kopia lustrzana https://github.com/thinkst/zippy
207 wiersze
6.4 KiB
Plaintext
207 wiersze
6.4 KiB
Plaintext
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This is the first in a series of articles by guest blogger The
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Apocalyptic Housewife .
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Somewhere in California, a blighted, mosquito-vector abandoned property is
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about to get an echinacea dose via seedbomb.
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Seedbombing combines elements of childhood disgruntled mudbomb-hurling; the
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balance of meticulousness and zen that good gardeners possess; and my own
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forte, the invisibility and vigilance of a sniper.
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It also requires a certain attitude. The first step to seedbombing is: 1.
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Understand that a job worth doing is worth doing crappily.
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You will fuck it up . Live with this. Embrace it.
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Nothing worth
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doing was learned perfectly the first time. If Mother Nature herself were
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perfect, she wouldn't need us urban urchins to help cover her
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scars with flowering seeds.
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Here's where we started -
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Gift seeds of California Poppy via Jessica Reeder's mom. Thanks,
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MamaHun.
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2. Mix in seeds.
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Use seeds of any kind, even dumpster-salvaged ones, or the ones that might be too
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old for the garden.
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You can mix them with a 30/30/40 mix of potting soil, worm casings and clay. Or
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you could go out to the shed and grab a few handfuls of that sod mix you got at
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that estate sale last year and get to mixing.
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NOTE: Cover your work area. Dust can fly into your mouth and
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eyes very easily. If the fertilizer in the mix is what I think it is, that
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wouldn't be pretty. Use gloves to break up the soil with your
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fingers.
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3. Make bombs.
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Form the mix into balls of any size from sling-shot-pellet up to softball.
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You're going to be throwing them. Customize it yourself.
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Mine were more or less matzoh-ball size and shape, out of habit. This worked out
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pretty well.
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Allow to dry overnight, or until they're solid enough for the next
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step.
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4. Throw.
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Today, I kept it simple. I chose one abandoned property a few minutes from
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downtown, and two vacant lots. The leftovers went onto the jungles alongside the
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freeway offramps.
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First lesson learned -- you need at least two people to seedbomb from a
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vehicle . The first responsibility should be driving safely. I found this
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hard to do while also avoiding cops, dealing with the camera and the car window,
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scoping out angles of approach for throwing, etc.
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I ended up with a broken fingernail and dirt all over my lap. Also, a perfect
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strike. But you'll have to take my word because a camera at that moment
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would have been crazy.
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Second Lesson -- keep the seedbombs in a shallow covered container .
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You want both tidiness and easy access. Plus, those things are crumbly. I made
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eight; the last two were totally pulverized after being jostled in a paper bag
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for half an hour.
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And the last lesson -- have fun . It's play. Seedbombing is a
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hit-or-miss way for change to take root, pun intended. It's chlorophyll
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graffiti. No one I know is getting digg'd or favrd yet for throwing color
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and scent around the ghetto. Do it to see how it feels. You may want to keep
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checking on your flowers (I promise I will) or you might get an idea to do
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something else completely unexpected (I did).
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Enzo Angolini spike heels found by serendipity at St Paul's Thrift for
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$3.98. Sexy, non?
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For example, make smaller wildflower seedbombs and carefully 'plant' them
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in a meridian by making holes in the ground with your heel and then gently tamping
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the dirt over them with your sole.
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This is also good practice for looking lost and cluelessly invisible. More on that in
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future posts.
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5. Enjoy.
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Earth is my friend, like that old classmate who you keep forgetting to drop a note to
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on Facebook.
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When I took a victory lap and hand-wash break in the mall, I was happy, not in a
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smug superior way, but in the knowledge that I had avenged myself against the
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whole Sunday-at-the-mall culture that I felt smothered by. I did it by throwing
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flowers all along those places no one goes, but where our planet's future
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lives.
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There is one over-riding message to this -- Quit being such a goddamned
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perfectionist. Yes, yes, I know, you know of much better places
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to never throw those seedbombs you haven't made. You could get better soil
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if you put it on the shopping list. You undoubtedly write much better and could
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have a real serious article with awesome non-blurry pictures taken by a person
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who actually can get the timer to work for a goddamn change. The actions that
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you never do are absolutely perfectly effective, in your imagination.
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But my actions accomplished something today.
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Which brings us back to: 1. A job worth doing is worth doing crappily.
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This blog is the digital proof.
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6 Responses to "The Apocalyptic Housewife Goes Seedbombing"
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Kate 25. Nov, 2009 at 3:37 pm
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Did this with my aunt in Griffith Park after the last bout of fires.
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Didn't know there was a term for it- my mom and aunt have been seed
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bombing for years. They'll be glad to know it is catching on among the
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under-60 set.
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Raggedy Anarchy 25. Nov, 2009 at 5:46 pm
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Thanks for commenting, Kate. Your mom and aunt sound great.
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I used to see this old scary dude walking around checking the trees in
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Griffith Park for Dutch Elm Disease. Turns out he had been a brilliant
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biology student before losing derferment and going to Vietnam. Thanks for
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making me remember him.
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We are everywhere.
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Summer 26. Nov, 2009 at 10:52 am
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Loved this!
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brian 14. Dec, 2009 at 8:10 pm
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Didn't know there was a name for this. Awesome idea though. My wife and
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I did this when we lived in Texas ... planted blue bonnets in a state
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park. Yeah, I know, "Texas has plenty of blue bonnets," you
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say ...
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Well we thought they could use more.
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Jessica Reeder 15. Dec, 2009 at 9:08 am
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Hey Brian, thanks for stopping by! That was nice of you.
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There is no such thing as too many flowers. Well done.
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We just made seedbombs for our holiday gift baskets; they're a mix of
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flowers from the yard, heavy on the poppies.
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I am not nice, young, hip, white, rich, educated, suburban or any of the other
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things you are unconsciously assuming anyone who loves the earth must be. My
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discontent is the mother of invention, and by invention, I mean creative
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re-purposing.
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I love bringing apt quotations and poems to awkward occasions the way another
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guest would bring a box of See's. Actually, I do that, too. Anyone who doesn't
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have a sweet tooth is bound to have a mean streak, and freegan chocolates are
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perfectly salvagable most of the time.
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That's me. I'm the Apocalyptic Housewife. I take pictures and have ideas and
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enjoy my thoughts and try to do a little something less about consuming and more
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about redemption every day. It makes me a little nicer.
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