Seed bombs
This is how you can make a seed bomb yourself
© Miriam Doerr Martin Frommherz / Shutterstock
Seed bombs bring more green to urban areas. You can find out how to make a seed bomb yourself in our easy-to-use guide.
Ever heard of seed bombs? With the seed balls, surfaces can be easily transformed into small flowering oases. The seed bombs are available in stores in many places, but they are very easy to make yourself! Children can also enjoy such a DIY project – and learn something about our nature on the side. If that’s not an argument to start right now …
Which seeds for seed bombs?
Before you start, of course, you want to know which seeds are suitable. Reach frugal, easy-care and native plants. So that the seed bombs can also develop their effect, they should match the prevailing climate. Bee-friendly plants that benefit wild bees are also beneficial.
Instructions for DIY seed bombs
4 ingredients for the seed balls
- water
- 3 tbsp peat-free potting soil
- 3-5 tbsp clay powder / healing earth
- 1 tbsp flower seeds (e.g. wild flowers for bees)
This is how you make your own seed bombs
- Put all of the ingredients in a bowl or small bucket except for the water.
- Mix the mix together well.
- Now add water gradually and as you feel!
- The mass should not become liquid, but rather a bit viscous.
- Knead everything together well and then form balls out of it.
- In the last step, you put the seed bombs in a warm place and let them dry there for about two days.
Tip: If you have added too much water, you can easily compensate for this by adding soil! The best way to dry them is to lay them on top of one washable mat or use a discarded egg carton.
© finepics / Shutterstock
Then you can start with the greening! How? With throwing! Because the seed bombs are not planted, instead they already have everything they need for the first time in them. But you should refrain from randomly distributing the seed bombs for good reasons.
Where can I throw seed bombs – and where not?
No-gos are definitely gardens, nature reserves, parks and generally private properties that do not belong to you! The plant bombs develop best in open ground or, in fact, on tree grates, while places under trees and bushes as well as lawns are unsuitable. It is also an advantage if they get light and it soon rains – or you can help yourself …
But be careful: Not every area is suitable, as the biologist Julian Heiermann explains to nabu.de: “Some fallow areas in the city are important for nature. Even if they do not necessarily look beautiful, they are used by many animals. Lizards use them Living on the sunny side of walls, some species of birds breed on the ground and need free space. ”You should also know that the (secret) planting of public areas, also known as guerrilla gardening, is not legal and that a permit is actually required.
Origin of the seed bomb
Various theories are circulating about the origin of the seed bombs: On the one hand, Masanobu Fukuoka, a Japanese rice farmer, is seen as the inventor of the seed bombs. These seed balls (in Japanese nendo dango) he is said to have used in the context of his natural agriculture, in which neither chemistry nor tillage are necessary. On the other hand, the invention has already been awarded to the ancient Egyptians, who are said to have used it to farm the arable land after the annual flood of the Nile.
The seed bombs became really well known by the American guerrilla gardeners in the 1970s. Liz Christy and friends clear out a neglected place on the Lower East Side of New York City. They plant flowers and trees and create a small illegal biotope – and found the Green Guerrillas. The group quickly became known and activists began to make the city greener with seed bombs, among other things.
Key facts at a glance
- Why? Especially to contrast the dreary gray of the city with a few color accents and useful and ornamental plants
- When? Best in spring, depending on the type of plant, until the end of summer
- Where? On open ground where the seed bombs get light and rain
- How? Throw the seed bomb on suitable areas, the seeds are well protected by soil and clay powder and do not have to be planted separately
Tip: The homemade seed bombs are also a by the way nice gift for family and friends!
Sustainability in your own garden
Your own empire can also be made greener – and more sustainable! – shape. To make your little biotope behind the house a success, you will find interesting facts about permaculture in the garden as well as ideas on how to succeed in a sustainable garden. If you don’t own a garden, you don’t need to despair, even with a raised bed on the balcony you can garden well.
Sources used: Berliner Rundfunk 91.4 / YouTube, japandigest.de, evidero.de, kistengruen.de, nabu.de