We all know what a library is: A place where we can find and take away non-fiction books about the world, fiction books about worlds we imagine and picture books to delight our eyes. But I never heard of a seed library and could not imagine where one would find such a thing.
But recently, I went to Greenfield Community College’s Nahman-Watson Library, and there, right near an entry door, were shelves filled with garden books, a small cabinet and a sign that said “seed library.” I looked closely and saw that there were little labeled seed packets in each drawer of the cabinet. A sign said the seeds were free, but you had to check them out at the circulation desk.
Fortunately, not long after my first introduction to the Seed Library, I met Hope Schneider, who is newly retired after being a GCC librarian for many years. Schneider was happy to tell me about the birth of the GCC Seed Library.
In 2015, Library Director Deb Chown heard about this idea and thought it would be a great connection to the nearby science department. Creating a seed library is not as easy as it sounds.
First, you have to get a little money. Chown and Tony Reiber, who runs the greenhouse and is a soil instructor at the school, wrote a grant for $500 to get “seed money,” Schneider said. Money was needed to buy seed envelopes, the cabinet to hold them, write instruction sheets and promote the endeavor.
Chown worked with CW Mars, the region’s library circulation system, to add all the seeds to its system inventory. Since there is no way that those particular seeds can be returned, CW Mars automatically checks all seeds back in on Oct. 1. The hope is that once the seeds have grown and have gone to seed, the seed library members will harvest those new seeds and return some to the seed library.
“The biggest problem is getting people to bring seeds back. We’d also love to get heirloom seeds, seeds that came from someone in the family or have a story, and the seeds of native plants,” Schneider said.
I suspect the problem with having people return the seeds is because their crop failed and they don’t have seeds, or because they forgot, or because they are not confident they can prepare and store seeds properly.
People have saved seeds and passed them on for centuries before seed stores existed.
After admiring the shelves of garden and plant books, Schneider and I then met Tony Reiber. Over the past few years, he has been working with students to plant an array of gardens. Planting and learning about plants and what they need is part of that project. Another aspect is that plantings have been designed to attract pollinators, which are an important part of our ecosystem.
We walked alongside the school’s wildflower garden, which was planted in June of 2017. With help from students, plugs of 21 varieties of wildflowers were planted. Many plugs were from Nasami Farm in Whately. I couldn’t identify all 21 varieties.
We were there to look at the seeds ripening on those plants. Some will find their way into the Seed Library’s cabinets.
At this time of the year, many plants are making seeds. Many of us, like me, don’t usually pay that much attention to seeds and we are really missing something.
Some seeds are large. Think of sunflowers, flowering sweet peas, nasturtiums, zinnias and marigolds. Others are very tiny like cardinal flowers and jewelweed.
Whether the seeds are big or small, the important thing to know about saving seeds is knowing that they are non-GMO or hybrid seeds. Plants that have been genetically modified or created by crossing one variety with another don’t produce seeds the second year, as non-modified plants do. A seed saver should save open-pollinated seed, one that has been grown for generations.
It is now possible to start by buying open-pollinated seeds from a store. More and more seed companies are specializing in open-pollinated varieties including Johnny’s Selected Seeds and Fedco Seeds and The Seed Savers Exchange, which has a large catalog for members that includes heirloom seeds from other members.
We can save many seeds from our own gardens, but they do need to be cared for to live through the winter and be viable in the spring. Some seeds, Reiber said, need to be kept dry and cold, in a jar with a lid in the refrigerator. Other seeds need moisture and can be stored in a plastic bag with damp vermiculite.
A book like “The Seed Garden: Art and Practice of Seed Saving,” published by the Seed Savers Exchange, gives very specific directions. You can check out the book at the GCC Seed Library.
Pat Leuchtman has been writing and gardening since 1980. Readers can leave comments at her website, commonweeder.com.