#seedballs

(video source)

seedballs are seeds covered in charcoal. the charcoal is so that animals don't eat them.

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https://www.seedballskenya.com/ lets you pay for seedballs to be grown in kenya!

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how to make homemade seedballs, from u/CowboyAndIndian:

"These are also called seed-bombs in the US. Basically, a package with seed and fertilizer which will not blow away and not get eaten by any birds.

This recipe worked for me. I used it to seed-bomb my town with milkweed, which is needed for the Monarch caterpillar.

Four parts compost,

One part clay

A tiny bit of water. Just enough to dampen the mixture.

Mix all the ingredients. Make it into a quarter-sized ball with seeds in the middle.

Let the balls dry for a couple of weeks before spreading in the wild.

What you need:

Any kind of seeds that are native to your area.

Clay

Potting soil or compost

Water

A silicone mold

OPTIONAL:

Paper mache

A blender

To make paper mache, you need shredded or torn up paper, a blender, a cloth, and some water.

Tear the paper into small stripes, place in blender with water, allow to soak for ten or so minutes, then blend until it's mush. Pour the mixture into a cloth, and ring out excess moisture.

I'm using brown construction paper, which, when blended, takes on a sort of orangish red color.

Using silicone molds, or in general, you can make seed bombs with a combination of clay, soil, and paper mache, or just with paper mache, or just with clay and potting soil.

The main thing I use the paper mache for is to color code them so I know what they are, and to make them lighter.

Prepare your paper mache if you're using it, and set aside. You can leave it sitting in the cloth you used to wring it out.

[ID: two pictures, one of shredded brown construction paper in a clear bag, the other of a white hand behind a pile of reddish-brown paper mache sitting on a green cloth. End ID.]

Prepare your clay mixture by softening the clay (if you're using solidclay), then slowly adding potting soil until it is a workable consistency, not too wet or too dry. For silicone molds, it's better to have it on the wetter side so that it can conform to the mold. If you're using a powdered clay, simply mix equal amounts of clay and potting soil, and then slowly add water until it's the right consistency.

If you are using paper mache, add a thin layer to the bottom of the mold, which will be the top of the seed bomb when its done. Place seeds over this layer.

[ID: five pictures, the first showing a white hand holding a blue silicone mold shaped like a cactus, with many small cactus shaped indentations in it. The next two pictures show the paper mache from before in the bottom of each mold, and the last two pictures show a single white pumpkin seed placed on top of the mache. End ID.]

Fill in the rest of the mold over top of a seed with either more paper mache, or clay. Try to get as much of it inside the mold as possible. Some of it will most likely stick to the outside, that's okay, it will dry and as it gets drier you can push it inward, and you can always take it off at the end to reuse.

[ID: two pictures showing the blue cactus mold with the paper mache and seeds, the first picture showing the bottom mold filled in with dark grey clay, and the second showing all of them filled in. End ID.]

Once the molds are complete, sit them in front of a fan, or somewhere warm for them to dry. As they dry, they will shrink, so once they're done they'll pop right out of the mold with no problem. Let them continue to drive for at least a day if you're using a fan, more if you're not, then store them somewhere dry and out of direct sunlight.

I recommend putting them in labeled brown paper bags so that you and everyone else knows what they are.

All you need to do to use them is throw them where you want plants to grow! Again, make sure you are using native plants.

And from personal experience let me warn you: If Lowes tells you a plant is native, don't trust them. Do your own research to check. Because, all they care about is making money and they lie. A lot.

Seed bombs, or sometimes called seed balls by cowards, are mainly used in guerrilla gardening, where you plant native plants in unused lots or fields, but they can be also used in your own garden, or given to friends to use in there is, because it means you don't have to sow seeds by hand, all you have to do is throw or place to throw them where you want the seeds to grow.

I made a bunch of sunflower seed bombs because I always forget to grow sunflowers, and now instead of remembering to grab the find the seeds plant seeds and water them, all I have to do is just put the seed bomb where I want them.

With Earth Day around the corner, we thought we would share a fun, easy, and Earth-friendly activity that is fun for the whole family.

Balls are fun to kick, to bounce, and to throw. But, have you ever seen one turn into a plant? There is one that does--a seed ball.

Seed balls are a handy tool to create more habitat, like wildflowers and other plants, that pollinators love. Insects, birds, and bats pollinate both agricultural and wild plants needed for the survival of people and animals. But pollinators are under threat, in part due to loss of habitat. By creating easy to make and easy to throw seed balls, we can create new habitat!

Here’s what you need: natural clay, soil, seeds native to your area, and a bowl of water. Once you have found seeds from plants or wildflowers native to your region, you are ready to create! Form a quarter-sized ball by taking a small lump of clay and combining it with some soil. Use whatever ratio binds it together, but 5 parts soil to 3 parts clay seems to do the trick. If it’s too dry, add some water. Using your fingers to work the seeds into the clay-soil mixture, add 3-5 seeds per ball. Roll the mixture between your palm until you get a nice quarter-size sphere and you’re ready to throw! Toss them onto sunlit patches of soft dirt where there aren’t a bunch of plants already growing. That’s it! You’ve created important habitat for the Earth’s pollinators.

I’d like to thank everyone who participated in donating to the native seed fund and helped make seed balls for the desert restoration project at the RA Ranch.