Spreading Seed Bombs: A Beautiful Explosion

Introduction - Trees play a crucial role in balance in the maintaining ecosystem modernization, expansion urbanization, population etc., have led to the rapid decline of the earths's green cover.

- B. Divya, 2nd year B. Sc Hon. Agri), Dr. G. Pandidurai, Assistant Professor FSN)

A seed bomb is a little ball made up of a combination of compost, clay and seeds. It is a technique of planting trees by embedding organic seed balls in the ground. It is also known as aerial reforestation. Vegetation can be introduced in any land by throwing or dropping seed balls in the ground.

The best time to execute this process is raining season. Seeds planted through this procedure have a success rate of 50%. Seed balls also known earth balls or nendo dango (in japanese), consists of seeds rolled within a ball of clay and other matter to assist germination. They are thrown into vacant lots and over fences as form of guerrilla gardening Matter such as humus and compost are often placed around the seeds to provide microbial inoculants. Cotton-fibres or liquified paper are sometimes added to further protect the clay ball in particularly harsh habitats. An ancient technique, it was re-discovered by Japenese natural farming pioneer Masanobu Fukuoka.

A Seed bomb History

If something has been used effectively throughout time, it is given validity; you know it has been tried, tested and perfected. When it comes to seed bombs, one man has done just that. Masanobu Fukuoka incorporated his ancestral gardening techniques into his own farming methods and, in so doing, started a revolution. Seed bombs are an ancient Japanese practice called Tsuchi Dango, meaning Earth Dumpling’ because they are made from earth). They were reintroduced in 1938 by the Japanese microbiologist/ farmer and philosopher Masanobu Fukuoka 1913-2008), author of The One Straw Revolution.