Guerrilla gardening is great but every guerrilla must take responsibility for his or her actions when taking action in public spaces. Fukuoka developed the technique in the 1930s on his farm in Japan, where he seed bombed river banks, roadsides, and otherwise neglected areas to cultivate the earth. One important caveat before you make seed bombs and spread seed bombs: avoid at all costs using seeds from species that are invasive to your locality. Seal the opening of the clay by pinching it shut, encasing the soil and seed mixture within the clay. These marble-sized balls have resurfaced on platforms such as Instagram and TikTok, where guerrilla gardeners use them to promote urban biodiversity by adding vegetation in neglected areas.

Masanobu Fukuoka brought seed balls to the world's attention when he wrote The One Straw Revolution, detailing the success he had with no-till methods of agriculture and the effectiveness of seed balls. You can change your choices at any time by visiting Cookie preferences, as described in the Cookie notice.Only combine seeds with similar qualities or habitat preferences, or plants that are known to grow well together.

If you are using the moist air dry clay, you would simply mix it with the compost and seeds at this point. Avoid recycled clay that has glazes in it, especially for applications where seed balls will be near food-gardening sites. if you are doing this activity with children, I’d suggest doing this part ahead of time as they will extremely messy, before they get bored!Pump up the compost ratio, but use enough clay to hold the bombs together and provide good seed-matrix contact. I recommend air dry clay because it’s easily obtainable and I add my pressed flowers after the clay dries because some flowers can bleed color if you attach them while the clay is still drying. Try to launch the bombs between March and June, when they stand the best chance of germinating and growing. I received my first introduction to seed bombs via a recent random conversation with a friend, and I thought it would be an excellent idea to make some of my own with wildflower seeds to spread on our adventures walking through the countryside. How to make seed bombs, Nature activity with kids, seed ball gifts, seed ball recipe, seed balls, seed bomb recipe, seed bombs, seed bombs UK, seed bombs with air dry clay Will Seed Bombs (Balls) Made With Air Dry Clay Germinate?

Make the seed bombs according to the instructions below and simply chuck them where you want them to grow. They are ideal for throwing into places where people can’t really get in to plant, and can contain any sort of seeds, however wildflower seeds are the best for helping the bees and butterflies in your local area. That’s correct–rats, white footed mice, brown mice, chipmunks, rabbits, squirrels, many birds and their predators are attracted to seed balls/bombs. A mixture is made using red clay powder, fine potting soil and enough water to form a ball – that will hold seeds inside.

I see that this is an old post, but seems people surfing might run into it and find the information helpful. Lay a sheet of wax paper on a flat surface in a dry, well-ventilated area, away from direct sunlight.

If I really want the children to work the dough for a bit of fine motor development then I add the seeds once the dough has been mixed. If you care for them, you’ll be rewarded with delicious herbs, beautiful flowers and/or perennials that will come back year after year. Once all of your seed bombs are dry, you can plant them in indoor or outdoor pots, your yard, or in neglected patches of soil you’re allowed to access.You can push them slightly into the soil, leaving the tops uncovered in a sunny spot, but if you prefer to toss them like true bombs, soak them in water for 5 to 10 minutes before bombardment. It should be a balanced mix of sapric (smeary) and hemic (fibrous, but unrecognizably decomposed) materials, without much of any fibric (still recognizable) components.