Seed bombs are a great way to quickly plant a lot of seeds for gardening or spreading in fields. They're a fun way to try your hand at gardening without a lot of prep work, and can be planted at any time of the year when you would normally be planting seeds. Making them is also a fun activity that you can do with kids!

These seed balls are made with recycled and biodegradable paper and wildflower seeds. I receive a lot of kraft paper in shipments from suppliers, and I was looking for a creative way to reuse it. The paper around the seeds protects them from being eaten by birds and insects while the seeds germinate. Throw them in a space that you think needs some greenery, or in your own yard to start a small garden.

In this tutorial we use a mixture of wildflower seeds to show you how to make them, but you can make seed bombs with any seeds you want to spread over a large area.

This tutorial originally appeared on my blog.

Step 1: Gather Materials and Tools

To make seed bombs, you'll need to first gather your supplies and tools for the job. You'll need:

Recycled Newspaper or kraft paper
(Optional) A paper shredder or scissors to shred paper. You can also do this by hand.
water
seeds
mixing bowl
blender or immersion blender
ice cube trays
tea towel
A tray or plate for the seed balls to rest on while they dry

Seeds can be expensive if you buy them in small packets. If you're planning on making more than one batch of these, we recommend buying them online from a store like American Meadows.

Step 2: Prepare Your Paper Pulp

Shred paper and let it soak in water for 5 minutes or more. This allows the fibers in the paper to absorb enough water so it is easier to blend. Add the paper and water mixture to a blender (or use an immersion blender in a bowl like we did) and blend it into a pulp.

Step 3: Add Seeds to Paper Pulp

Add the seeds to the pulp mixture and stir. To make ours we use a blend of wildflower seeds, but you can use any type of seeds you like, like vegetable seeds or ivy. There's no exact measurement for the amount of seeds you need to use, but we use about 1/4 cup of seeds to 4 cups of the paper pulp mixture.

Step 4: Strain the Paper Pulp and Seed Mixture to Remove Any Excess Water.

Strain the pulp through a fine mesh colander or a tea towel. I put mine over a separate mixing bowl to reuse the water so I can create a second batch of seed bombs later in the day. Wring out the pulp mix in the tea towel to remove the rest of the water so the seeds don't germinate prematurely.

Step 5: Shape Your Seed Bombs

Now that you have your seed bomb mixture made, you can begin shaping the your seed bombs. You can do this step by hand, but I prefer to use an old ice cube try to make them all a consistent shape.

Place the paper and seed pulp into your molds. You can make your seed balls as small or as large as you like. Carefully remove from their molds and rest them on a tray or board to dry. If circles are boring to you, you can use ice cube trays in other shapes, too!

Step 6: Dry Your Seed Bombs

Let dry in a warm and sunny place. Having a fan blowing nearby helps to speed up the drying process, too. You want to make sure that your seed bombs dry quickly so that the seeds don't start to germinate while your seed bombs are still drying.

Step 7: And Finally... Plant Your Seed Bombs!

The last thing that is left to do is to spread your seed bombs outside! Throw your seed bombs in your garden, in a window box, or in an ugly lot that you think needs some color. They don't need to be planted under the soil, so all you have to do is drop them in place and let nature work its magic. Within a few weeks you should be surrounded with colorful flowers!