Seed bombs. (landscaping, grow, tree, squirrel)

[NYChistorygal]

Howdy. I was thinking of making some seed bombs (compost and a few seeds encased in a thin layer of clay). Many will be thrown over the fence to the much-ignored city lot next door and the rest placed in areas around the house to make my spring planting easier. (zone 7)

Should I do this in a few weeks, just before the first frost? Or, in late winter. I thought the clay might not wear away enough if I do it in late winter.

[TinaMcG]

Freezing and thawing will make the bombs open up. If you are using seeds that require chilling (of course you are!), you can put them out any time. They won't germinate until spring.

One of my favorite areas of our property is a brush pile out back, hidden from view from the house. I put all the discarded annuals back there, plus bits of turf we dug up when we trenched the edges of some beds. There are zinnias and about a hundred garden balsam plants blooming their heads off on that brush pile!

[NYChistorygal]

Thanks, Tina. I thought I would do this around Halloween - it should be cool enough by then. There are some areas that really need work! And then there's that dang lot...it has a lot of tree and tall weed cover, but maybe something pretty will grow there for the squirrels and for the deer if he comes back. Plus, we get absurd amounts of skeeters to repel.

[kinkytoes]

NYCHistory Gal I'm not sure if it makes any difference if you are bombing with native seeds. I'm in MD and I've broadcast seeds in the rights of way close to my house and at my job. My rationale is that the majority won't germinate until they get the stratification that they need. I've had luck with a lot of seeds by doing this. Maybe one year I'll try to make the bombs, though. Trying to get the seeds in the right place is hard and I'm usually ending up blowing seeds. Like puff blow not the adult or financial kind.

Now or some weeks ago is when the natives in my own garden are dropping their seeds on the ground. So it is not too early for the plants already in the ground, so it is not to early for me to mimic nature. I'm extra happy this year because I had a lot of liatris spicata seeds. It is doing well for me in conditions that it is not even supposed to like. It is supposedly a common plant and the bulbs were really cheap, but it is so beautiful.


Piet Oudolf's fame in landscaping circles gets on my nerves, but I can thank him for showing me the beauty of this plant's upright purple spikes even in what is basically a field of weeds Ha ha ha which is what Piet's meadows bring to mind. If I threw some seeds in a field and called it a garden, 100% guarantee that nobody would care.

[NYChistorygal]

I'm saving some seeds, and of course, buying more! It's a sickness, I tell ya!