What are seed balls or seed bombs?

The terms seed ball and seed bombs are interchangeable. Seed bombs are balls made of clay, compost, shredded paper or other material that contains various kinds of native seeds. The balls are designed to break down over time so that the seeds on the outside and/or inside the ball contact the soil to hopefully allow a native plant habitat to grow and flourish. This easy, fun, kid-friendly craft activity helps to increase biodiversity and add beauty in uncommon and some common environments.

Why create seed bombs?

Seed bombs are an easy and accessible tool to add native plants to environments that may have degraded soil or areas overrun by invasive species. Making seed bombs is very inexpensive but has a priceless effect in our communities. This fun activity is also very easy to replicate in a classroom setting or with kids involved, so it helps to educate our youth on the benefits of conserving our pollinators. Seed bombs are also consider a form of urban guerrilla gardening. Seed bombs deliver seeds to key areas that, as the plants grow, eventually will help to provide food and habitat for bees, butterflies, moths, and so many other amazing pollinator species. 

Cultural and Historical Context

According to an article on EpicGardening, the practice of creating seed balls started in Japan. Seed bombs are an ancient Japanese practice called Tsuchi Dango, meaning ‘Earth Dumpling’ (seed bombs are made from clay earth). The revolution act of making seed bombs was reintroduced in 1938 by a Japanese microbiologist/ farmer Masanobu Fukuoka (1913–2008).

How to make Seed Bombs?

There are multiple ways of creating seed bombs, and we’ve made this easy-to-follow recipe to make seed bombs.

We hope you enjoy this activity and we appreciate your help “rewilding” the earth. If you loved making seed bombs, please share your photos/videos on Instagram, Facebook, or email us at dcnatives.org@gmail.com and tag DC Natives so we can share with our community the good work you are doing to help!

We have also included a video on the Resources playlist on the DC Natives YouTube channel!

As spring arrives, so do some of the common weeds that can make gardening a challenge.

Weeds are highly adaptable plants that grow vigorously in environments often not suitable for other plants to grow but can compete effectively for resources needed by other plants, especially those within a native pollinator garden.

Weeds often interfere with a human gardening goal or process like reducing crop yield, harboring unwanted pests within a garden space, or invading established native plant areas and reducing the space for useful habitat.

Keep in mind though that many plants that we often consider weeds, have great use to herbalists and sometimes may even been edible. Many plants that are considered weeds also have great value to people in Indigenous communities and African diaspora; plants like hibiscus, dandelion, stinging nettle, clover, lamb’s quarters, echinacea, and elderberry.

In order to help with identification of common plants that are considered weeds in the garden, we have created a guide to some of the most common. This list is not all inclusive but should hopefully ease the task of trying to identify the plants solely based on sight.

Hopefully this guide will help you quickly identify these plants so that there is no confusion with the sprouts that come up for the native plants in your pollinator garden. Removing weeds can help continue to keep your pollinator garden successfully growing for years and years to come.

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By Josh Bayard, Master Gardener, Master Naturalist, and Certified Pollinator Steward

Whether you are new to gardening or have been gardening for years, the proper ways to prepare your native pollinator garden for winter can often cause a bit of confusion. It is important to be aware of how you manage your garden in autumn because each thoughtful step you take can lead to phenomenal results in the conservation of the insect and animal pollinator species. 

You may ask, “Why does it even matter?” It matters because there are hundreds of pollinators and other animals that hibernate in the leaf layer or underground during the winter including some species of bumble bees, fireflies, moths, butterflies, bats, turtles, and salamanders. It is very important to be the best stewards of our gardens so that we reduce the harm we may cause to generations of pollinators just waiting to burst out of the natural ground habitat once the temperatures and environment are suitable. 

Did you know that out of the more than 20,000 bee species in the world, almost 70% create their nests underground? The female queen lays her eggs in the underground nests and in the spring the baby bees make their way out of the nests and start the pollination process over again keeping the cycle of life going in our ecosystems. 

The other percentage of bees make their homes in the stems and stalks of the dormant plants of the garden. There is no need to trim any of your plants back. Leave the dormant plants where they stand. They will make for a beautiful landscape once the snow falls and will give the garden a bit of depth instead of a flat and tidy garden space.

When was the last time you saw a firefly? If you have seen them lately, has it been fewer than what you remember from your childhood? When home gardeners put leaves and sticks and other detritus in leaf bags in the fall, they are disposing of the key component of the winter garden that the firefly larvae need to survive.

Since many firefly species spend the larval stage under layers of fallen leaves or even under the soil, it is important to leave the leaves where they fall or even add more to the area of your garden. Many firefly species spend one to two years as a larva and about 30 days as an adult. Can you see why it’s so important to leave the leaves and soil alone yet?

Leaves are nature’s free compost. Studies have shown that leaves that are left over many seasons sequester carbon in the soil and help to mitigate the harmful effects of climate change. If the yard waste is taken to be composted by the city, we then have to go buy the leaf compost after it’s processed or get a limited amount for free. 

If you do choose to compost your leaves, the University of Maryland Extension office has an easy guide on how to make compost at home. It may have you reconsider bagging up your leaves and setting them on the curb or pushing the leaves to the curb for the city to suck up to move to a processing facility. 

What else should I know about preparing my garden for winter?

Now that you are armed with the knowledge of utilizing nature’s free compost, DC Natives Pollinator Gardens offers these additional tips on preparing your garden for the winter: 

Know your frost date

Check your first and last frost dates to have an idea when it would be best to disconnect your irrigation or soaker hose system and winterize your hose bib to prevent freezing. If you have a soaker hose, that can be left where it is in the ground over the winter or you can unpin the soaker hose and remove it from the garden to store inside for the winter. Unscrew the soaker hose from the solid hose and then detach the solid hose from the hose bib. Then you should store your solid hose in a safe location over the winter. If you use a timer, also disconnect it, remove the batteries, and store it out of the elements.

Leave your native pollinator plants where they stand

There is no need to cover your native plants or do anything extra. They are native, so they are acclimatized to the weather patterns in the area and are very resilient, even in some of the coldest temperatures.

Say no to mulching … for now

Wait until the spring to lay down new mulch. It is often hard for emerging pollinators to make it through deep layers of mulch in the spring as well as the pollinator plants that need a little help finding the sun. Also, since you will leave the leaves, there won’t be an immediate need for mulch. 

Ditch the pesticides

The use of pesticides goes against the entire mission and purpose of what DC Natives does. Spraying pesticides or using any “cide” is extremely harmful to pollinators, plants and humans alike. The pesticides and herbicides often end up in our waterways which damage much larger segments of the overall ecosystem. Birds and other rutting animals eat the seeds and build nests with plant materials covered in toxic chemicals which harms the adults as well as the offspring. Find natural ways to manage pests, like protecting the beneficial insects in leaf litter, in order to limit the overall impact you have on your immediate environment as well as the bigger picture. 

Together, we can change the world for the better, but the change starts inside each one of us to become a better version of ourselves. Happy Autumn!

Master Gardeners Rodrick West and Hollis Luzecky contributed to this article.

At DC Natives, spring is the season that we tend to love most as all the native plants start to grow again, and the time comes to start putting most of our vegetable seeds and seedlings in the ground.  

While the return of mosquitoes each spring in the District might feel like the arrival of a nemesis, it’s important to remember their ecological value. These native insects serve as a crucial food source for creatures like native bats, and surprisingly, even contribute to pollination, playing a vital role in the lifecycle of plants, serving as a food source for the dragonflies among the water lilies at Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens. Recognizing their place in the food web doesn’t mean we have to endure their disease-carrying potential and irritating bites, which can persist well into the fall. Thankfully, there are earth-friendly strategies we can employ from late April into early November to gently reduce their presence around our homes and neighborhoods. 

The Lifecycle of a Mosquito 

To understand how to mitigate mosquitoes, you have to know their life cycle. Most mosquitos need fresh water that has stagnated in order to reproduce, which is why you find them thriving near ponds, puddles, in the base of planter pots, bird baths, or any other spot that has water that has been sitting for some time. Mosquitos are also most active in early morning and late evening. 

After mating, the female mosquito lays her eggs in the stagnant water. Soon after the mosquito larvae hatch from the eggs and eat microorganisms in the water in order to grow. Within two weeks the mosquitos change into non-feeding pupa. Then, in just a few days a fully grown adult mosquito emerges. The males feed on nectar from the garden, but the females feed on nectar but also blood in order to grow their eggs. 

Introducing the “Bucket of Doom” to Control Mosquitoes 

Many methods exist to help reduce or control mosquitoes. A key step in the process is to remove all standing water around your property. Turn empty plant saucers or containers over, freshen up the water in your bird bath regularly, and pour out any residual water that collects in these outdoor containers. Remember, any place that water has been sitting for a few days is a potential breeding ground for mosquitoes.  

We’ve created a simple info sheet on a low-cost & effective way to control mosquitos on your property using the “Bucket of Doom.” Here is where you will need all readily available from your local hardware store or left over: 

• A dark blue or black colored bucket 
• Mosquito bits or dunks 
• Brewer’s yeast 
• A piece of fabric, hard board, or a piece of wood the length of the bucket 
• Water

Frequently Asked Questions

Working with Mother Nature to Deter Mosquitoes

Be patient with the process as it may take time for you to notice a difference. For better results, enlist a few of your neighbors to install their own mosquito control buckets and to at least remove standing water on their property. Creating multiple buckets will significantly disrupt at the larval stage. While you will still see some adult females, their larvae will not survive the Bti bath, resulting in an overall decline. 

Beyond the “Bucket of Doom,” several other earth-friendly strategies can help manage mosquito populations. The most crucial step remains eliminating all standing water sources on your property. For larger water features like rain barrels, consider using the mosquito dunks. When outdoors, protect yourself with insect repellent. Additionally, you can encourage natural mosquito control by creating a habitat that attracts their predators. Observe Kenilworth Gardens, a local “swamp” that remarkably doesn’t suffer from mosquito pest issues due to the dragon flies and consider how to draw in wildlife that feeds on mosquitos, such as certain birds, dragonflies, bats, salamanders, lizards, frogs, and spiders. Supporting these natural predators is a sustainable way to utilize Mother Nature’s own methods for keeping mosquito numbers in check. 

If you have any questions, please message us on Instagram, Facebook, or by emailing dcnatives.org@gmail.com.

Spring is not only in the air, it’s in the earth and your pollinators are now anxiously pushing through to bring sustenance and joy to all! For those of you who have had your pollinator gardens for a year or two, you may think you’re used to what’s to come, but you may find something unexpected brought to you by a neighboring hummingbird or bat from a few blocks away. For our newbie DC Natives awaiting your first bloom, you are likely excited by the unknown. However you identify, DC Natives is here to give you a few tips on what to expect from your budding spring pollinator gardens. Make sure you take photos and videos to capture your pollinators’ metamorphosis and their visiting friends. Email us and share your pics or tag us on Instagram and Facebook.

March: Worry not; you likely didn’t see much activity until this last week, but if you have bulbs or ephemerals, they may have popped up a bit earlier. Now is a good time to start “cleaning” the garden. If you put leaves in your bed, unbury them now. Pulling weeds and cutting stems is optional, but do identify and pull out any diseased plants. If you need help identifying a weed or diseased plant, send us an email or write us on Instagram, and we will get back to you. As a reminder, 60-70% of native bees burrow underground to lay eggs. Please try to leave the soil as undisturbed as possible and resist the urge to add mulch right away. 

April: Baptisia, yarrow, penstemon, geranium, coreopsis, and phlox will probably start flowering. Consider mulching with any leftover fall leaves. 

May: All of the above should be in bloom, but don’t worry if your echinacea is behind as they tend to be late bloomers. You will likely notice green shoots for summer bloomers like milkweed, liatris, monarda, and mountain mint.

While you wait: If you want to stay busy and set up a sustainable home for your pollinator visitors, consider providing a nesting site for solitary bees or an area for butterflies to take shelter during inclement weather. Want to learn more about that? Join us for First Flower Friday, our demonstration garden series.