How to make our cities greener? For some, the answer does not lie solely in the ballot box or in city councils, but on the ground, directly in our streets. This is the principle of green guerrilla warfare, a movement that came from the United States and has been coming to France for several years through figures of ecology and civil disobedience, such as the urban peasant Ophélie Damblé, whom we met recently. The weapons of this green guerrilla couldn’t be more peaceful: seeds, gardening tools and a little creativity and daring will do the trick. With the aim of reclaiming urban space and campaigning for the preservation of life and biodiversity.
One of the green guerrilla’s most playful tools, requiring no knowledge of gardening or botany, has an explosive name: seed bombs. Without endangering others, these bombs make it possible to grow a deserted place, offer food to pollinators or enrich the soil thanks to or grow plants to consume the flowers, fruits or seeds.
Ingredients Needed to Make Seed Bombs
Spotted a place to throw your seed bombs? Here are the ingredients you’ll need to complete this operation:
- red clay,
- compost,
- seeds of flowers or other plants.
Which seeds to choose?
As for the choice of seeds, you can vary the pleasures between the pleasure of beautiful things and the edible. You can buy ready-made mixes at garden centers or make your own by picking here and there, depending on what you have available.
How do you make seed bombs?
It’s time to start practicing! You will see, make your seed bombs and simple and fun. You can even take children on this adventure and make them aware of the importance of biodiversity and the greening of urban spaces. So here are the steps to follow:
- separate your block of red clay into small clods,
- spread the compost flat and roll the lump of clay in it,
- dig a nest in each of the clods and place your seeds in it,
- close the clod.
To make sure you don’t miss out on this technique, check out this tutorial from The Shared Gardener:
The following ? Throw your seeds in the spring, in April-May, in a place where they can take root and come back later to check if your action worked! Note, since this practice is linked to the green guerrilla, we will prefer non-vegetated urban spaces, such as wasteland or abandoned land. Forget public gardens and other protected areas.