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Seed bombs

By Chenxin Tu, 27 April 2023

Watch your seed bomb sprout!

It can be tricky to grow plants from seeds. Why not make some seed bombs to give your seeds the best chance to grow up?

Safety: When you are working outdoors, make sure you’re being sun safe.

You will need

• Garden dirt
• Flour
• A container
• Water
• Vegetable, flower, or fruit seeds
• Sun-safe gear, including a hat, long sleeves and sunscreen

What to do

1. Dig up a few handfuls of dirt from your garden and place them in a container.
2. Add roughly the same amount of flour to the dirt.
3. Add water to the dirt and flour, mixing thoroughly until you get a sticky muddy paste.
4. Take a bit of the muddy paste and shape it into a little bowl.
5. Put a few of your seeds in the dirt bowl.
6. Roll the muddy dough into a ball and put aside. Repeat steps 2 to 6 until you’ve used up all the paste.
7. If you want to use the seed bombs later, dry them under the sun for a few days. If you want to launch them immediately, throw them into your garden and wait for the seeds to sprout!

What’s happening?

Seed bombs are an ancient invention, that was rediscovered by Japanese farmer Masanobu Fukuoka. In Japanese, they’re known as “nendo dango”, which means “clay dumpling”. These “clay dumplings” have many benefits for gardeners. They contain lots of nutrients to support new plants, and they protect the seeds inside from birds and other critters. Plus, they’re easy to throw which makes spreading them lots of fun!

Your seed bombs will stay hard until they get a good soaking. Then, the dirt and flour holding the seeds will start breaking apart. Water will get to the seeds, helping them sprout, and their growth will help break the ball further. With time, the seed bomb will become part of the dirt and the plant will settle in.

Don’t worry about planting at the perfect time. Just throw your seed bombs around and wait. You can let nature tell the seed when it’s time to wake up and give your garden a lively green explosion!

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