What Is Seed Bombing & Guerrilla Gardening?
No, it’s not a new Special Forces group in the U.S. military…but it does sometimes occur under the cover of darkness. Coined in 1973 by Liz Christy, “seed grenades” were made as a way of introducing vegetation to empty lots in NYC in order to make the city look better. First made from condoms filled with local wildflower seeds, water and fertilizer, the use of these “bombs” was the start of the Guerrilla Gardening movement, which continues their activities today both right out in the open and in secret at night.
Guerrilla Gardening takes place all around the world as a form of “political gardening”, where members can do as little as throw a seed bomb into an empty lot to as much as take over vacant land and grow an entire garden of fruits and vegetables. They have transformed many an unsightly area to beautiful floral displays and food-producing gardens, doing the work that our cities should be paying to have done. After all, who wouldn’t prefer to have plants and flowers growing wherever possible rather than the weeds and trash that pervade our cities now?
Over the years, their “bombs” have taken many different forms – from the first condom-filled versions to clay seed balls to hollowed-out eggs filled with seeds and water. You can even buy pre-made ones like in the picture above that make participating very easy! Imagine if everyone started guerrilla gardening in their hometowns, filling in all those empty spots and roadside tracts of land with flowers and/or food; sure would make this world a better looking place, no?
Want to get involved in doing some guerrilla gardening of your own? You know you do! Over at GuerrillaGardening.org, you can find tips for getting started, see what groups around the world have been doing, search for an existing “cell” near you, and post pictures from your very own dig. What are you waiting for – get started!
You may also like:
- EarthTalk: Backyard (Organic) Vegetable Gardening In Small Spaces.
- Organic Is Just Another Word For “Old-Fashioned”.
- The 2009 No-Cost Garden.
- Quick Green Reads For The Weekend Volume 114.
- Homegrown Vegetables: Get In Touch With Your Food Source.
Related Websites
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Regarding Guerilla Gardening… I do have issues with suggesting that people bypass the land manager to seed or plant an open space area – especially if it is NOT urban, or if it is an urban edge area or wild space that is potential habitat. Unless the “gardeners” have specific knowledge about the ecology of an area, they may not be aware of the consequences of introducing non-native (potentially invasive) plant species into an area that may appear to be “vacant” or “weedy” but which is really habitat for animals where specific plants grow that specific animals need, etc.
Even if someone THINKS a plant is native (”well – they’re just California poppies…”) they are likely not taking into consideration the location where the seeds were collected (i.e. the “native” poppy seed sold at Home Depot was collected in Northern California, so seeding with those seeds in Southern California is interfering with the genetics of the original local population. I know – TMI! You get my drift.