Seed Balls

Seed Balls

1. SEED BALLS Living Earth Balls Dr N Sai Bhaskar Reddy Director, The Earth Center Council for Green Revolution [email protected] http://saibhaskar.com 27th October 2020

2. WORLD FOREST COVERAGE MAP (TREE DENSITY)

3. Content What is a seed ball? History Seed Collection Precaution's How to prepare? Color seed balls What is suitable time for dispersing? Green Gifts as Seed Ball .

4. History “Earth Balls or Seed Bombs" consist of a variety of different seeds rolled within a ball of clay/Soil/Paper . The technique for creating seed balls was rediscovered by Japanese natural farming pioneer Masanobu Fukuoka Masanobu F ukuoka

5. Physics Seed Balls have been around for 1000s of years for a reason: they work! Seed balls are easy to distribute quickly over distances. They can be thrown, slung, or flung much farther than one could throw a seed. Seed balls commonly have fibrous organic matter (ours do), that helps hold the seed ball together upon impact, guaranteeing safe delivery. Surface conditions can be dry, overly hot or cold, and windy making life hard on a germinating seed. Seed balls buffer these harsh conditions. The clay and organic matter in our seed balls has a very high surface area and holds a lot of water. This helps retain moisture, facilitating germination and growth of the seedling. Low cost compared to plantation

6. Seed Collection Seeds should be collected based on their specific season of occurrence in nature. The seeds are to be completely dried without having any amount of moisture. Once the monsoon/rainy season is about to arrive that is when the seed balls are to be prepared. Compost can also be kept prepared before the monsoon season arrives using kitchen waste, agricultural waste and garden waste etc.

7. Hands on experience A person when does a plantation he/she sees only the sampling but is unaware of how the seed looks like or what is the reason behind this tree. This exercise of making seed balls will make them aware what is the seed which is responsible for the tree and they will understand the nature of how does it look. This create the connection between the students and nature. It will be a hands on experiment to the students to connect to nature by making their hands muddy .

8. Do’s Try to pick a seed that is Native to the area and can withstand drought. Do think like a Tree! Look for pro-active microhabitats for your seed balls. Favor areas likely to conserve moisture, and places wildlife and livestock can't access easily. Do Foster vacant or degraded land and fill empty urban spaces with trees and flowers.

9. Do’s Do obtain permission from the land managers first if you'd like to re-seed in a conservation area. Do ensure the site is not due for imminent development and that the plants will thrive there. Do your best to match plant and tree species to their natural environmental types. eg . highland, dryland, lakeshore and swampland. Each to it's own .

10. Dont's Ensure that nothing or nobody will be damaged or harmed by your flying seed balls. Don't interfere with food crops but spreading Seed Balls across agricultural fields. Don't throw them on land with obvious inadequate growing conditions. If there is insufficient water, light and no obvious soil for the plants to anchor themselves, they will most likely eventually perish. Don't take Seed Balls to another country or you may contravene various biosafety laws. Don't be impatient. Some seeds germinate only after several rainy seasons. Growing trees is a noble act of kindness, it takes time and Perseverance.

11. Procedure – Three Ways Clay + Seeds + Water Clay + Compost / Biochar / Charcoal / Cow Dung + Seeds + Water Coloured Paper/Egg Cases + Seeds + Water

12. 1. Clay + Seeds + Water Clay and small sized seeds. One to two inch sizes of balls.

13. Soil + Compost/ Biochar /Charcoal/ Cow Dung + Seeds + Water Equal Volume of soil and supporting media (Compost/ Biochar /Charcoal/Cow Dung ), Sufficient amount of water . One to two inch sizes of balls . After the seed balls have been formed, they must dry for 24 to 48 hours before use. (Not in sun - off shade) The charcoal dust mixture once soaked in water disintegrates to expose the seed for germination in ideal conditions. But it also helps retain a bit of the moisture around the seed. Mix the seeds with 3/4th mud and 1/4th cow dung and make them into small but firm balls .

14. 3. Coloured Paper/Egg Cases + Seeds + Water

15. Make your own colored seed balls!

16. Color Combinatios used by CGR CGR declared these colors for the Pancha Maha Vruksha’s ( Ficus Species). Using these colors will be adding a cultural touch to the seed ball making process and all the colors used are the natural colors. The following are the details: Tumeric for – Juvvi or Cluster fig Tree( Ficus racemosa ) Kumkum - Medi or fig tree ( Ficus glomerata ) Jaju – Ravvi or Peepal Tree ( Ficus religiosa ) Sunnam – Marri or Banyan ( Ficus benghalensis ) Apart from this, we have many farmers, so for them the species which can be used for seed balls are Tamarind( Chinta ), Teak, Survi , Bamboo ( Veduru ), Timber Based Tree Species, and species which can sustain the birds and animals. Plantation near the bunds and water flowing areas can also reduces soil erosion .

17. Seed Balls as Green Gifts Greeting Cards Bookmarks/Book Tags Gift Boxes Chocolate Wrapped Gift Wedding Gifts/Birthday/Special Occasions Packed Seed Balls for sale

18. Greeting Cards-Place on soil, cover with soil on 1cm, water regularly and wait.

19. Bookmarks/ Book Tags Once ready to plant them just drop them at the place were plantation is to be done and cover it with soil and moisture it.

20. Gift Boxes Chocolate Wrapped Gift Wedding Gifts Birth day or Special Occasions Gifts

21. Packed Seed Balls for Sale

22. Aerial seeding Aerial seeding is therefore best suited to sites whose remoteness, ruggedness, inaccessibility, or sparse population make seedling planting difficult. It is particularly appropriate for "protection forests" because helicopters or planes can easily spread seed over steep slopes or remote watersheds and isolated dryland areas. It seems also well suited for use in areas where there may be a dearth of skilled laborers, supervisors, and funds for reforestation. It has the potential to help increase production of tree crops for forage, food, and honey as well as wood for fuel, posts, lumber, charcoal and pulp.

23. Precautions The seed ball should not sown inside the soil it should be only partially sown if going for sowing of them. Apart from that just throwing them will also be sufficient. While making the seed balls, the consistency of the soil should be smooth, it should be sieved before using it. The soil should not be wet as it might germinate the seed. Dry soil has to be used . While making the seed ball required amount of water can be added. To remove excess moisture, adding biochar or compost can absorb the excess water and prevent the early germination of seed in the seed ball itself. The characteristics of species, especially the ability of its seed to germinate should be kept in mind .

24. Precautions Direct-seeding trials should first be implemented at sites favorable for seeding, and then, with experience, should move to the more difficult sites. Along with all direct-seeding trials should be some seedling-planting trials. The relative costs and successes of the two techniques can be better judged when they are done in tandem. Contrary to popular belief, seeds bombs are not meant to be buried in the ground. Instead, embed them partially in the ground. Different types of seed may be combined, but check that they can all be sown at the same time of year and have similar light and soil requirements .

25. Protection for Seed Balls Development of less hazardous chemicals for protecting seeds from rodents, insects, and birds (some examples worth considering are wood vinegar, neem oil, chillies , clay, copper sulfate.)

26. Dispersal of Seed Ball The apt time to disperse the seed balls is during the monsoon season, once we have the first rainfall. This will be the most favorable condition for dispersing the seed balls. As we might have continuous rains during this season, this increases the germination in the monsoon’s first month and increases the survival rates .

27. Success Story Mucherla Village, Ranga Reddy District Volunteer Rajnikanth from the same village made 1 Lakh above Seed Balls Single girl could make 32,000 Seed Balls

28. Making of Seed Balls by CGR - https://www.youtube.com/watch? v=Mwa6TxQ1LqU&feature=youtu. be

29. Sou r ces http://www.birdsandblooms.com/blog/easy-gardening-idea-creating- seed-balls/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seed_ball https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=103129515 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SCUSElXUicg http://treeseedlist.blogspot.com/2016/06/aerial-tree-seeding-for-forest.html https://wiki.nurserylive.com/t/grow-plants-anywhere-with-seed-bombs- have-you-heard-of/2115 http://gardenclub.homedepot.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/seed-balls- final5.jpg https://www.ciloubidouille.com/2019/01/27/carte-de-voeux-a-planter/ https://christines-crafts.com/seed-paper-tutorial/ https://in.pinterest.com/offsite/?token=69- 228&url=https%3A%2F%2Fchristines-crafts.com%2Fseed-paper- tutorial%2F http://gardenclub.homedepot.com/throw-grow-diy-seed-balls /

30. THANK YOU