Seed balls, also known as earth balls or , consist of

seed In botany, a seed is a plant structure containing an embryo and stored nutrients in a protective coat called a ''testa''. More generally, the term "seed" means anything that can be Sowing, sown, which may include seed and husk or tuber. Seeds ...

s rolled within a ball of

clay Clay is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolinite, ). Most pure clay minerals are white or light-coloured, but natural clays show a variety of colours from impuriti ...

and other matter to assist germination. They are then thrown into vacant lots and over fences as a form of guerilla gardening. Matter such as

humus In classical soil science, humus is the dark organic matter in soil that is formed by the decomposition of plant and animal matter. It is a kind of soil organic matter. It is rich in nutrients and retains moisture in the soil. Humus is the Lati ...

and

compost Compost is a mixture of ingredients used as plant fertilizer and to improve soil's physical, chemical, and biological properties. It is commonly prepared by Decomposition, decomposing plant and food waste, recycling organic materials, and man ...

are often placed around the seeds to provide

microbial A microorganism, or microbe, is an organism of microscopic size, which may exist in its single-celled form or as a colony of cells. The possible existence of unseen microbial life was suspected from antiquity, with an early attestation in ...

inoculants. Cotton-fibres or liquefied paper are sometimes added to further protect the clay ball in particularly harsh habitats. An ancient technique, it was re-discovered by Japanese

natural farming Natural farming ( 自然農法, shizen nōhō),1975 1978 re-presentation ''The One-Straw Revolution: An Introduction to Natural Farming''. also referred to as "the Fukuoka Method", "the natural way of farming", or "do-nothing farming", is an ...

pioneer

Masanobu Fukuoka was a Japanese farmer and philosopher celebrated for his natural farming and re-vegetation of desertified lands. He was a proponent of no-till, herbicide and pesticide-free cultivation methods from which he created a particular method of agr ...

Development of technique

The technique for creating seed balls was rediscovered by Japanese

pioneer

. The technique was also used, for instance, in ancient Egypt to repair farms after the annual spring flooding of the Nile. Masanobu Fukuoka developed his technique during the period of the Second World War, while working in a Japanese government lab as a plant scientist on the mountainous island of Shikoku. He wanted to find a technique that would increase food production without taking away from the land already allocated for traditional rice production which thrived in the volcanic rich soils of Japan.

Construction

To make a seed ball, generally about five measures of red clay by volume are combined with one measure of seeds. The balls are formed between 10 mm and 80 mm (about " to 3") in diameter. After the seed balls have been formed, they must dry for 24–48 hours before use.

Seed bombing

Seed bombing is the practice of introducing vegetation to land by throwing or dropping seed balls. It is used in modern aerial seeding as a way to deter seed predation. It has also been popularized by green movements such as guerrilla gardening as a way to introduce new plants to an environment.

Guerrilla gardening

The term "seed green-aide" was first used by Liz Christy in 1973 when she started the Green Guerillas. The first

green-aides were made from condoms filled with tomato seeds, and fertilizer. They were tossed over fences onto empty lots in New York City in order to make the neighborhoods look better. It was the start of the guerrilla gardening movement.

References

External links

* "What's a clay ball?" and "Clay Ball Method" advice derived directly from Fukuoka Masanobu by The RainMaker Project, a major project in Africa by Yokohama Art Project, Japanese NGO. * Masanobu Fukuoka's patent for advanced seedballs * Making Seed Balls, by Jim Bones, he learned personally from Fukuoka Masanobu and from his books. * The Seed Ball Story, a video by Jim Bones about desert habitat restoration using seed balls in Big Bend National Park, Texas. * The entire "Lost Seed Ball Pages" by Jim Bones, An early overview of seed ball production and uses, including instructions for making a von Bachmayr Rotary Drum.
"Seed Balls R Us" A crossroads website dedicated to sharing seed ball information links and videos.
* "Seed Balls by Masanobu Fukuoka 1997" YouTube 18:43 long video, caption: "Natural Farmer Masanobu Fukuoka conducts a workshop for making seed balls at his natural farm and forest in Japan."
Making Hay with Clay - Greece
* * A discussion of the pros and cons of different seed ball recipes * a website dedicated to seedballs * * * Wikihow.com * * Gardenista.com
Articles.washingtonpost.com
* * * * * * * {{refend Horticultural techniques Ecological techniques Organic gardening Seeds Reforestation Guerrilla gardening