Making seed bombs
In a recent Facebook student chat the subject of seed bombs came up. I had made some years ago, so when Rachel suggested it would make an interesting blog I offered to write it.
As I write this in late August, it is actually the wrong time to start planting or throwing your seed bombs around, but there’s nothing to stop you from making them throughout the Autumn and Winter, ready for next Spring. If you already have some wildflowers in your garden, you could wait for them to die and collect the seeds yourself. An easy way to do this is by leaving the seeds to dry on the plant, then dead head the plant and place the seed heads in a paper bag. Give the bag a good shake to collect the seeds and leave the bag in a cool dark place until you are ready to use them.
Seed bombs were originally created by guerrilla gardeners for a quick and easy way to brighten up waste ground. They are great fun for adults and children and the perfect way to bring some colour to hard to reach or barren areas. Not only that, they will attract bees and other pollinators which is always a bonus.
You could make this a magical project by using seeds that correspond with your intent and enjoy literally watching your spell grow.
Seed bombs are really quick and easy to make once you have everything you need, they are also a fun project to make with children and a way to get them interested in gardening. It can get a bit messy, so I made mine in my garden. A quick search online will bring up lots of recipes - I used the recipe below - but if you can’t get hold of natural clay powder there is another recipe that uses flour. I’ll include that as well, but I haven't tried it myself.
I halved this recipe and still made 12 medium sized seed bombs. I needed 2 packets of wildflower seeds for this.
You will need:
5 cups of peat free compost compost
2-3 cups of powdered clay (found in craft shops)
1 cup of native wildflower seeds
Water
Add the compost, clay and seeds to a bowl and mix together Slowly add a few drops of water at a time, mixing it in with your hands until everything sticks together. Roll the mixture into balls and leave to dry in a sunny spot, or an airing cupboard if you have one. It may take a couple of days until they are completely dry. Then in early Spring throw them into a bare area of your garden or on waste ground and leave to germinate.
Clay free recipe:
This recipe uses 10 parts compost to 1 part flour
Flour
Peat free compost
Native wildflower seeds
Water
Add your compost and flour to a mixing bowl. Slowly add water until the mixture is like sticky dough. Roll into golf-ball sized balls. Fill a tray with wildflower seeds. Roll your bombs around until covered in seeds. Leave to dry for a day or two, then in early Spring throw them into a bare spot in your garden or on waste ground and leave to germinate.
