Science Smarts: Seed bombs
By PATTY ROOKS on July 23, 2022.
As it is getting later in the summer growing season, it is time to do some succession seeding so my yard continues to bloom into the fall and I can keep enjoying the beauty of nature! I thought this activity may be a fun one to get the whole family involved in. Let’s get started! Remember to ask an adult before doing this experiment. Materials • Several packages of flower seeds (that are suitable for late season planting – a nice wildflower mix perhaps) • Bowl • Potting soil/soil mixture • Baking tray • Several sheets of newspaper • Water • Wield/garden/backyard for planting Procedure • This experiment takes a bit of preplanning as you need to place the seeds you will be using in a bowl and cover them with water for a couple of hours. • In the meantime, prepare a drying rack by lining the baking sheet with newspaper. • In a separate bowl, combine your soil mixture. You will be making ‘seed bombs’ so your soil needs to be a good mixture in order to hold together in balls. It is also a good idea to have some peat moss or compost in there so your seeds have some nutrients in order to get started. This is not necessary if you do not have it though. • Mix the seeds and soil mixture together, adding enough water to make balls about the size of golf balls. • Place the seed bombs on the baking sheet to dry overnight. • Now it is time to plant your seed bombs. At this time of the year, it is nice to make a random planting in the unused portion of my garden. It is also fun to involve your family by making catapults to launch these into a random pattern in the garden! What is going on? In this activity you created a quick way to plant a large number of seeds randomly. This is a nice way to keep beautiful plants in unused garden spaces at certain times of the year. By mixing the seeds in the soil mixture, you allowed them to begin germinating (starting to grow) quickly without being deep in a seeded flower bed. I enjoy having a variety of flowers grow all year as each flower attracts different insects and animals to also enjoy watching while you are outside enjoying nature. Patty Rooks, Senior Scientific Consultant PRAXIS, “Connecting Science To The Community”. Contact with Praxis at praxis@praxismh.ca, http://www.praxismh.ca, Tweet or follow us @PraxisMedHat, or friend us on Facebook. Address: #12 826 11 Street S. E., Medicine Hat, Alberta, T1A 1T7 Phone: 403.527.5365, email: praxis@praxismh.ca. 22-21
