Guerrilla Gardening - Bombing Style
Intro: Guerrilla Gardening - Bombing Style
Imagine you're driving through the urban jungle. You're living your life, trying to do what's right and while you're eating miles and avoiding crossing skaters, elderly persons, dogs and raccoons you see all those monotonous roundabouts, roadsides & abandoned spaces. Sometimes they're planted with things called 'flowers', most of the time there's just nothing but grass. If there is, any grass. Prozac, now!
Wouldn't it be just great to have some kind of magic stick to transform all those spaces in wild growing, colourful & useful flashes of green wilderness, with flowers, vegetables, cereals or, if you want, potatoes? Instant photoshop, for example.
Such magic stick exists! Only, it's not magic, and there's no stick. But there's better: bombs! Time bombs!
In this I'ble I'll show you how to make so called 'seed bombs'. You'll make them, you'll shape them, and you'll launch them on every spot you want to transform. The result will not be seen immediately but a result there will be. Be patient, it's a time bomb. And when it will explode, the result will be fabulous!
This concept of 'gardening' makes part of so called 'guerrilla gardening'. Guerrilla gardening is nothing new. It's a concept that rose in the US in the seventies with as main purpose to reclaim land in urbanised areas and put a finger in the smelly wound of agro-globalism. There's a very nice definition on the net, better than I ever could explain, but let's say that it's a direct political form of action, using gardening as a mean of environmental action.
It defends the right to land, agrarian reform, and sustainable agriculture. In short it's a kind of reclaiming urban public space (wastelands, industrial areas, green spaces) by citizens willing to put nature back in the city, with burning questions about food autonomy of cities, beautiful places in the city and on mismanaged private property.
But it is above all very entertaining, and deliciously subversive!
There are many ways to be a green guerrilla. Some guerrillas will transform public spaces into real gardens - once we found a few dozens of cannabis plants in the middle of a wildlife reserve (!), others will dislocate trees and plant them elsewhere and others will randomly bomb. There are even 'evil guerrillas' - those who make bombs filled with seeds of plants that most people hate: nettles, thistles or human-devouring tulips. Free beer for them!
You can be any green guerrilla you want! Let's booooooooooomb!!!
Wouldn't it be just great to have some kind of magic stick to transform all those spaces in wild growing, colourful & useful flashes of green wilderness, with flowers, vegetables, cereals or, if you want, potatoes? Instant photoshop, for example.
Such magic stick exists! Only, it's not magic, and there's no stick. But there's better: bombs! Time bombs!
In this I'ble I'll show you how to make so called 'seed bombs'. You'll make them, you'll shape them, and you'll launch them on every spot you want to transform. The result will not be seen immediately but a result there will be. Be patient, it's a time bomb. And when it will explode, the result will be fabulous!
This concept of 'gardening' makes part of so called 'guerrilla gardening'. Guerrilla gardening is nothing new. It's a concept that rose in the US in the seventies with as main purpose to reclaim land in urbanised areas and put a finger in the smelly wound of agro-globalism. There's a very nice definition on the net, better than I ever could explain, but let's say that it's a direct political form of action, using gardening as a mean of environmental action.
It defends the right to land, agrarian reform, and sustainable agriculture. In short it's a kind of reclaiming urban public space (wastelands, industrial areas, green spaces) by citizens willing to put nature back in the city, with burning questions about food autonomy of cities, beautiful places in the city and on mismanaged private property.
But it is above all very entertaining, and deliciously subversive!
There are many ways to be a green guerrilla. Some guerrillas will transform public spaces into real gardens - once we found a few dozens of cannabis plants in the middle of a wildlife reserve (!), others will dislocate trees and plant them elsewhere and others will randomly bomb. There are even 'evil guerrillas' - those who make bombs filled with seeds of plants that most people hate: nettles, thistles or human-devouring tulips. Free beer for them!
You can be any green guerrilla you want! Let's booooooooooomb!!!
STEP 1: Dig It!
To make these bombs you'll need a lot of black powder, wicks and some metal tubes.
Kiddiiiiiiiiiing!!!
I repeat. To make these bombs you'll need some clay and some seeds. That's it, sorry.
The seeds are the easiest part of the job. Go to the bio-shop and buy what you want.
Note: choose plants native to your region - plants that grow there naturally, I mean. Don't start dispersing exotic species, they are often quite aggresive and take easily the place of the natives. If you don't know for sure, ask someone.
Than the clay. The advantage of being a semi-geologist is that at least I know what to find under the grass. So I digged a hole, and at about one foot depth I found that clay-ish layer I Iove so much - called a 'horizont' - formed by very small particles that were washed out from the upper layer and accumulated there. Whatever, if you dig, you might find some clay in your garden. If you don't: any DIY-market will have.
How to know if it's clay? Make a ball - if you accomplish this you're on the right way - and throw it to something. If it sticks, good chance it's clay.
If it screams, choose another target.
If you have a mass spectrometer: learn to use it.
You have it? Great! Store it in a cool place.
Kiddiiiiiiiiiing!!!
I repeat. To make these bombs you'll need some clay and some seeds. That's it, sorry.
The seeds are the easiest part of the job. Go to the bio-shop and buy what you want.
Note: choose plants native to your region - plants that grow there naturally, I mean. Don't start dispersing exotic species, they are often quite aggresive and take easily the place of the natives. If you don't know for sure, ask someone.
Than the clay. The advantage of being a semi-geologist is that at least I know what to find under the grass. So I digged a hole, and at about one foot depth I found that clay-ish layer I Iove so much - called a 'horizont' - formed by very small particles that were washed out from the upper layer and accumulated there. Whatever, if you dig, you might find some clay in your garden. If you don't: any DIY-market will have.
How to know if it's clay? Make a ball - if you accomplish this you're on the right way - and throw it to something. If it sticks, good chance it's clay.
If it screams, choose another target.
If you have a mass spectrometer: learn to use it.
You have it? Great! Store it in a cool place.
STEP 2: Don't Be Affraid to Get Dirty
Now let's start to make those bombs!
Roll out some clay - by wetting the support first because it'll stick to it - or use fist power to make a pie.
Spread those seeds all over it - not too much, just a few seeds in every ball is enough (some guerillas mix a bit of loam with it too).
Put all that clay back together and knead it like bread dough.
Take a bit of that cake and roll your balls - wetting your hands helps.
Done? Nice! Store them in a cool place.
Note: you don't need to bake them!
Roll out some clay - by wetting the support first because it'll stick to it - or use fist power to make a pie.
Spread those seeds all over it - not too much, just a few seeds in every ball is enough (some guerillas mix a bit of loam with it too).
Put all that clay back together and knead it like bread dough.
Take a bit of that cake and roll your balls - wetting your hands helps.
Done? Nice! Store them in a cool place.
Note: you don't need to bake them!
STEP 3: Find Targets and Laaaaaaaunch!!!
When those seed-bombs are made you can hit the road and find targets - drive-by shooting style.
Aim is to bomb the landscape. One driver, three bombers - I like that! Unless you have a pick-up, oh yeah!!!
Nice targets are roundabouts (how is it possible there are sprouts growing there?!), roadsides, public parks and so on. Be creative!
Or, for the evil guerrilla's: the green green grass gardens of your neighbours - maybe I should put a disclaimer at the end, in case...
The concept is simple. The clay protects the seeds when they hit the ground. It retains some moisture in the inside of the ball and protects them from sunlight. During the first rain the ball will dissolve slowly and the seed will germinate in its nutritious cocoon.
As soon as the radicle (small primitive root of the seedling) touches the ground it's done! Those sprouts will grow!
Enjoy!!! Can't wait to see those vegetables start to grow everywhere ;)
Aim is to bomb the landscape. One driver, three bombers - I like that! Unless you have a pick-up, oh yeah!!!
Nice targets are roundabouts (how is it possible there are sprouts growing there?!), roadsides, public parks and so on. Be creative!
Or, for the evil guerrilla's: the green green grass gardens of your neighbours - maybe I should put a disclaimer at the end, in case...
The concept is simple. The clay protects the seeds when they hit the ground. It retains some moisture in the inside of the ball and protects them from sunlight. During the first rain the ball will dissolve slowly and the seed will germinate in its nutritious cocoon.
As soon as the radicle (small primitive root of the seedling) touches the ground it's done! Those sprouts will grow!
Enjoy!!! Can't wait to see those vegetables start to grow everywhere ;)
STEP 4: Daily Growin'...
Wait for the first rains to come & enjoy the magic...
Thanx, Altan ;)
28 Comments
LunaEros 10 years ago
The land you're talking about belongs to the governments that have codes about what can be where or are privately owned.
And a lot of cities major base of income is tourism. They have a specific way the city is designed to attract the tourists. Destroying these spaces with plants other than what they have designed is probably illegal.
Besides what have you got against grass anyway? A lot of urbanites love the way manicured grass areas look. And there is PLENTY of land that is being and is zoned for farming. Just because you don't like it doesn't mean everyone is like that.
And egging on subversives to do this to their neighbors lawns is wrong and if they do and they're found out will probably get them injured.
mlaiuppa. 8 years ago
Then they had better do something better than allowing it to be covered in grasses that produce foxtails. There are plenty of native species that are more attractive and less of a nuisance. Maintain it or get out of the way, I say.
Going to bomb California poppies, milkweed, sage and clover. We need to support our bee and butterfly populations. What better use for our public medians and easeways?
phemy 10 years ago
I don't think this is "destroying" spaces necessarily. From an ecological and agricultural perspective it is enhancement. Grass is nice aesthetically but reduces the biodiversity of insects and invertebrates of the area it grows if artificially planted. Additionally, it provides no resources for pollinators. Almost all of our food (even some meat and dairy due to alfalfa feeding) exists because of pollinators and they are in severe decline worldwide. Most farming in the first world is just as manicured as those grassy areas so does not provide the kind of habitat native planting such as this does. Besides, plants in their native setting don't grow at a rate that is a threat, you can always cut or pull!
evara1 10 years ago
I can understand his hate for the city landscape. You say it is designed to attract tourists, but the blatant artificial look of it all is just dreadful and quite frankly repressive. Any alteration done by this kind of "warfare" is a welcome change from the repulsive "Urban garden" look.
bartworker 10 years ago
You got the picture, bomb it!
bartworker 10 years ago
The day our cities will be surrounded by evil forces, you will stare at your beautiful grass.
But I will eat mashed potatoes.
mlaiuppa. 8 years ago
Something tells me my city is going to start having an invasion of milkweed for the monarch butterflies. Nice that the plants are native and prolific. All I have to do is harvest the seeds which is really easy to do. I might even include some clover and sage for the bees.
Colonel Hogan 9 years ago
bartworker 9 years ago
Done it. Never seen so much cannabis - my retired neighbours let them grow 'since these weird plants were so beautiful!'. LOL
steampunkpotato 9 years ago
Oh my god. I could've died I laughed so hard. :D
moonchylde 9 years ago
bartworker 9 years ago
Awesome, looks like the perfect survive-the-apocalypse story! Let's go gardening, before the hell breaks loose...
UruWalter 9 years ago
Charlisaurio 10 years ago
Great idea!
rozyb24 10 years ago
bartworker 10 years ago
Thanx friend, I hope the japanese inventor is a member of the site!
TioFrio 10 years ago
Love the idea
bartworker 10 years ago
Thanx, me too ;)
sallylea 10 years ago
bartworker 10 years ago
The balls will slowly desintegrate by rain and the clay will wash gradually through the gravel, providing a perfect ground for those seedlings.