The Sunflower Revolution (Part Three)

What a day! Seedy Sunday was back again this year, and in full force. The event moved to the University of Toronto Hart House, a bigger space than the Wychwood Barns location it has been at for the past years. It was clear that the extra space was needed for new and bigger displays and tables. The buzz of ideas exchanging between seed swappers, food sellers, community groups and gardening gurus filled the hall with excitement and body heat.

I dropped off the seed bomb dispenser early in the morning prior to the sneak preview. I was unable to get the "Sunflower Your City" seed bombing info blog up-and-running last night... bah. The dispenser, sign and envelopes were strategically set-up at the end of the TCGN display, close to the event reception desk. As I took photos of my mini display, a few people approached me to give me props, one of whom was Lara. She was at the event promoting a campaign to have her book, An Illustrated Guide to Growing Food on Your Balcony, sent to the printer. Big up yourself!

I left the hall shortly after, feeling anxious about splitting so quickly. When I returned a couple hours later, it looked like a good chunk of balls were missing. Hurray! TCGN volunteers were doing a great job of manning the display and explaining what it was to curious onlookers. Garden Jane's seed bomb making kits were also set-up beside the dispenser... a perfect combination. I was able to chat with Jane a little later on, and she explained to me that she sourced a special food-safe clay for her kit. She suggested that we join forces in the near future. High five!

At the end of the day, about half of the bombs had been dispensed, and a little envelope of coins was collected for the TCGN. The seed bomb machine garnered much attention and appreciation, though coins kept getting stuck and the balls didn't come out all the time. I ended up lending the entire display to the Seedy Sunday organizers, who wanted to use it for their North York event next month. Though I would be out of the country by that time, I was happy to oblige. Hopefully I'll be able to connect them with Evergreen, who was keen on taking the dispenser for the rest of the year.

Now, we wait and watch. Go forth, bomb throwers and sunflower minions, and spread your roots of colour and life into our city.

The Sunflower Revolution (Part Two)

Seedy Sunday is less than 24 hours away, and I'm scrambling to get my seed bomb dispenser completed. I also found out that there's a TCGN-member sneak preview of the event, meaning we start 1.5 hrs earlier than I thought. The good news is that I've made all 229-ish seed bombs, using up all of the sunflower seeds and clay. And the dispenser isn't even full! It could probably take 300 bombs. About 30 seed bomb envelopes are also ready to go, each of which fit 3 bombs snug.

I put a good handful of bombs into the dispenser as a test run, and it works like a charm. But with all 200+ bombs, it doesn't work so nice. Hm, that makes me a little nervous. I've found that giving the dispenser a good shake will help move the bombs along.

I've mentioned this project to a few friends, most of whom have no clue about seed bombing. I struggle with a good explanation to explain why anyone would want to deposit these balls around the city for fun. After some thought, I think this might describe it best: seed bombing is like graffiti for gardeners.

The dispenser is as much of an interactive art installation as it is a community activist weapon. The sign I've started to sketch will probably be more of the 'art' part. I also wanted it all to be accompanied by a blog with more information about seed bombs, sunflowers and guerrilla gardening, but I'm not sure I have time to do a good job of it. I've set-up an email account (thesunflowerrevolution@gmail.com) and reserved the blog name (sunflower-your-city.blogspot.com), just in case.

With markers in one hand and a beer in the other, I hope the next 12 hours will be good to me.

The Sunflower Revolution (Part One)

Sometime last summer, I was at a local burrito shop grabbing a quick bite before a movie. A business card tacked on the bulletin board caught my eye. It read: "Soiled and Seeded - cultivating a garden culture". I took a photo with my camera phone to look it up later. When I did, I learned that Soiled and Seeded was a Toronto-based, soon-to-be online urban gardening magazine. I loved the concept, loved the arsty photos, and signed-up for their newsletter.

When I received their first newsletter, there was an article that caught my eye. A company in Los Angeles, Greenaid, was renting out seed bomb dispensers that looked like gumball machines in major American cities. The idea impressed me a great deal, but I wasn't so keen with the seemingly for-profit nature of it. To me, seed bombs are a tool for freedom of expression and community ownershipurban gardening in its most basic, raw form. Profit just doesn't fit into the picture.

In December, I was at an indie craft show with a friend, when an art installation caught my eye. It was a giant junk food dispenser, only instead of candy, it dispensed poems. I remembered the seed bomb dispenser, and mentioned it to my pal. She suggested that instead of renting out a machine from Greenaid, that I make my own dispenser from a vintage gumball machine. I was impressed with my friend's ingenuity.

Last week, I was surfing on Craigslist, and saw a vintage gumball machine for sale. It was perfect: counter-top sized, and set-up for a pay-what-you-can system, where someone would not have to insert coins in order to retrieve the goodies inside. I did some quick research and learned how easy making seed bombs was. I quickly sourced the clay from an art store, the compost from my worm bin, and the seeds from Urban Harvest. The seeds, I decided, would have to be from the sunflower plant; for their fiery beauty, their toughness, and their amazing powers in removing toxins from the soil. Exactly what this city needs.

A quick email to one of the organizers of Seedy Sunday sealed the deal. They were more than happy to set-up my repurposed sunflower seed bomb dispenser at one of their tables. We agreed that all bomb proceeds would go to The Toronto Community Garden Network, a committed group of urban gardeners that fuels the garden movement through engagement and involvement.

I guess it's a very long winded way of telling you some exciting news, but I really love the way all of these small events came together so nicely. Each event became a catalyst for the next, and I think it poetically illustrates the symbiotic relationship of a community.

Guerilla Gardening

Interested in gardening but don't have a space to call your own? Feel like your community has wasted land/green space that could be improved with plants? Guerilla gardening might be your answer.

Guerilla Gardening occurs when people take over a piece of abandoned land to grow plants. It could range from throwing "seed bombs" into vacant spaces and parking lots, to regularly tending and harvesting crops through a season. It questions land ownership and sparks community solidarity by empowering citizens to create their own space and grow their own food.

I decided that my community was in need of some flower power, and determined that guerilla gardening was the way to go. I live right beside the West Don Lands development, which is slated for a pedestrian-friendly, mixed-income neighborhood. At least that's what the city has promised. But right now, and for the past couple of years, it has been a large, boarded-up waste of land.

I acquired some flower seeds: alyssum, greenheaded coneflower, zigzag goldenrod and cup plant. With sunny skies and trowels in-hand, my partner and I ventured out in search of small green spaces to plant our seeds of action.

Plot #1: East Don Rdwy and Queen East (SW corner). This strip of land is right beside our building, and filthy with garbage. The soil is sandy and has lots of small pebbles. Along with the seeds, we also threw down some of the potting soil from my balcony that is from last year and has no use.

Plot #2: King East, just east of St. Lawrence St (E side). The ground was dug up, large stones and bricks moved, and seeds scattered on a 3' x 1' area. A passerby even gave us some planting tips.

Plot #3: King East and Sumach St (NW corner). Sandy, shallow soil. Grass was pulled out, and seeds planted along the fence.

Plot #4: St. Lawrence St, just south of King East (N side). By this time we were pretty tired. The best way I can describe what we did here: seed dump.

In all honesty, I think the chances of any of these seeds turning into a full plant is next to none. But I could be wrong... the power of plants shouldn't be underestimated. I've seen flowers grow from narrow sidewalk cracks, and tree roots break up roadways. Maybe these seeds will come up in unexpected ways and welcomed places.