Friday, January 30, 2009

Garden Posse seed bomb workshop

Still feeling fresh from our kid-friendly seed bomb demo at the Really Really Free Market, the Garden Posse hosted a seed bomb workshop for grown-up types. Warm cookies and homemade cider were served.

Boone and Dieter came all the way from San Marcos (the night of Austin's "Arctic" cold front) for the workshop. We recognized Jessica from our very first dig at 34th Street, and we were glad she came back. It helps us believe people really do read our emails.

Seed bomb making with grownups is less frenzied than doing it with kids, but everything is essentially the same. And it's so simple. We got our "recipe" from Heavy Petal (which I recently discovered is a great garden blog). It's this:

5 parts dry red clay (from potter's supply store, in Austin)
3 parts dry organic compost
1 part seed
1 - 2 parts water

Measure the parts evenly with any measuring implement (we used a red plastic cup), and mix together. Then roll into balls. Your hands will look a little bit like the swamp thing.



We made two batches of seed bombs. Eventually people started getting fancy and trying out different shapes. Someone suggested heart-shaped seed balls would make a great Valentine's gift. Seriously, they would. It made all the girls go "awww."

We plan to throw them into overgrown lots, and tuck them into the margins of curbs and grass. They'd also be great to throw into your own lawn or garden. The possibilities are endless.



We made these with Texas native grass seeds, and flower seeds collected by Natalie's uncle. We encourage using native seeds, especially when you are not controlling how they spread.

So, another successful seed bomb workshop! This is such a great activity, we can't wait to share it with more and more people (especially teacher people). Our next planned workshop is February 22nd, and we'll keep you updated on other GP goings-on.

In the meantime, Quilombo is looking for volunteers on Saturday afternoons. Come over to the Eastside and help out in our sister garden! You'll be glad you did.

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