So when I was planning Mother’s Day gifts this year, I came across the idea of seed bombs! I thought, “Those are a really fun idea!”, but then I got to thinking… Do they work?
EXPERIMENT TIME!!!
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My concerns for the seed bombs
- Most of what I saw looked really thick. Now, I’m not an expert gardener, but I know a little bit. From my experience, tiny seeds only need a very thin layer of dirt over them. If they are in the middle of a thick ball, won’t that prevent them from surviving? (Feel free to educate me!)
- Don’t the seeds start to germinate after being watered? I’d think that if they aren’t dried out quickly they’d start to germinate and then the drying out process would kill the plant.
- If there are too many seeds in a bomb, won’t it mostly be unsuccessful? Most plants need space.
- I am a mama on a budget. I was needing to do this project while buying as few items as possible.
- I want a cute gift for Mother’s Day. Dirt/clay balls aren’t exactly my idea of ‘cute’.
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Here’s how I made my seed bombs
I’m a very determined person. I was gonna make these seed bombs work!
I pulled out some colorful construction paper from my kid’s art cabinet, grabbed some pretty wildflower seeds (bee friendly variety), and found my flower silicone molds!
Here are some links for similar products on Amazon if you don’t have them handy
Step 1: Tear up the paper into small pieces.
I had my kids help me with this part since they enjoy a good art project as much as I do. We tore them to be able 1-2 inches, but it wasn’t perfect. You just need them to be a smaller size so they blend up easily.
Step 2: Get the paper wet.
Fill up your container with water until the paper is basically covered. Let it soak for a few minutes to ensure all your paper is wet.
Step 3: Stick it in a blender.
When making seed bombs, you want the seeds to be able to break through whatever they’re in or they won’t grow. When using paper (you can also use newspaper), you need to turn it into a pulp. Doing this also helps you mold your bombs to your liking.
Some bomb recipes use clay. If you use too much clay, it won’t break open and seeds won’t grow. If you go this route, make sure you really research your clay/compost ratio.
Blender tips
- Add extra water before blending. I added enough water to have all of my paper completely submerged. It helped the process along.
- I recommend doing this in small batches. I tried a larger batch, but it made my blender start smoking. It wasn’t happy with me.
- If your blender is struggling, take it slow. I ended up slowly pulsing small batches on low until it was the right consistency. I have a budget friendly blender though so this might not be a problem for you.
Step 4: Drain the water
I dumped my watery pulp into a strainer to get most of the water out. I didn’t force the water out, just let it sit there. The paper needed to be wet enough to easily take the shape of my molds. If the paper is too dry it won’t shape very easily.
Also, I wanted my seeds on the surface of the seed bombs since some of my wildflower seeds are teeny tiny. The seeds stick to wet paper better than dryer paper.
Step 5: Place your seeds in your mold
As previously mentioned, some of my seeds were tiny. Like, I would have mistaken them for a piece of dirt if it didn’t come out of the seed packet. Because of this my seeds went in the mold before anything else.
You can place a thin layer of paper down first if you are worried about the seeds falling off.
Step 6: Add paper pulp to the molds to make the seed bombs
As I grabbed paper out of my strainer, I gave it a little squeeze. If the paper is too wet, it won’t hold a mold. If it’s too dry, it won’t mold a very nice shape. You want it juicy.
Put small chunks of juicy paper into your molds and firmly press it in.
I wanted mine to hold a flower shape without falling apart, but not be too thick. I decided to fill mine about 1/4 inch deep. It is deep enough to fill the shape and look nice, but still thin enough to dry quickly.
Step 7: Remove excess water
The next thing to do is to grab a towel and firmly press it into each mold to remove as much water as you can. This also helps pack the bombs tightly so the seeds stay and the paper doesn’t try to fall apart when you’re handling it.
Step 8: Take the seed bombs out of the molds/Let them dry
I wanted to get the seed bombs dry as quickly as possible so I tried to remove them from the molds.
I put them on my pizza pan so that air can easily get to the seed bombs on all sides. You can also use a cookie cooling rack for this if that’s what you have!
Then you stick them in the sun if possible or in front of a fan if it’s rainy.
Step 9: Planting time!
Just throw them in your garden wherever you want some beautiful flowers to grow and keep them moist until they take hold!
That’s it!
Results of my experiment:
Stay tuned for my results!
Lesson 1– My small silicone mold didn’t release the seed bombs very easily. I let them dry in the mold, but by the time they came out, the seeds already started sprouting. Additionally, because they were so tricky to get out, not all of them came out in one piece. The larger cupcake molds were definitely easier to work with.
Gift ideas with seed bombs:
As I mentioned at the beginning of this post, I’m making these seed bombs for Mother’s Day gifts. I put them in ziplock sandwich bags and added one of my printable treat bag toppers that I made specially for this project. If you want to check them out, I made a rainbow flower, pink rose, and a wildflower topper.
Other gift ideas include:
- Stick some in a small box with shredded paper under them to fill the space. Wrap it up and add a gift tag (I do also have Mother’s Day gift tags available!)
- Grab a fun planting pot, fill with dirt, and set the seed bomb on top. Cover the top of the pot with plastic wrap, and secure with a rubber band to keep everything inside the pot. You can hide the rubber band with a matching ribbon and bow. Add a gift tag and you are good to go! Word of advice– you may not want to use a small pot for this. Keep in mind how much space your seeds will need to grow. Each plant is different and the number of seeds you add also makes a difference in the size of pot you will need.
- Download this awesome watercolor flower “Thanks for helping me grow” free printable, print on cardstock, cut out, and then attach a seed bomb. This card fits a 4×6″ cellophane bag perfectly if your seed bombs are thinner like mine. If you make thick ones, you can fit it in a sandwich bag.
That’s all there is to it!
This fun and colorful project can really bring a smile to someone’s face!
I’d love to hear from you!
Please be sure to add me on Instagram and Facebook and tag me when you make this fun project! I can’t wait to see how it works for you!
