Grow Your Garden: Borrow & Share Seeds at Our Seed Libraries
Posted on March 3, 2022 at 7:00 am
By Gwendolyn Haley
Spokane County is a community of gardeners, and the movement is growing.
Last year, the library distributed over 2,000 seed packets to community members through our seed libraries, helping people discover the joy of growing their own food.
What Is a Seed Library?
A seed library is run for the benefit of the community as a place where people can get seeds to grow in their gardens and bring seeds back to share with others.
People save seeds for a host of reasons. For some, the goal of seed saving is to create a sustainable and affordable source for fresh produce. For others, creating locally adapted varieties that respond proactively to climate change or preserve genetic diversity is the goal.
Seed saving is something humans have done for over 10,000 years, and heirloom seeds offer unique color and flavor profiles to sample.
Our Seed Libraries
Our seed libraries are completely dependent upon seed donations from our community.
When community members “borrow” seeds from the library, we ask that they save some seeds from their harvest—ideally setting aside at least one plant in their crop—and return the seeds to the library for more people to enjoy.
Imagine a library if no one ever returned a book—the same is true for a seed library. Right now, our seed donations are at an all-time low. We hope that you will rejoin the ritual and start to save seeds to share the abundance in your community.
Seed Library Locations
All of our seed library locations currently accept donations of heirloom seeds. When you donate, be sure to clearly separate and label the seeds you bring in to the library. You can get seed envelopes from any of our seed libraries.
Our seed libraries are:
Gardening Programs & Resources
The library can help budding gardeners in a variety of ways.
To learn how to save seeds from your garden, you can view our how-to videos found on our Urban Farming playlist on YouTube.
If you are on the hunt for gardening books, check out our gardening section—nonfiction section 635—next time you’re in any of our libraries. You can also search our online catalog, using “gardening” as a subject.
You can also find many useful eBooks and audiobooks in our curated OverDrive booklist Your Bounty Awaits – Gardening.
We partner with the WSU Extension Master Gardeners to offer free classes to our community members. This spring we have several gardening programs on offer to help you get started.
Tags: adults, community, food, gardening, seed libraries, seed library, seed saving, teens, tweens, urban farming
