In March I was facilitating a twilight workshop about gardening in the Early Years. Here in Aberdeen City, many practitioners work in settings where vandalism happens if anything is left outside, including children’s gardening efforts. So one of the things we do is to share advice and tips around gardening. For example, during this workshop, one participant recommended planting heather in that it survives being uprooted and once established is very hard to pull out. Other advice included planting bulbs such as daffodils which pop up and out and seem to be enjoyed by everyone. I often see annual plants and wildflower meadows that are left to grow in relative peace. Vandalism is a selective pastime. Thus, continuous experimentation is needed here so any further advice and thoughts are welcomed.

One of the things I introduced was the concept of guerrilla gardening. It’s a surreptitious approach to planting which I reckon is worth a try in any setting. There is an element of excitement and anticipation around whether one’s efforts will be noticed by others and will vandals realise what is going on?

As part of the workshop we made seed bombs. These are great fun in that it is very much like following a recipe and is very doable with children of all ages. It works particularly well in a mud kitchen where you may have all of the utensils and materials you need, except for the seeds.

What you need to make seed bombs

1/2 egg cup of seed

This amounts to about 5 packets of seed. This is not cheap! There are alternatives to buying seed. For example, you may know a friendly gardener who collects and stores seeds from plants in their garden or you have been organised enough to do this with your class. Another possibility is to go on a seed walk in late summer. This involves putting a larger sock over your shoe and going for a walk in a dry natural space such as long grass or at the edge of a meadow. At the end of the walk, carefully look at your sock and pick off any seeds that have attached themselves to the sock. These can be stored in a dark dry place over winter and used the following year.

Think about which seeds will work together. For example, cut-and-come-again varieties of lettuce in a bomb, or a wildflower seed mix. Try to avoid a mix ‘n’ match of different seeds that wouldn’t work.

Consider where the seed bombs will be thrown. Throw lettuce ones into a raised bed not a wildflower meadow. Be very careful not to throw a seed bomb in a place where it could cause havoc, e.g. by introducing a non-native species into a wild space. For this reason, don’t throw seed bombs into local greenspace without the landowner’s permission.

It is helpful to read the instructions on the packet and ensure that you seed bomb at the right time of year – usually after the frost has passed.

2 egg cups of clay

Try not to let this get too gooey. We made this mistake on the course. Also it is important to avoid clay that contains nylon or other plastic fibres. You just want clay and nothing else! TTS stock both types – read the blurb here on their website.

2 egg cups of top soil

Some recipes recommend compost as it provides extra nutrients for the seeds but I try and avoid shop bought varieties unless they are peat free. Also I had no compost, just wet top soil.

You mix all the above together. You will not need any water if your soil is damp and your clay is sufficiently damp. It’s quite a nice feeling mixing the seed, clay and soil together. You need to make sure it’s thoroughly blended.

Leave to dry for a couple of days. A muffin tray works well for this purpose as it will gently heat up if left on a sunny window sill.

Then those seed bombs can be thrown. And this is what I like. Children can have a think about where might be good to aim a seed bomb and how effective the technique is. I’m throwing some bombs around my garden and then a couple in some interesting places locally. I can’t wait to see what happens!