Seed bombs – (when) are they appropriate?

By Ed Schmidt

At a couple of Wild Ones meetings this year, people have mentioned “seed bombs.” Some of us were unfamiliar with the concept, so I did some research.

According to Wikipedia, “Seed bombing or aerial reforestation is a technique of introducing vegetation to land by throwing or dropping compressed bundles of soil containing live vegetation,” often in the form of seeds. The terms can refer to projects involving seeding from aircraft, but when they’ve been mentioned at our meetings, it was associated with individual efforts and often, guerrilla gardening.

Seed bombs of various types can be purchased online, but for native gardeners interested in dispersing seed of local species, home construction is the answer. Spare seeds are mixed with a growing medium and something to hold everything together, probably clay soil in our area. The mixture is compressed into hand-sized balls for easy heaving.

On one hand, this seems like a way to establish native plants and/or vegetables in areas that would otherwise have only weeds — vacant lots, for example. However, it may be illegal. Even if it’s not against the law, is this a good idea? I invite you to share your thoughts in the comments.