Sharing the Love: Spreading Seeds

Submitted by RoseJM on Mon, 06/11/2012 - 00:00

By:

Rose Judd-Murray, NGA Staff

Right Side Box:

How-To: Make A Seed Bomb

Materials:

Clay (purchase at craft stores)
Compost or potting soil
Seeds (we recommend easy-to-grow or native varieties)

Bring this activity home, or share it in the classroom with these easy step-by-step directions (PDF). »

Taking a walk together as a family is a great way to teach your kids about varieties of flowers, shrubs, and trees. It's an unstressful time to engage and allow them to ask questions about their own local environment.

You probably won't have to travel very far to discover a blank vacant lot, or abandoned side yard by the street. Those haunting lots can become an exciting summer project for you and your kids--not by buying and transplanting lots of flower pots, but by becoming "Top Secret Agents" and planting some seed bombs.

Seed bombing on a larger scale is done by introducing new vegetation to land by throwing or dropping (usually from an airplane) compressed bundles of soil containing live vegetation. This aerial revegetation dates back to the 1930s and is still used today to treat areas burned extensively by wildfires.

On the homefront, and a much smaller scale, seed bombs are fun to make with children of all ages. It's cheap, compared to buying transplants, and kids can carry them about in their pockets! Use this printable tutorial show you how to encase the seeds in a hard ball of clay and potting soil which will help them germinate. The bombs can be tossed into any bare patch of dirt. Just add water! As a family you can easily cover a large area with seed bombs in a short period of time--in a few months time you'll see plenty of progress with your "secret" garden.

1. Divide your materials so you have:

5 parts clay
1 part compost/potting soil
1 part seeds

2. Combine the clay and compost. Add a little water if your mixture is dry. The mixture should be moist but not dripping wet.

3. Add the seeds to the clay and compost. Thoroughly work the materials together with your hands.

4. Shape the mixture into a ball the size of a golf ball.

5. You can either plant your seed bomb while it is still moist or allow it to dry. As long as it is watered (either manually or by rain) once it's planted, the clay will break down and the seeds will grow.