All About Garden Bombs

I am so proud to bring you my Garden Bombs! - And while I have put my own creative spin on them (after months of research...) they are nothing new. People have been using garden bombs / seed bombs for decades, and if you look way, WAY back in history, people have been coating seeds in clay for thousands of years!

The idea of a Garden Bomb is to encourage the growth of beneficial plants, when conditions are ideal, so when you see an area you would like to naturalize, you throw a Garden Bomb. The rain will eventually melt away the clay, and nutrient rich compost and soil are right there ready to nurture the seeds within as they grow.

Coating the seed-and-compost-bundles in clay helps to weigh them down, preventing critters from eating the seeds. The heavier clay balls also stop the wind from moving seeds around. This was helpful in the days where growing things meant eating or not eating.

You can also plant a Garden Bomb into a pot or directly into your garden bed, for best results, soak the bomb in a jar of water over night and pour everything in a plant post with soil You don't need to bury them, just water generously! 

Seed Bombs also have a great "Guerilla Gardening" history too, in the 70's and 80's eco-activists would prepare seed bombs and pitch them into areas that needed "greenification". I love that rebel gardening spirit!

I wanted to create a product that helped my brand go full circle when it comes to supporting the critters that visits our backyards. Charlotte's Birdseed Feeders help birds make it through the winter when food sources are scarce, Anti-Collision Window Clings help protect birds from fatal window strikes during spring and fall migration, and now Garden Bombs help grow the flowers and plants that attract and feed birds and all kinds of pollinators, or your own dinner plate as with the salad Bomb. 

What exactly is in each bomb? 

Songbird Garden Bomb Seed List:

Aster, Gaillardia, Sunflower, Swamp Milkweed, Shasta Daisy, Safflower, Coneflower, Anise Hyssop, New England Aster, China Aster, Lance Leaf Coreopsis, Plains Coreopsis, Forget Me Not, Purple Coneflower, Showy Fleabane, Siberian Wallflower, California Poppy, Gaillardia Pulchella, Blue Thimble Flower, Coastal Tidy Tips, Blue Flax, Sweet Alyssum, Wild Bergamot, Baby Blue Eyes, Common Poppy, Candy Luft, Corn Flower, Godetia, Sage, Larkspur, Lupin, Black eyed Susan.

 

Bee Garden Bomb Seed List:

Zinnia, Cosmos, Yarrow, Swamp Milkweed, Calendula, Hyssop (Agastache), False Indigo, Anise Hyssop, New England Aster, China Aster, Lance Leaf Coreopsis, Plains Coreopsis, Forget Me Not, Purple Coneflower, Showy Fleabane, Siberian Wallflower, California Poppy, Gaillardia Pulchella, Blue Thimble Flower, Coastal Tidy Tips, Blue Flax, Sweet Alyssum, Wild Bergamot, Baby Blue Eyes, Common Poppy, Candy Luft, Corn Flower, Godetia, Sage, Larkspur, Lupin, Black eyed Susan.

 

Butterfly Garden Bomb Seed List:

Columbine, Calendula, Cornflower,Cosmos, Chrysanthemum, Shasta Daisy, Sweet William, Baby's Breath, Flowering Flax, Phlox, Pansy, Swamp Milkweed, Snap Dragon, Wild Bergamot, Lupin, Black Eyed Susan, Anise Hyssop, New England Aster, China Aster, Lance Leaf Coreopsis, Plains Coreopsis, Forget Me Not, Purple Coneflower, Showy Fleabane, Siberian Wallflower, California Poppy, Gaillardia Pulchella, Blue Thimble Flower, Coastal Tidy Tips, Blue Flax, Sweet Alyssum, Wild Bergamot, Baby Blue Eyes, Common Poppy, Candy Luft, Corn Flower, Godetia, Sage, Larkspur.

 

Wildflower Garden Bomb Seed List:

Anise Hyssop, New England Aster, China Aster, Lance Leaf Coreopsis, Plains Coreopsis, Forget Me Not, Purple Coneflower, Showy Fleabane, Siberian Wallflower, California Poppy, Gaillardia Pulchella, Blue Thimble Flower, Coastal Tidy Tips, Blue Flax, Sweet Alyssum, Wild Bergamot, Baby Blue Eyes, Common Poppy, Candy Luft, Corn Flower, G odetia, Sage, Larkspur, Lupin, Black eyed Susan.

 

Salad Bomb Seed List:

Chives, Spinach (Long Standing Bloomsdale), Arugula, Buttercrunch Head Lettuce, Lettuce (grand rapids),  Mescaline Mix (Leaf Lettuce, Greens, Radicchio), Blue Boy Cornflower (Centaurea Edible Flower Petals)

 

FAQ's

Is every seed in each Garden Bomb? 

There is a general seed-to-compost ratio I follow which allows for a lot of seeds to be mixed into each batch, but enough soil and compost so the seeds within have a good chance at growing. If I added every seed into every bomb, many of them would crowd and out-compete each other and not grow at all. What combination grows in each bomb will depend on the growing environment the Garden Bomb is placed in. My hope is that what should grow, will!

 

Will the seeds germinate inside the Garden Bomb?

This was a great concern of mine initially, and why I spent months experimenting with soil-to-clay-to-seed-to-moisture ratios. After making a batch I waited 3 weeks and then cracked the Garden Bombs open to sift through the soil to look for any signs of germination. After doing this a few times I am happy to say that I found whole seeds as dry as a bone!  The clay wicks away moisture right away, so the seeds don't have a chance to germinate.

 

Don't seeds need to be spaced apart and grown at certain depths?

Yes! However, most of the seeds in my Garden Bombs are Canadian Prairie wildflowers, so those seeds are used to growing opportunistically. I do add specific annual and perennial flowers / plants to each bomb, and they can require more careful handling.  If you are throwing the bomb out into the wild, or soaking and planting in a pot, nature will do her thing and the seeds will grow if it is the right condition for them to grow in!

Are the Garden Bombs guaranteed to grow?

I wish I could make this promise to you! However, like my birdfeeders, I can't guarantee what will happen in nature. There are many factors that come into play when growing seeds, and some plants like to grow more than others! Something as simple as a cold night, a curious cat, or a bossy weed can negatively impact a growing plant. Rest assured that even if your Garden Bomb doesn't grow flowers, it has added a hit of enriching compost to your yard or natural area, which will one day help something else grow!

Should I eat everything that grows in the Salad Bomb?

Heck no. So many plant seeds live in soil and drift in by wind, and those plants can look a lot like salad greens but be very poisonous! I add a warning in each Salad Bomb, but please research each leaf before you eat it to confirm it is edible, I use Google Image search, but even better to look up the leafy greens listed in each box to confirm. Charlotte's Birdseed takes no responsibility for problems arising from eating toxic weeds.