fukuoka style seed balls for no till farming
www.permies.com Brian Kerkvliet of Inspiration Farm in Bellingham, Washington shows how to make Fukuoka style seed balls. A mixture of clay, compost and seeds. The balls can be tossed into existing crops. Some people use see balls (or larger “seed bombs”) as a form of “guerilla gardening” toss the balls into areas that are desolate and could use some flowers/edibles. Relevant threads at permies: www.permies.com www.permies.com www.permies.com www.permies.com music by Jimmy Pardo
22 Responses to fukuoka style seed balls for no till farming
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no
ok
nikkamoliloveyou
November 22, 2011 at 9:49 am
no
nikkamoliloveyou
November 22, 2011 at 10:08 am
Seed balls are also a massive time saver if you are planting a large area. Check out the video of Fukuoka planting the hillsides of Greece. He had a whole crew of people walking the hills with sacks of seed balls for days. Throwing them across the landscape by the handful.
s4samantha
November 22, 2011 at 10:13 am
Thank you for sharing your knowledge
jjackson211
November 22, 2011 at 10:55 am
@JamesTyreeII What a good ida, and was just thinking how to stop them from being eaten.
wewexteriors
November 22, 2011 at 11:04 am
I love this! How come there isn’t a “love” button when you really love a video? Thanks!
tanyageyer1
November 22, 2011 at 11:32 am
@EKWisner probably falls a little shy of pushing seed into the soil – for the seed. But the not-tilling thing is a big perk.
paulwheaton12
November 22, 2011 at 12:31 pm
I recommend adding some hot pepper to deter the slugs and other eaters.
JamesTyreeII
November 22, 2011 at 12:45 pm
Fascinating! So does the seed ball gives the seeds the same ‘advantage’ as a hole or fresh-tilled field, but without digging? Or is it more a case of just saving time and convenience for the sower?
EKWisner
November 22, 2011 at 1:08 pm
@TheNortheastAl – I agree! Just so folks know, Brian offers permaculture, biodynamic, tool making (scythe & more), glass blowing (!) and other classes at his farm. Some of the best ones in the Western Washington area I hear. Check out inspirationfarm (dot) com. (And I wasn’t paid to say this…unless you count the zucchini and tomatoes he gave me once!)
ahnamay
November 22, 2011 at 1:18 pm
Great little tutorial! I’m gonna try this maybe for some of my fall planting or definitely next spring. I wonder how well stuff comes up if there’s still weeds there or if it’s better to mulch then put them down.
jcrev217
November 22, 2011 at 1:39 pm
@Pipedog42 I use my own homemade biodynamic compost , but you can use any good commercial compost or rich soil for that matter.
Briankerkvliet
November 22, 2011 at 1:56 pm
I really like all the io this guy has been able to share
SuzyB1988
November 22, 2011 at 2:25 pm
Thanks, Paul. Brian makes it look so simple. Always like when you have Brian in a video. Great educator, and he has a fine sense of humor, too.
TheNortheastAl
November 22, 2011 at 2:33 pm
What a great protest idea: Lobbing bombs of potential flowers!
GetMeThere1
November 22, 2011 at 3:12 pm
what a great idea
shortfilmaker
November 22, 2011 at 4:12 pm
So Awesome, thanks! Thanks for showing multiple sizes and a frank discussion of their effectiveness. My thought was that Fukuoka-san only did one type of seed at a time in his seed balls, am I wrong?
awallace230
November 22, 2011 at 4:38 pm
FABULOUS. This goes in the “classics” file.
southrncalifgirl1
November 22, 2011 at 5:34 pm
Awesome tutorial, a large scale mix would be very interesting to see also.
BrettDiercks
November 22, 2011 at 5:36 pm
thanx!! could you please expaind on what you used for the ‘compost’, and what people can use?
Love these vids!!
Pipedog42
November 22, 2011 at 5:45 pm
Awesome video. Thanks!
vention4wh
November 22, 2011 at 5:49 pm
I have been waiting for this video.
Great info. Thanks Paul!
ruggedtraditions
November 22, 2011 at 6:25 pm