If you haven’t fully built out your garden yet (we haven’t)- it’s time to love your local library! Libraries across the country are not only lending books, but are also offering seeds to willing gardeners. We can all save money by taking advantage of these community programs and also be exposed to new and interesting plant varieties. Like a book check-out, you can use your library card to check out seeds. At the end of the growing season, let a couple of your plants go to seed so you can harvest them to return to the library.
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Why Check Out Your Local Seed Library (pun intended)?
- Saves money – Some programs have a small membership fee, but still much lower cost than buying seeds
- Builds locally adapted seeds – By becoming part of the library growing cycle and returning seeds at the end of the season, the plants become a little more adapted each year to local environmental conditions naturally
- Teaches nature’s full life cycle – A great teaching moment to share with your kids on nature’s cycle of life from seed growth to harvest back to seeds for future seasons
- Builds community – Appreciating how others are finding success growing different plants
- Gets the family to the library – Our family can access so much digitally from home, but I am always amazed as the offerings in our local library that we can’t get from home
photo credit: mlinksva via photopin cc
Seed Library Links and Resources
- San Francisco Seed Library
- Seed Library of Los Angeles
- Chicago Seed Library
- Pima County Seed Library
- Local Seeds – Directory of locally grown seeds
- How to start your own seed library
Have you used a seed library? Please share below and let us know your story!
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