It’s that time of year when gardeners are starting to receive their seed catalogs in the mail and get excited about what they want to grow in their gardens. But did you know you can get seeds for free at the Salt Lake City Public Library (SLCPL) Seed Library? In partnership with Wasatch Community Gardens you can access the Seed Library online or in person at six different SLCPL library branches. We met with Rikki Longino, SLCPL Garden Coordinator, to learn more about the Seed Library, how it works, and why free Seed Libraries are so important for communities and gardeners.
How to Access and Use the SLCPL Seed Library
You can browse the Seed Library Catalog online, select the seeds you want, and fill out a simple request from. You’ll receive an email when your seeds are ready to be picked up at the Main Library branch. It’s really that simple, in fact you don’t even have to have a library card or even live in Salt Lake County to use the SLCPL Seed Library. One of the goals of the Seed Library is to make using and accessing it as easy as possible. That’s one of the reasons Rikki and their team worked so hard to put Seed Libraries in six different library branches around Salt Lake City. So if you're like me and you enjoy browsing in person, you can find a Seed Library at the Day-Riverside, Glendale, Marmalade, Sprauge, Chapman (coming in March 2022) and Main Library branches.
VIDEO: Introducing Salt Lake City Public Library Seed Library
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What Kind of Seeds Are in the Seed Library?
The last I checked, the Seed Library Catalog had over 250 different seeds to choose from! But this could change depending on how many gardeners are accessing and requesting seeds from the Seed Library.
You can take as many seeds as you want, with the expectation that you’ll respect the system by taking seeds that you will grow and enjoy. An important concept of a free Seed Library is keeping the vitality of seeds alive by planting them in the healthy soils of neighborhood homes. We talk more about this concept below.
Seed Library at Salt Lake City Library Main branch.
In the SLCPL Seed Library catalog you will find seed varieties of spinach, beets, garlic, onion, celery, carrots, herbs, leafy greens, flowers, cabbage, cauliflower, radish, cucumber, gourds, melons, summer squash, bush beans, pole beans, peas, a variety of mints, barley, corn, ambrosia, buckwheat, sweet peppers, hot peppers, tomatoes, tomatillos, nasturtium, borage and more. If this list doesn’t get you excited about growing the veggie garden of your dreams, I’m not sure what will.
TIP: Lettuces and leafy greens are among seeds that grow well planted directly in the ground. Check out the Seed Library’s spring or salad mixes seed packets.
Spinach seed packets ready to be stocked in Seed Library.
Take Seeds, Give Seeds - A Community Exchange
In addition to taking seeds from the Seed Library, the Seed Library team encourages gardeners to donate seeds to the library. In fact, they suggest gardeners allow some of their plants to go to seed and/or harvest the seeds from their veggies and fruits and donate them to the Seed Library.
Rikki explained that this cyclic exchange of seeds is what makes free Seed Libraries so invaluable to local gardening ecosystems and backyard gardens. By exchanging and sharing seeds that produce and thrive, the more resilient those plants become in our unique gardening environment.
“These seeds just sitting in the catalog or sitting in a vault somewhere, will lose viability over time. But if they can be freely put into soil and grown out, then that adds a layer of genetic resiliency, that then comes back to the seed library,” says Rikki.
Rikki said lettuces, beans, and peas are some examples of plants that are easy to harvest the seeds from. However, saving some types of seeds is more advanced and requires more planning and work. If you’re interested in learning more on seed saving, Rikki suggests the book Seed to Seed by Suzanne Ashworth. The Seed Library offers resources, books, and tips on how to successfully save seeds. One such resource the Seed Library suggests is starting with this seed saving guide from seedsavers.org
How to Donate Seeds to the Seed Library
You can find information on saving and donating by visit the Seed Library website or one of the six Seed Library locations.
You can drop your seed donations in any SLCPL library outdoor bookdrop! You can also bring your seed donations to any of the Seed Library locations.
There are some simple guidelines to follow when donating seeds.
Place your seeds in a sturdy envelope or packet and make sure it's sealed well.
Label the packet with as much information as you can: variety, year grown, seed source.
The Seed Library does not accept genetically modified seeds (GMO).
The Seed Library accepts hybrid seeds but please label them as such so Seed Library patrons will know it’s not true to type.
For questions on how to donate seeds you can contact the Seed Library team on their webpage.
TIP: You can also “return” any seeds you ended up not using from the seed packets you took from the Seed Library.
Why Is a Seed Library Important?
Through talking with Rikki, we learned there are lots of benefits to having a free Seed Library in your community. We could easily dedicate a whole Modern Gardener episode to the benefits of Seed Libraries. Rikki says that since the Seed Library launched they’ve had a number of communities and organizations reach out to them, seeking information on starting one. Here are some important things about Seed Libraries Rikki talked about in their interview.
Seed Libraries Strengthen Seed Resiliency
For Rikki, one of the most beautiful things about the exchange of seeds within a Seed Library system is that it strengthens the biodiversity and resilience of the seed being grown and shared, making the plant more adapted to Utah’s unique climate.
“We're sharing, exchanging and kind of intermingling all of these things that we're growing in our plots, in our little backyard labs. And to be able to share that and have a free space that you can just donate and take seeds at will, I think is really crucial.”
Rikki says the more often the seeds from the Seed Library can be planted and grown to produce seeds, the more those seeds will be genetically prepared for the next growing season.
Seed Libraries Supports Communities and Local Food Growth
Easy access to the SLCPL Seed Libraries encourages people of all types and ages to start growing their own food. If you just turned your entire yard into a garden, have a community garden plot, or if you just have a couple of pots on your porch, having free access to seeds promotes local gardening and local food growth. For Rikki and their team, the more seeds can be decentralized the more it will promote communities and growing local foods.
“I think the seed library is really critical because at this time as the climate is changing, as we're kind of having to learn more about resilient, kind of food sovereignty and industrial food systems are becoming more and more fragile. Seed libraries are a place where you can get viable seeds that are shared and exchanged and interconnected as part of our ecosystem.”
Rikki says it would be ideal if every neighborhood could have a Seed Library.
Lavender Seeds for the SLCPL Seed Library.
Sowing Seeds
If you're a gardener, you know growing from seeds can sometimes be difficult, but then you find yourself surprised at what pops up and thrives from seeds. Rikki reminds us that gardening is a living work in progress. They suggest allowing yourself to experiment, play, and not get discouraged.
”If the crop doesn't grow, if it's struggling, it's okay to let it decompose, become compost and plant something new that does better. I think it's important to allow yourself to play. Allow things to pass along and not get too attached.”
Gardening Opportunities From the Salt Lake City Public Library
This year Rikki, along with other gardening experts from the community, will be teaching a Garden Certification Course starting March 5 on Saturdays from 3:00 to 6:00 p.m. The program will cover seed-saving, organic soil health, integrated weed and pest management, irrigation, cultivation methods, and hands-on gardening activities and information. For more information and to sign up, visit The Plots Garden Certification Course.
In addition to the Seed Library the SLCPL has a community garden with 18 raised beds. For more information visit their webpage at SLCPL.org/ThePlot.
Rikki Longino, Salt Lake City Public Library Garden Coordinator in their office with some peppers.
For the Love of Seeds
If there’s a name for a seed lover, that would be Rikki. They say they try not to be too precious about a single seed, yet “each one is sacred, each one has so much potential,” they say. If you really think about it, there is something phenomenal and magical that a single watermelon seed has the potential to become five or more large sweet watermelons in a matter of months. For Rikki the ability for a single seed to produce so many additional seeds is part of the magic. They say there is no shortage of seeds right now, so go forth and get planting.
We hope this leaves you excited to check out some seeds from the Seed Library and start growing your own delicious vegetables, herbs, or pretty flowers. While picking out your seeds and planning your garden, check out these other Modern Gardener videos and blog posts on getting your soil tested and composting.
