#seed balls

[farmobileo3]

Making more seed balls for the land conservation project in the high desert. The aim is to regenerate this area for erosion control and wildlife. Thanks for your support !

[solarpunkani]

Things to Keep in Mind when Guerrilla Gardening

Okay I'm not going to pretend to be an expert on guerrilla gardening or anything. I'm still a novice at best, a shy little baby who feels awkward scattering seeds when even one other person is on the sidewalk with me. So lets consider this a starting guide, for people like me who haven't done it much before and want to try for the best results quickly.

So, first things first, let's talk about your seeds. Gardeners have got to consider what plants they're growing in their environment, but especially guerrilla gardeners. If someone plants an invasive plant in their backyard, they can attempt to wrangle it or at least contain it to only their backyard. Guerrilla gardeners are gardening out in the open, where things can probably spread even more easily and cause even more problems. Keep in mind that not all nonnative plants are invasive, but also keep in mind that a native plant will be better for your projects/environment than a nonnative one. That being said, if you wanna grow a nonnative noninvasive plant in your guerrilla garden, I'm not going to be the one to stop you, but maybe give it some native friends. They'll be more acclimated to your environment anyhow.

Next, let's consider location! If you're going to be guerrilla gardening, where you do it is of great importance, and may even impact your seed selection. Empty lots, grass along sidewalks, empty tree pits are all popular from what I've seen online. Roadsides can also be an option, as long as you stay safe. Consider how much sun your location gets, does it tend to puddle up with water when it rains, or does it stay dry a lot? Is the soil good, or is it dry and not very fertile? Are there weeds growing, or is it entirely barren? Do you need to clean up some trash before you start planting? Does it get mowed often, by private owners or the city?

Also while you're picking your locations, consider how often you can/would go back to that location, as it might impact how you choose to disperse your seeds. If you can visit it often to weed and amend the soil and whatnot, you can do your gardening differently from someone who can't return often or add to the soil. Also consider that, if you're planning to grow edible plants, you may want to get the soil tested first--as well as avoid planting super close to roadways. Not to say planting near roads is impossible or a 100% bad idea, but consider how such close proximity to cars and all their exhaust and other such things may affect your plants.

Consider the timing. Plants are going to need water to grow, whether you choose to use seeds or transplant seedlings. Take a look at the weather for the next week or so! If it's going to be rainy, you probably won't have to drop by to water it super often--if it's going to be hot and sunny, you might want to go back once every few days at least. Consider what month it is--is it even the right time to be planting the seeds you're planning to plant? Is it too hot, too cold?

At this point you might choose to reconsider what seeds/plants you decide to use for your project, which is 100% fine. Now you also need to consider how you're going to plant them. Depending on how easy the place is to access, you might be able to just plain scatter the seeds--I've just grabbed some from my bag and scattered them with my hands, but I've seen people use salt shakers and even salt guns for this same purpose. (While I'm sharing their links, the tiktok account SFinbloom is pretty rad. bee outfits optional btw) If you want to toss seeds out further, or make sure they don't get eaten by birds, options like seed bombs and seed paper/seed confetti are always good options! Though, I do recommend making these yourself, or at least making sure the seeds in any purchased ones are native to your area/noninvasive. If you don't want to plant seeds, you can always start seeds at your home, or buy seedlings/plants to then transplant in your desired location--this'll likely get you a quicker result!

If you want to cover a lot of ground, or make it more fun, consider recruiting friends! Or maybe meet people on social media and join up to guerrilla garden together! It could be a fun time, and you could make a day of it--grab lunch together while you're out or something. If you want, you could even get reflective vests for yourself/everyone, so it looks like you're working for a volunteer group/the city. It may keep people from asking questions!

About that, also consider that guerrilla gardening is a revolutionary act, and as such, some people may be more opposed to it than others. People may come bug you, and depending on the person, may even try escalating things further. Sprinkling seeds or using seed bombs is less likely to draw attention, but keep this in mind as you go out there.

Once the deed is done, the deed is done! Wait for the rains, or return to your spot and water things yourself! You can do guerrilla gardening in an anonymous sneaky fashion, you can share your progress online, or you can even be loud and proud about it everywhere! That's all up to you, this is just some basic advice I've garnered from online posts.

Feel free to add your own advice as well! And if I said anything incorrect, please let me know!

Happy seed yeeting!

[opoloop]

[mydonkeyfeet]

Seed balls! I decided to just throw all the seeds in together, flowers and veggies (minus the eggplant because I don’t know what to do with eggplant? And minus the squash because squash bugs give me RAGE.) So when I get peas and carrots growing next to zinnias and cornflowers, it will be a delightful mix.

This was so fun! I think it would be great for kids too. It was very much like making cookies. You could use these for guerrilla gardening and throw them into an empty lot or a ditch that doesn’t get mowed, but I’m keeping these for myself.

[bumblebeeappletree]

Seed bombs are great fun for children and adults. Sowing wildflowers provides vital resources to support a wide range of insects that couldn't otherwise survive in urban or built-up areas.

Throwing, breaking up or digging ‘seed bombs’ (or balls) into areas in your garden that need a little brightening up is a perfect way of spending an afternoon.

Please only use seed bombs in gardens, don't throw them in wild places.

https://sussexwildlifetrust.org.uk/se...

Reminder that if you’re throwing seed bombs around that isn’t your garden, use seeds that are native to the area you’re planting. Don’t wanna ruin the local ecosystem with invasive species.

Edit: I posted this as a resource to have for making Seed Bombs. Which were created for guerrilla gardening. This lady said to only do it in your garden but well, that defeats the purpose of the seed bomb. However you still need to be careful of where you throw the seed bombs. Is the area full of heavy metals? Will the plants get torn up immediately by vehicles or people? Take good consideration when it comes to throwing your seed bombs and use native plants to your area. Can’t stress that enough.

[axelkai0]

Throw seed balls on Near river, ponds, stream banks, temple sites, national and state highway sides, nearby forest areas, unused government lands and moist places. Do not use this ball with tree seeds where there is agricultural land. The seed in the seed ball is safe from insects, ants and birds. Whenever they get rain water, they start sprouting.

[rjalker]

How to make seed bombs using silicone molds

What you need:

Any kind of seeds that are native to your area.

Clay

Potting soil or compost

Water

A silicone mold

OPTIONAL:

Paper mache

A blender

To make paper mache, you need shredded or torn up paper, a blender, a cloth, and some water.

Tear the paper into small stripes, place in blender with water, allow to soak for ten or so minutes, then blend until it's mush. Pour the mixture into a cloth, and ring out excess moisture.

I'm using brown construction paper, which, when blended, takes on a sort of orangish red color.

Using silicone molds, or in general, you can make seed bombs with a combination of clay, soil, and paper mache, or just with paper mache, or just with clay and potting soil.

The main thing I use the paper mache for is to color code them so I know what they are, and to make them lighter.

Prepare your paper mache if you're using it, and set aside. You can leave it sitting in the cloth you used to wring it out.

[ID: two pictures, one of shredded brown construction paper in a clear bag, the other of a white hand behind a pile of reddish-brown paper mache sitting on a green cloth. End ID.]

Prepare your clay mixture by softening the clay (if you're using solidclay), then slowly adding potting soil until it is a workable consistency, not too wet or too dry. For silicone molds, it's better to have it on the wetter side so that it can conform to the mold. If you're using a powdered clay, simply mix equal amounts of clay and potting soil, and then slowly add water until it's the right consistency.

If you are using paper mache, add a thin layer to the bottom of the mold, which will be the top of the seed bomb when its done. Place seeds over this layer.

[ID: five pictures, the first showing a white hand holding a blue silicone mold shaped like a cactus, with many small cactus shaped indentations in it. The next two pictures show the paper mache from before in the bottom of each mold, and the last two pictures show a single white pumpkin seed placed on top of the mache. End ID.]

Fill in the rest of the mold over top of a seed with either more paper mache, or clay. Try to get as much of it inside the mold as possible. Some of it will most likely stick to the outside, that's okay, it will dry and as it gets drier you can push it inward, and you can always take it off at the end to reuse.

[ID: two pictures showing the blue cactus mold with the paper mache and seeds, the first picture showing the bottom mold filled in with dark grey clay, and the second showing all of them filled in. End ID.]

Once the molds are complete, sit them in front of a fan, or somewhere warm for them to dry. As they dry, they will shrink, so once they're done they'll pop right out of the mold with no problem. Let them continue to drive for at least a day if you're using a fan, more if you're not, then store them somewhere dry and out of direct sunlight.

I recommend putting them in labeled brown paper bags so that you and everyone else knows what they are.

All you need to do to use them is throw them where you want plants to grow! Again, make sure you are using native plants.

And from personal experience let me warn you: If Lowes tells you a plant is native, don't trust them. Do your own research to check. Because, all they care about is making money and they lie. A lot.

Seed bombs, or sometimes called seed balls by cowards, are mainly used in guerrilla gardening, where you plant native plants in unused lots or fields, but they can be also used in your own garden, or given to friends to use in there is, because it means you don't have to sow seeds by hand, all you have to do is throw or place to throw them where you want the seeds to grow.

I made a bunch of sunflower seed bombs because I always forget to grow sunflowers, and now instead of remembering to grab the find the seeds plant seeds and water them, all I have to do is just put the seed bomb where I want them.

These ones in particular are using Lakota squash seeds. I was originally going to fill the molds in with red and dark green paper mache to match the look of the squash... But I can't find those colors. Which means I'm probably going to find them as soon as these are all done lol.

[robsclan]

September 25, 2019-Via Robert’s IG