does or when you overseed a lawn. You can make a lot more to if you have a group of people doing it then production increases 10 fold!

[LivingDread]

If i were to do this project with a mind to mass produce, i would use a pasta roller to make a long ribbon of clay at the desired thickness. If the clay came out sticky i would put parchment or wax paper around the clay before it enters the pasta machine so that the rollers are making contact with the parchment and not the clay.

From that point i could work on the ribbon and lay out all of my fertilizer first, then seed, then cut and seal individual seed bombs almost like making the worlds dirtiest dumplings (pun intended).

Hey, Dirty Dumplings... to me that sounds a little friendlier than Seed Bombs... though maybe less expressive of their use and intent...  I was just thinking along those lines because this may be a project I would enjoy doing with my students.

[Rahdzhillaxxx]

Kind of like a pumpkin roll? sprinkle a line of compost a line of seed and alternate as you roll it then when its like a rolled up tube slice it  and "paint" it with a soupy layer of clay 'slip' and make disks that will lay flat like skipping stones.-just a play on your idea.

[treesneedtobehugged]

You should do this with your students! I'm a student and if my teacher did this with me i would definitely enjoy it and it also teaches about nature and a little math

[treesneedtobehugged]

You could do it on a cold winter weekend when there is nothing else to do also its very relaxing will be posting soon my way of mass producing them.

[treesneedtobehugged]

If you can you can try and go at the darkest of the night when there is not a full moon and try to weed it out then the next mourning you throw the seed bombs. You can make several seed bombs if you have a group of people who will help you to!

[robj98168]

This is so cool. Thanks for the instructions and were to find materials.

[teslafan100]

they actually do have bio degradable balloons.

[treesneedtobehugged]

also instead of tater tots in your pockets use seed bombs also check this out http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aVev83o_Q_4
How do you make a link?

[cloot100]

lol ty.

[geodez]

biodegradeable water balloons for guerrilla watering.

[Bubbler]

I've seen this done where the maker also mixed dry cow manure into the the mix. Instant food for the plants.

[treesneedtobehugged]

You could also do that if you have a area were you can get the manure. Also compost is basically atifical manure.

[roosta]

cool idea. you could try putting them inside water balloons so they get watered striaght away. kinda defeats the point cos then you would need to go collect the balloon. anyone got a bio degradeable alternative to a balloon?

[treesneedtobehugged]

They do have biodegradable water balloons and the clay would wash off and so would the compost if you put one inside, though you can water them with water balloons!

[Rotten194]

Or water them with an aquaglove....
http://www.instructables.com/id/Aquaglove/
Throw that!

[soulcalibur]

oh i thought you meant aquaglobe at first :P

[treesneedtobehugged]

lol that would work but all dogs should leave the area!

[cdousley]

Lol

[Bluedove2897]

*Dogs see flowers*

[diskincluded]

Couldn't you put a bit of beeswax around them to stop the water from ruining them?

[treesneedtobehugged]

Can the seed still germinate with the beeswax? Even if you would put it in a water balloon you would still haft to water it eventually or maybe not if its a native to your area.

[diskincluded]

Beeswax melts pretty easy, a bit of sunlight on a warm day should do it alright, I think.

[Ian01]

By then the water would probably have evaporated, or the sunlight would make the water evaporate. You could just throw them when the weather forecast says rain is likely, or throw water balloons after them so they don't get soaked but they do get watered.

[diskincluded]

Ah, good point. We could try attaching the bomb to the outside of the balloon somehow, that way we get the water and the compost and bits.

[take.n.make]

How about mixing the two. You could coat the seed bomb in beeswax, then poke a pinhole in it and stuff it into a water balloon. If the pinhole is small enough, it will regulate how quickly the seed bomb absorbs the water. However, if you have to throw it over a fence to get it to blossom, you might want to figure something else out.

[diskincluded]

Good idea. Don't make the hole too small though, else the water won't be able to flow. I used to have a couple of art pieces that were coloured sand in water, between two pieces of glass in a frame. You filled it with a syring through a hole in the side that was too small for the water to flow back out.

[BoRaiCho4]

they make bio degradeable water balloons. so if you can find some that would fix your problem.