Guerrilla Gardening Seed Bombs Away!

April 6, 2010 by


Photo from funtimehappygardenexplosion.blogspot.com

The aresenal of guerrilla gardening weapons is growing. My post a while back about the Seedbom, a grenade-shaped seed bomb, generated so much discussion that I am inspired to toss out a few more ideas.

You can enlarge your armory with more than the traditional clay seed ball. Try a balloon or glass Christmas ornament filled with seeds, explosive seed-filled eggs, or even seed pills. Use your counter-intelligence.

The Pill that Makes Gardens Bigger
UK based Canadian designer and veteran guerrilla gardener, Vanessa Harden, opts for her “seed pill” which she says combines the efficacy of the seed bomb with a cleaner, smaller and more discreet design. Vanessa led a seed pill march on March 25th and documents the results of her offensive in her blog.

Going to Great Heights with Miles to Sow
A biodegradable balloon filled with helium and lined with seeds can travel a long distance. Using a patch of grass as a counter-weight, the Dutch design firm Studio TX handed these seed balloons to the public to release at the spot of their choice. The helium remains in the balloon for about one day and will decompose in 4-6 months releasing a high concentration of local flower seeds.

Sunny side up?
Two guerrilla gardeners, known only as Ella 1305 and Aime 1306, invented the explosive egg method in 2007. With a needle, they make a tiny incision into a free range egg, blow through the hole to release the contents of the egg which you can later enjoy for breakfast, then delicately insert the seeds. They like to write a message of hope and goodwill on the shell, but since it will be cracked into smithereens when tossed, I say skip that part. Make sure you wrap your eggs carefully to protect them on the way to your mission, then once you are at the point of assault, launch them and wait for an urban garden to grow where once there was just dirt.

Seed Bomb Recipe
1) powdered clay
2) worm castings
3) wildflower seeds indigenous to the area
4) water
5) mixing container
6) stick

How to Make a Seed Bomb
1) mix 5pt powder clay, 5pt worm castings, 1pt seeds in a mixing container
2) add just enough water to make a nice muddy clay consistency
3) roll up the mixture into little balls like gum balls
4) let dry in a cool dry place for 3 days
5) throw them in empty lots

Many recipes are available on the web, but this one is from funtimehappygardenexplosion.blogspot.com

For more about guerrilla gardening: http://www.guerrillagardening.org

8 Comments »

  1. Georgia said:

    We’re on the same wavelength; Design Under Sky, too.

    http://localecologist.blogspot.com/2010/04/dispensing-greenaids-to-la-river-
    and.html

    http://www.designundersky.com/dus/2010/4/2/fostering-modern-johnny-appleseeds.html

    — April 6, 2010 @ 20:58

  2. Robin Plaskoff Horton said:

    Thanks Georgia, you always offer such great comments! I love this stuff!

    — April 7, 2010 @ 07:50

  3. Bill said:

    I just had an interesting thought. Maybe it’s not original, but I thought I’d throw it out here anyway. How about filling empty paintball ammo shells (like these: http://realxtremepaintball.com/product_info.php?products_id=8955) with a seed and fertilizer mix, and “delivering” them via a standard paintball gun? If you mixed these with standard paintballs, then every time there was a competition, seeds would be delivered as well. Or how about long-range guerrilla gardening using a paintball sniper rifle filled with seed-balls?

    — April 7, 2010 @ 11:11

  4. Phyllis Odessey said:

    There is really a much easier way to make a “seed bomb” Last year, we sponsored a project called “The Floating Garden.” Take your seeds, cut a piece of newspaper, add a rock for weight, close the package, much like a dumpling, with twine. This is your seed packet. We throw our seed packets onto an abandoned dock in the East River and this year we have wildflowers.
    It’s easy, it’s cheap and it’s great fun for kids. All materials are bio-degradable.

    — April 9, 2010 @ 14:05

  5. Guerrilla Gardener’s Sweet Idea for Seeding Urban Gardens Pingback said:

    […] them was an idea sprung from their history of involvement with LA Guerilla Gardeners: Greenaid, a seed bomb distribution […]

    — April 11, 2010 @ 10:54

  6. gabe said:

    Là ca va, mais faut arreter de faire du commerce avec la guérilla gardening !!! 🙁 🙁

    — November 18, 2010 @ 06:03

  7. UK Artisan-Crafted Slingshots Made From Locally-Sourced Wood. Pingback said:

    […] slingshot is perfect for illicit acts of guerrilla gardening. Add your favorite seed balls and aim for a sadly disused vacant lot or abandoned […]

    — December 19, 2013 @ 15:23

  8. How to Join the Seed Bomb Squad Pingback said:

    […] them to life and beautifying these urban eyesores. For those who haven’t heard of them—seed bombs are a bunch of seeds in a ball held together typically by clay and […]

    — July 13, 2016 @ 11:01

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