Gardening Etcetera: Growing a Seed Lending Library for Flagstaff
When I walked into the small, public library in Brandon, VT, it
only took me a moment to notice the quaint, 15-drawer card catalog with a
hand-painted sign over it, “Seed Lending Library”. I fell in love with the idea
as soon as I opened a drawer. A place for the community to borrow flower and
vegetable seeds, grow them, and then return the seeds from that year’s harvest?
Sold. In a town of 1,500 people, I knew if Brandon could support a seed
library, so could Flagstaff and Coconino County. Today there are over 400 seed
lending libraries cropping up all over the United States. These libraries offer
seeds not only encapsulating the potential for families to feed themselves, but
locally-proven seeds with a history of success—some as ancient as the first
people to inhabit the area. This summer a seed library will open to the public
at the University of Arizona Coconino County Cooperative Extension Office
located on 2304 North 3rd Street. Dubbed Grow Flagstaff! Seed Lending Library,
seeds will include flower and vegetable varieties adapted to grow in our
climate conditions, as well as native seeds attractive to local gardeners.
What is a seed library and how does it work? A seed library is a
storehouse of open-pollinated or heirloom seeds available to the community as a
free - though priceless - service much like a book lending library. It is based
on an easy membership form and relies on the return of next generation seeds
from its patrons as well as donations from local gardeners and seed companies.
By collecting and providing a pure source of seeds optimal for our local
conditions and the knowledge on how to grow them, a seed library promises that
people will have a better chance of becoming successful gardeners each year.
