Quick! Call the Seed Bomb Squad

January 6, 2010

seeed_bomb_trio

Handmade from a mixture of eco-friendly, locally sourced and recycled materials such as used egg boxes, shredded office paper, organic compost and flower seeds, this bomb contains nothing flammable, though I wouldn’t board a plane with it hidden in your underpants.

seed_bomb_packaging

If you’ve resolved this New Year to become more engaged with your surroundings, to interact with the environment, then you might want to consider becoming a bomber. With Seedbom, a friendly bomb that grows, you can join forces with nature by becoming a guerilla gardener. Got a neighbor whose garden is an eyesore? Or do you pass a barren empty lot every day that cries out for vegetation? Toss in the Seedbom and watch the dull and lifeless turn into the green and verdant.

seed_bomb_tossed

As the manufacturer reassures, the bomb is made only from post consumer paper, used egg boxes, the occasional tea bag, natural waste plant fibers, organic compost, organic fertilizer, flower seeds, recycled card packaging, and…love.

seed_bomp_plant

Note:  After publishing this post, I received a comment from the designer and manufacturer indicating that the product is not yet available in the US: “Etsy is a US site but people in the UK can still order from the site and their payment will be changed into UK pounds through Paypal. I would love to sell in the US but cannot at the moment due to the fact that there are regulations in place for the exportation of seeds and it would be irresponsible of me to send UK native seeds to the US.  I only hope I can move things along fast enough to be able to sell a version of seedboms in the US soon as like you say it is a popular idea and I am getting a very good response from people in the US.”

29 Comments »

  1. victoria said:

    bien humor negro…..no……. desde el sur de américa

    — January 9, 2010 @ 12:10 am

  2. Kyle said:

    This is a fantastic idea. I’ve seen other implementations, but this it most fun looking. As will all seed bombs, please make sure that it doesn’t contain any invasive species, and these vary from region to region.

    That said, bombs away!

    — January 9, 2010 @ 12:32 am

  3. Vanessa said:

    I love these! They’re so clever and fun. I’ll have to keep an eye out there for places to throw these

    — January 9, 2010 @ 2:05 am

  4. Uncle B said:

    Please include the seeds of edible plants in the bombs. The inevitable crash of the U.S. Dollar, and hyper-inflation, combined with a Capital migration to Asian markets complicated by light sweet crude scarcities in the world, and further complicated by rhe climate changes we are experiencing, may make food scarce for some parts of our population, and foraging is likely. Plant food! Hoard information on gardening, aquaculture and survival techniques like pressure canning, drying, pickling sauerkrauting, brewing for preservation of food. Times just might get astoundingly hard and survivalist techniques might save your life, or the lives of others. North America is convulsing at the moment, and the changes have just started. proceed with caution, the 21st century is going to be very complex, even for the very well informed folk. The American “Fiat” money experiment appears to have flaws, and necessitates we all pay for its failure, a rising Asian Fact in the world will also provoke major change in our lifestyles.

    — January 9, 2010 @ 8:47 am

  5. Natty said:

    Nasturtiums ARE edible (that is what is pictured here). Good idea BTW

    — January 9, 2010 @ 12:24 pm

  6. Prodnose said:

    Good luck to all you guerilla gardeners! We need you!

    — January 9, 2010 @ 12:28 pm

  7. Darren Wilson said:

    Hi everyone, I am the designer and maker of seedboms. Thanks for all the great comments! Just so you know seedboms are currently only sold in the UK, they are made only from local recycled, reclaimed, eco-friendly and organic materials using UK native wildflowers and easy to grow species such as Nasturtiums (yes the petals ARE edible, nice and peppery in salads) which have been in the UK for quite a while.

    Hope to sell a similar version in Europe, US and beyond if things go according to plan, keep an eye on my progress at http://www.facebook.com/seedbom and http://www.kabloom.co.uk (new website coming soon!)

    Thanks again and why not try a little guerrilla gardening in your area, every little helps!

    — January 9, 2010 @ 3:40 pm

  8. nabs said:

    This is how most of the green spaces were created in London, but i do like the design very good.

    — January 9, 2010 @ 3:50 pm

  9. Robin said:

    Dear Readers:
    When I posted this, I linked to an Etsy shop that is selling these Seedboms for $15.00. I received the comment above from the designer/maker of the product , Darren Wilson, indicating it is not yet sold in the US. As it was listed in US currency, I assumed it was for sale to US residents. I am looking into this and will report back.
    Thanks!

    — January 9, 2010 @ 5:46 pm

  10. SamuraiMarine said:

    This is a kewl idea. I have, on occasion, thrown packages of my outdated seeds into fields near where I live. For a while there was even a open lot that had quite a watermelon vine in it until someone bought the property and built a house there.

    — January 11, 2010 @ 2:22 pm

  11. Link Latte #6 Pingback said:

    [...] 4) Seed Bombs [...]

    — January 11, 2010 @ 10:20 pm

  12. solar panels for sale said:

    What a cool idea. For places that it isn’t available, I am sure that something similar could easily be made.

    — January 12, 2010 @ 3:35 am

  13. andrew said:

    Very creative and looks like fun! But in this day and age I don’t think it is a very good idea to go around throwing what look like to be grenades. You could end up getting shot or at least harassed by the police.

    — January 12, 2010 @ 10:34 am

  14. RockHardo said:

    Fantastic idea. Any way to make them in another shape? This is fun, but it could cause a lot of problems. Someone who does not know better would have plenty of reason to be nervous seeing someone tossing one of these, or seeing one from a distance on the ground in an empty lot.

    How about an alternative shape, say, a heart, an egg, something like that?

    That said, nice idea.

    — January 15, 2010 @ 10:29 am

  15. TGIF #14 and Whales! « becomingsara.com Pingback said:

    [...] For your favorite guerrilla gardener [...]

    — January 15, 2010 @ 10:44 pm

  16. Costa Rica Farms said:

    I wonder if they carry seed bombers for all life zones?

    — January 16, 2010 @ 7:45 pm

  17. Bill said:

    I was going to make the same comment about on lookers not appreciating someone throwing a grenade. So might I suggest making “seed Frisbees” instead? They would fly better and that will also make for better rain absorption and mulching abilities.

    — January 17, 2010 @ 2:17 am

  18. Megan said:

    Awesome idea!!! Maybe ball shapes would be a little less menacing. Super cool idea though.

    — January 17, 2010 @ 2:41 am

  19. desiree@lookiloos said:

    Love this idea! Thanks for the post–found you through stumble upon.

    — January 19, 2010 @ 2:38 am

  20. Leoanrd Barrett said:

    If any among you don’t want to wait until some enterprising Etsy-er in the US starts hawking these, I’ve posted a simple recipe for making your own: http://bit.ly/5Mb2u3

    Great site, btw!

    — January 20, 2010 @ 3:38 pm

  21. p4r :: permaculture for renters ||Seed Balls Go Che Guevara (and a recipe) « Pingback said:

    [...] feel the same way about several seed ball (aka seed bomb) products that have popped up [...]

    — January 20, 2010 @ 3:40 pm

  22. Kathy said:

    All these ideas are great. Uncle B has it on the money, and food seeds on a frisbee shaped device [...enter next awesome modification here...] should be encouraged to grow some wings and fly into a viable option. makes one wonder who will pick up on that?

    — January 23, 2010 @ 4:14 pm

  23. Valentine’s Day: Love Me Tender, Love Me Green | Urban Gardens | Unlimited Thinking For Limited Spaces Pingback said:

    [...] bon balls of clay, organic compost and seed wrapped in a package resembling traditional chocolates. Seed balls are a centuries-old planting technique. The compost provides nutrients to the seeds and the clay [...]

    — February 10, 2010 @ 5:34 pm

  24. Making Love Down and Dirty | Urban Gardens | Unlimited Thinking For Limited Spaces Pingback said:

    [...] and a higher crop yield. Guerrilla gardeners adopted Fukuoka’s Earth Dumpling recipe to create “seed bombs” for greening barren, abandoned urban spaces. Luvmud extends Fukuoka’s idea by leveraging the joy [...]

    — February 11, 2010 @ 7:31 pm

  25. Sid Raisch said:

    These are more fun than the seed balls currently on the market. Inspirational, clever, unique. They’ll go over with a BANG! in the US.

    — March 29, 2010 @ 8:41 pm

  26. Trane said:

    I hope those are not evasive weed seeds in that bomb. That makes things worse!

    — April 6, 2010 @ 8:20 pm

  27. centralunit said:

    i think also invasive plants would be fine as gilles clement writes in the third paysage panflet

    — April 10, 2010 @ 6:57 am

  28. Colby said:

    This botanical terrorism must end immediately if we are to cultivate an environment enriched with cement and steel !

    — June 23, 2010 @ 8:15 pm

  29. James Bunkley said:

    http://crispgreen.com/2010/06/greenaid-guerrilla-gardening-vending-machines/

    — June 23, 2010 @ 8:53 pm

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