Seed bombs are easy and fun to make, not to mention they make great gifts for both experienced and beginning gardeners. The basic premise behind seed bombs is you create a shape out of wet paper, mix in a pinch of seeds, dry the paper, and then toss the bombs anywhere you want flowers to bloom. Many gardening websites claim seed bombs don't work, but I'm here to tell you that they do if you make them properly. First, you need to use the appropriate types of seeds. Wildflower seeds seem to produce the best results, as most wildflowers are pretty hardy and can handle most climate conditions. Second, you want to avoid letting the seeds sit in a wet blob of paper for a long time. Seeds will begin to germinate after getting wet, so you want your seed bombs to dry as quickly as possible. Making them fairly small or thin, and then setting them in a sunny place to dry works best. Ok. Let's get started. What you'll need: a stack of paper wildflower seeds water a tea towel, piece of cheesecloth, old t-shirt, or something else to strain the paper pulp 2 bowls my free printable labels (located at the very end of this post) optional: a silicone mold How to make them: 1. First, choose which color of paper you want to use. For each seed bomb in my photo above, I used three pieces of paper. 2. Tear the paper into pieces, put the pieces into a bowl, and cover them with water. Let them sit for about 5 minutes. 3. Pour the water and paper into a blender or food processor. Puree until you have a sort of 'slush'. 4. Now we need to strain out the excess water. Place a piece of cheesecloth, a t-shirt, tea towel or piece of fabric over an empty bowl. I used a tea towel. 5. Pour the paper mixture into the towel so the water can strain out. Sprinkle a few pinches of seeds over the mixture, and stir a bit with a small spoon or your fingers. 6. Wrap the mixture up in the towel and give it a few good squeezes to wring out most of the water. Remember, we want these to dry quickly, so you want to get rid of as much water as you can in this step. 7. What you have now is a blob of seeds and mushy paper. You can pinch off pieces of it and roll into quarter-sized balls, or press pieces of it into a mold. I used a round mold. 8. Now your seed bombs need to dry. I placed mine on a cookie-cooling rack and left them over a floor vent. They were dry the next day. Or, you can let them dry in a sunny place outside. The key here is to dry them as quickly as possible so the seeds do not start to sprout. If you used a mold, let them sit for an hour or so before removing them so they hold their shape. 9. Once dry, you can place them in a plastic bag and attach a gift tag. They make great Mother's Day gifts when packaged in a cellophane bag with a bit of shredded paper. Add in a few garden tools, gloves and a cute bucket! NOTE: These little seed bombs won't grow as well if they are just thrown and left to the elements. Make sure they are covered with a bit of dirt and get a healthy drink of water when first planted to help them sprout. Make a pretty gift for Mother's Day with my FREE printable labels! Just print, cut them out, and punch a hole in the top. Attach them to your seed bomb package with a bit of ribbon! ![]()
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