Awesome Joolie

It finally cooled off a little and started raining in Central Texas, which means it's time to plant wildflower seeds for next spring. We had a lot of firewheel seeds left over from this spring's bloom--like a gallon container's worth--so we decided to make some seed bombs and spread the wealth around.

The idea is that you encase your seeds in some clay and some compost so they can easily be tossed wherever you want seeds to grow. The compost gives the seedlings a little boost, and the clay holds it all together and provides a planting medium, but only when conditions are right and it rains enough.

Our backyard is mostly clay, so that was easy to find. I dug a bucket of that up and mixed in a few trowels of compost from the bin. Which I hadn't finished very well, so there are eggshells and dryer lint and maybe a couple of banana stickers mixed in with the seeds. I doubt the seeds care, so I went with it. 

Once all the supplies were arranged, the rest was pretty simple. 

You take a handful of clay mixture and make a little indentation in there.

Sprinkle some seeds into the middle.

Add a little water to help it bond.

Squish it into a ball.

Add it to your growing pile.

(Many thanks to my seed bomb stylist and hand model, Mr. Krotpong.) 

We have a few places in mind for these, but we're on the lookout for more, so suggestions are welcome. Wherever we toss them needs to get at least some sun and is preferably not mowed very often. That shouldn't be too hard to find around here. 

I have some extra bluebonnet seeds that I might use later, but I gotta think about that a little more. Bluebonnets are a little more finicky about sunlight and drainage than firewheels, which grow and spread like, well, wildfire. Anyway, here's hoping we can get a few blooms to brighten up the neighborhood a little, maybe give the butterflies and bees a snack while we're at it.

Oh, and a weird garden update. Remember the agave that poked me in the eye? Eric and I were having a hard time figuring out what to do with it. It's too big to move but too dangerous to stay. Really I was just putting off cutting it down, in part because removing it was going to be a sweaty, scrapy, stabby massacre, and in part because even though it's a jerk, I really loved that plant.

Well, it decided for us by rotting out right from the center and collapsing. 

I've learned a lot from this plant: Picking the right site is very important. Adequate drainage is a must for desert plants.

And despite what anyone tells you, if you wait long enough, your problems will just solve themselves.