fukuoka style seed balls for no till farming

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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

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22 Responses to fukuoka style seed balls for no till farming

  1. no
    ok

    nikkamoliloveyou
    November 22, 2011 at 9:49 am
    Reply

  2. no

    nikkamoliloveyou
    November 22, 2011 at 10:08 am
    Reply

  3. 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
    Reply

  4. Thank you for sharing your knowledge

    jjackson211
    November 22, 2011 at 10:55 am
    Reply

  5. @JamesTyreeII What a good ida, and was just thinking how to stop them from being eaten.

    wewexteriors
    November 22, 2011 at 11:04 am
    Reply

  6. 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
    Reply

  7. @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
    Reply

  8. I recommend adding some hot pepper to deter the slugs and other eaters.

    JamesTyreeII
    November 22, 2011 at 12:45 pm
    Reply

  9. 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
    Reply

  10. @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
    Reply

  11. 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
    Reply

  12. @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
    Reply

  13. I really like all the io this guy has been able to share

    SuzyB1988
    November 22, 2011 at 2:25 pm
    Reply

  14. 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
    Reply

  15. What a great protest idea: Lobbing bombs of potential flowers!

    GetMeThere1
    November 22, 2011 at 3:12 pm
    Reply

  16. what a great idea

    shortfilmaker
    November 22, 2011 at 4:12 pm
    Reply

  17. 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
    Reply

  18. FABULOUS. This goes in the “classics” file.

    southrncalifgirl1
    November 22, 2011 at 5:34 pm
    Reply

  19. Awesome tutorial, a large scale mix would be very interesting to see also.

    BrettDiercks
    November 22, 2011 at 5:36 pm
    Reply

  20. 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
    Reply

  21. Awesome video. Thanks!

    vention4wh
    November 22, 2011 at 5:49 pm
    Reply

  22. I have been waiting for this video.

    Great info. Thanks Paul!

    ruggedtraditions
    November 22, 2011 at 6:25 pm
    Reply

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