Seed Bomb Valentines

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Seed bombs are a fun any time gift, but when my daughters and I were trying to come up with an eco-friendly Valentine, they seemed like a perfect choice. This time of year, when the novelty of Winter is over, it is fun to dream of warm weather and Spring. Nothing says Spring like flowers!

The soil in my part of the country is full of natural clay, if it is also that way where you live you can do what we did, which was basically dig up some of our own soil and add some peat moss. If your soil is not clay you will need to use actual clay for your seed bombs, following is a recipe for both:

For people with clay soil:

4 cups soil

2 cups peat moss or sifted compost

1 cup seeds

1/4 cup water, or just enough to combine all ingredients and give it a consistency somewhere between clay and a mud pie. Think cookie dough.

For people who do not have clay soil:

4 parts clay powder

2 parts compost or potting soil

1 part seeds

Enough water to moisten

When the ingredients are mixed the mixture should be moist but not dripping wet. Place into a silicone mold like we did, or simply roll into whatever size ball you prefer.

The silicone mold will give them a nice valentines-ish shape. (We have had these molds for years and we use them all the time. I love to make egg bake and pour it in them for easy single servings) They will need to set for a day or so before popping out. You can help them dry with a blow dryer on a low and cool setting. My original plan was to make a little hole in the heart and add a small handmade valentine with a string. My daughters had the idea of making hearts to attach directly to them to make them prettier, I think they turned out nice this way. (I think cards with strings would be cute too. The variety of seeds could then be written on the card.) I got the back of the paper just a tiny bit damp and then stuck them to the seed bombs.

I would recommend doing a quick internet search to find out what type of flowers are natives in your area (like maybe butterfly milk weed) and avoid putting seeds for invasive plants (like morning glories) into them. You can also theme them: butterfly garden mix, wildflower mix, easy garden mix (zinnias and cosmos) etc. Pollinators in general are on the decline, planting flowers is one way to ensure they have a food source.

The fun thing about seed bombs is that you can just throw them places and many of the seeds will most likely sprout, especially if you took care to choose varieties that require little maintenance. You can also give them a little help by breaking them into pieces and burying a tiny bit or smashing them in to the ground. They do not need to be watered in. The rain will eventually do that.

We make sure to write down whatever seeds we put in the bombs so we don’t forget what we are looking for when we are waiting for them to sprout.

Store these in the fridge to make sure they don’t sprout before you are ready or grow mold.

Have fun making these and happy Valentines Day!