seed bombs for fun and non-profit

Somehow, this recipe feels just right for Easter weekend:

• Combine 2 parts mixed seeds (indigenous flowers, herbs or vegetables) with 3 parts compost.
• Stir in 5 parts powdered red or brown clay.
• Moisten with water until mixture is damp enough to mold into balls.
• Pinch off a penny-sized piece of the clay mixture and roll it between the palms of your hands until it forms a tight ball (1 inch in diameter).
• Set the balls on newspaper and allow to dry for 24 - 48 hours. Store in a cool, dry place until ready to sow.

Throw the balls into vacant lots, pavement cracks, long-standing rubbish piles, or anywhere that would benefit from a bit of random greenery. [Source: The Guerilla Art Kit, by Keri Smith]

Update on 4 Oct 2008: Mother City Living asks "Would you make use of an organic vegetable garden allotment?". There are a few initiatives springing up in Cape Town that are starting to look at urban gardening. There's the Permanent Edible Garden Service set up by Ben Getz and partners, that will help you set up and maintain a garden using permaculture principles. Other South African organic services are listed on Urban Sprout.

I read recently that the "Victory Gardens" in America that were promoted to address the food shortage in World War II resulted in 40% of all fresh vegetables consumed in that country being produced in small urban gardens in 1942 and 1943. So small-scale urban gardening could be a really significant contribution to fresh, healthy food.

Update on 10 February 2009: Here's another take on protest gardening.

Update on 5 June 2009: And a high-tech seedbomb - literally a (non-military) bomb that is dropped from an aircraft, dispensing large numbers of seeds in biodegradable capsules. Soil in the capsule provides the initial nutrients for the seeds to sprout within the protective casing, then the moisture inside causes the capsule to break down so that the plant can continue growing.

Comments

[Olmec]

I wonder how 'healthy' the vegetables are that grown on vacant lots and other abandoned and no doubt contaminated soil.

[A.Thomas Crawley]

I'll take a vacant lot cabbage over a conventionally-grown, sprayed, fertilized one any day.

[Mr. Stamen]

Check out seed bombs on LAGuerrillaGardening.org

[Gardening Seeds]

Thank you very much for the information I really appreciate it!!