Flower seed bombs—or balls—are a way to add greenery, life, and food to places that are neglected or rundown. They will work anywhere that has dirt and access to sun and rain. Seed bombs are easy to make and do not need to be buried or watered—the seeds will self-germinate in the right conditions. They can be thrown into landfill sites or unused empty lots, even a crack in the sidewalk will do. Leave lettuce bombs in city planters! Plant wildflower bombs along the curb and in road medians! It’s easy to transform your neighborhood with a few simple seeds.
BENEFITS FOR THE ENVIRONMENT: By spreading native plants, you can support water scarcity issues.
BENEFITS FOR YOUR WALLET: Planting food can help offset grocery costs, and planting wildflowers can improve the aesthetics of your neighborhood, increasing your property value.
Time and Effort: Low. Preparing a seed bomb only takes a few minutes, especially if you can recruit a few friends or neighborhood kids to help. Throwing a seed bomb at your selected target only takes a few seconds (literally) and you don’t need to do any additional watering or maintenance.
Materials:
- Mixed seeds (always use native seeds)
- Compost
- Clay soil or red or brown clay powder (you can order clay powder online at a potter’s store)
- Water
Instructions:
- Combine the seeds and compost in a large bowl.
- Add the clay soil into your bowl. If you are using a dry clay powder, slowly add water until it is the consistence of easily molded mud.
- Shape the mixture into golf ball-size “bombs.”
- Set seed bombs on a windowsill or outside in the sun so that they harden a bit.
- Get seed bombing! Experienced bombers recommend seed-bombing right before the weather forecasters predict rain.
Once you’ve lobbed that first bomb, step back and reflect on your first involvement in the worldwide “guerrilla gardening” movement. This is a movement to reclaim underused land — empty lots, vacant yards, alleys, and other areas you technically don’t have the right to plant — for lovely and productive gardens.3 You are sticking it to the man by fighting against the disinterested, wasteful society. Or, if you are not the political type, you could just take satisfaction in your Masanobu Fukuoka-style efforts to beautify the ugly and cultivate the barren.4
This guide was adapted from: Grist.org – Flower power: Fighting the Man with guerrilla gardens
