Monday, June 17, 2013

Seed Bombs

Two years ago this month, Charles Manson gave an interview to NUG magazine that read in part:
"The Savior or Savior Project is an idea of Charles Manson’s for a seed gun: a gun that anyone/everyone can use to quickly and effectively plant seeds over a vast area. Currently, the project is developing functional loads and proper seed/compost mixtures to be used universally in common paintball guns. Mr. Manson has expanded the invention to include M-80 block guns converted to seed loads, seed-mortars, seed-bombs dropped by helicopter, seed artillery, etc."
You can see that article here. At the new ATWA website, they discuss the Savior Project in more detail, and state that "The Savior is not a patented invention, but more of an idea to be developed and spread."

Patty had this in the back of her mind when she visited the offices of a friend and saw the vending machine at right in the lobby. Seriously! There was a seed bomb vending machine right there: the last thing Patty was expecting to see in an otherwise non descript little office building. The seed bombs cost 50c each and are handmade in Covina, CA by an organization called "Greenaid Seedbombs." The Greenaid Website reads in part:

"Since 2010, Greenaid Seedbombs has been committed to making guerilla gardening more accessible to the general public with a growing line of seedbomb products that allow anyone to plant something in their local neighborhood or yard."

Patty is curious to know if Greenaid knows that Charles Manson claims to have invented their product? You might also be asking yourself right about now, what the heck goes into those bombs, anyway? ATWA has their original, unpatented recipe for you, right here:

"How To Make Seedballs - Basic recipe Ingredients:

2 parts potting soil or fine compost 5 parts pottery clay mix from your local art store 1-2 parts water 1-2 parts native seeds of your choice A tablespoon of Cayenne Pepper (add more depending on how large the batch) Large tub to mix ingredients Large box to dry and store seed balls

Directions: Mix the soil, clay and 1 part water thoroughly. There should be no lumps. Slowly add more water until the mixture is the consistency of the toy store molding clay that comes in a can. Add seeds. Keep kneading the dough until the seeds are well mixed in. Add more water if necessary.
Take small bits of the clay mixture and roll into ball about one inch in diameter, or desired size. The balls should hold together easily. If they’re crumbly, add more water. Dry seed balls for 24-48 hours in a shady place before sowing or storing. They store best in a cardboard box. Do not use plastic bags."

Of course, if you don't want to make them yourselves, the people at Greenaid will surely oblige. They do not have any M80s or paintball guns on their website. You can, however, get a slingshot! And they appear to be doing socially responsible things with their profits, so good for them.

And...for those of you who like the ooEEoo as much as Patty does, you will be interested to know that the vending machine was gone within an hour after Patty photographed it. No, really! Was it real, or just a dream? Did photographing it make it disappear, like a quark? Did Mr. Patty drop Orange Sunshine into her coffee this morning? A quick email to Patty's friend confirmed that her coworker's husband took it home for a weekend block party. So, sometimes a seed bomb is just a seed bomb, as they say.

Thanks to Stuart and A.C. for the heads up about the redesign and official California non-profit 501(C)(3) status of ATWAEarth.com.





28 comments:

Quentin said...

Wow!Im sure they are the size and dimension of Charlies own little balls!!!

Quentin said...

Wow!Im sure they are the size and dimension of Charlies own little balls!!!

Unknown said...

Anyone care to explain to me the difference between:

atwaearth.com
mansondirect.com
allthewayalive.com

The first two link to one another, yet neither links to the last. Is this because there are 'splits' in the ATWA ideology/movement, or is it just because the last site is 'dead'?

orwhut said...

I hope no one mistakes that dispenser for a gum ball machine.

Quentin said...

Wink Wink Matt, told you the story...

Max Frost said...

Thanks Patty. Good stuff. I found the following on the ATWA site in relation to the aricle and found it worthy of posting.

Manson on the Savior Project:

We must rearrange, and I per say, particularly, think that ATWA can direct the war. You can’t stop it, but you can direct it, you can redirect the war to the problem.

The problem is our green, seaweeds, the pollution in the ocean. We’ve farmed off everything. We’ve tore up all the natural and put our artificial in place. We must work with the Savior. The Savior Project puts everyone in the army. Everyone’s in the conservation corps, everyone’s a civilian soldier. Civilian-soldiers in a civilian-soldier book, that must speak to and work with all situations that have anything to do with not letting the land be opened up and left open. You must close land with something growing on it. There’s got to be no space that’s not growing something. You’ve got to put everything you can plant into the Savior Project. Put all your money in the savior project. Put all your forces and all your energies, and everything you’ve got into the Savior Project. The Savior Project is the book you should write. The Savior Project should show you that you are the enemy.

You are the enemy on the planet Earth. I am the enemy on the planet Earth. I’m polluting the ground with toothpaste. I’m polluting the earth with mouth wash. I’m polluting the waters with soap, with bleach, with hair dye. I’m polluting… everything I touch is polluting.

....The birth of life on the planet has got to be green, it’s got to come through the bushes, got to come through the trees, it has got to come through the seaweeds and the fish, the birds, the bees. Your bumble bees are dying. Your trees are being warred upon.

.....Everything that you do, you must, you must, You must, you must. You must realize that there is no one else here but you. Nobody else cares about you. You could die a thousand times and people would step over your body. Realize that you’re the only one there is, that without you doing it, that nobody else is going to do it. Without you picking it up and carrying it, nobody else is going to carry it. You’ve got to carry it.

- Charles Manson, January 2011

AustinAnn74 said...

I don't care if bumblebees go away. I got attacked by a battalion of helicopter-like bumblebees when I was taking a nature walk years ago. I never understood what I did to provoke the attack, except for maybe having shampooed my hair with a botanical smelling product. Yep, Manson can keep all the fury, huge, flying, attacking insects for himself. Thank you!

Matt said...

Bees just don't like certain people I think. My dad grew up in the Balkans and many people kept hives right on their houses.

He said there was one guy in town who couldn't because the bees always attacked him. Plus he couldn't visit friends with hives because they would pick him out of even a group of people and sting the shit out of him.

Suze said...

Seems odd that they don't sprout right there in the gum ball machine.

rfoster1 said...

What keeps the seeds from starting germination when you mix them in with that wet soil/clay mixture?

Patty is Dead said...

From what Patty understands about ATWA, it is not a single group. It is more of a loose coalition. As to who runs which site at this point, Patty is not sure. She was told by Stuart that the site in this post belongs to Star and Gray Wolf. Patty is not certain, however. Maybe AC will drop in an enlighten us.

Cuntry Trash said...

Things like this have been used for long before Seedbombs. When I lived on a farm, we have seed throwers that had little tiny balls with a few seeds and fertilizer in a little manure. You'd load them in a bag on your back, like a backpack and hook the bag to a hand sewer and crank a handle and the seeds would fly everywhere. There's also a lot of different places making seedballs. So, I wouldn't say Seedbombs invented them either. There are several Seedbomb venders in my area and I always buy them- I think they are a great concept. I do like Manson's idea of making them fit for paintball guns so you can shoot the shit out of them. Anyway, this concept is a pretty old one.

Cuntry Trash said...

PS: I think they move the venders regularly. It was not a dream ;)

rfoster1 said...

Matt, I think you're right about bees not liking certain people. Back in the 70's a friend of mine was raising several hives of bees. One day, he was showing me how he removes one of the frames and it was stuck. So, he pried it a little and it wouldn't come loose, so he took a hammer and whacked it. Now, mind you, neither one of us was wearing any protective gear at all, and a cloud of bees came straight up out of the top of the hive (it was just like in a cartoon) and they took off chasing him and not a single bee came after me! It's like the knew exactly who whacked the hive and they went after him!

I don't think Africanized bees would be so discriminating, though.

Patty is Dead said...

TY JC for reassuring Patty that she's not nuts. Yet.

Ajerseydevil said...

Broken ground open and Beckoning to the Spring Black dirt live Again

Doc Sierra said...

She comes from the town where they call her the wood cutters daughter.
She's brown as the bank where she kneels down to gather her water.....

orwhut said...

My grandfather used tell me about a man who bees seemed to like. As I remember the story, he robbed the hives without a vail or protective clothing.

DebS said...

Seems like making the seed balls would be a good project for scouts, 4-H or other group. Heck maybe even a science project. I expect there's a lot to be learned from exploring all the possibilities and kids could teach the adults a thing or two!

Doc Sierra said...

I remember seeing an ad for lawn seed that has the fertilizer and compost with the seed in the middle a few years ago.

Cuntry Trash said...

It's a basic concept mimicking birds eating berries, digesting seeds, then crapping whilst flying. :) I do like Manson's idea for the seed cane, though. The one that pokes seeds into the ground when you are hiking-- using the stick. You'd think by now ATWA would have raised enough money to put that into fruition, haha.

Patty is Dead said...

That's Manson for ya, always spreading his seed around. BAH-dump-bump!

Aaron said...

Does anyone wonder if Charlie would care at all about the environment if he wasn't in prison? He didn't really seem to care too much about trashing up Death Valley with dune buggies and garbage. He seems to really be behind it, but it's easy for him to say because he can't do anything about it really from where he is at. I always get the feeling if he was out he wouldn't put his money where his mouth is.

Max Frost said...

He WAS speaking out about the environment back then.

That's why they torched the skip loader.

That's why Red and Blue mailed those letters that got them in trouble.

What evidence is there of Manson leaving garbage in Death Valley?

They got busted and the bus was left behind. I guess you could call that garbage. But it wasn't exactly tossed out of a car window like a lit cigarette.

There's a not-so-fine line between extreme environmentalists and common sense environmentalists.

Riding dune buggies in the desert is not gonna destroy the desert. It's part of the freedom that extreme environmentalists are trying to eradicate in the name of extremism.

candy and nuts said...

I like that seed cane idea even for basic gardening seems like a good idea is it patented by Charles Manson?

Patty is Dead said...

Morning Candy! No, none of the seed bomb stuff is patented, according to ATWA.

Aaron said...

The letters came later in the 70's. Yeah I know about the destruction of the loader, but I don't think they were all that big on the environment. As far as the dune buggies, it kind of goes against what Charlie preaches now. That's all I am saying. Goes different from his "get back to the horse" line. It's still spewing gas into the environment.

Aaron said...

The letters that Sandy sent were in the 70's. Not from 67-70. That was after Charlie started up his rainbow thang. I know about the loader. As far as the dune buggies it just goes against Charlies "get back to the horse" line. It's still spewing gas into the air. Charlie talks like an extreme environmentalist. That's why I asked. I don't know if he was actually free if he would be behind it all.