I have always loved seeds. Recently I discovered that I could find free seeds at the Seed Library at Carlsbad’s Cole Library.
The Seed Library Project began in 2021 under the direction of Darin Williamson, lead librarian at the Cole. Working in conjunction with members of the Carlsbad Community Gardens Collaborative, the project has distributed over 1,500 packages per month to the city’s three library locations — Cole, Dove and the Learning Center.
Considering that each small package contains approximately 20 seeds, that totals 30,000 seeds per month happily making their way to gardeners across North County!
With generous donations from the San Diego Seed Company, Johnny’s Selected Seeds and the Native West Nursery, the Seed Project staff also encourages local gardeners to recycle seeds they have grown back into the collection.
For questions regarding the seed-saving process, call Cole librarian Marin Faeyera at 442-339-5364.
Seed collection
The Carlsbad Library hosts the seed collection project as an empirical element of the Seed Library. Local gardeners are encouraged to harvest seeds from their gardens, which will be distributed in the Seed Library cupboards at the three libraries.
How to prepare seed donations
- After harvesting seed from your vegetable or flower garden, clean the dry seed by passing it through a fine mesh sieve. The viable seed will remain in the sieve, and the chaff (unusable seed particles) will pass through the sieve.
- Once seeds are clean and fully dry, package in small envelopes with gardener’s name, seed name and date. Bring seeds to the public service desk at any of the three library locations.
- NO GMO OR HYBRID SEED – Be certain that the donated seeds are not GMO or hybrid varieties, since these seeds may not produce plants that are the same as the parent plant. Open-pollinated or heirloom seeds will be true-to-type if saved and grown again.
Williamson said: “The wide variety of seed that we are seeing from local gardeners is wonderful. We have received an unusual donation of Torrey Pine seed, as well as sunflowers, poppies, nasturtium and zinnias. We are thankful for the public support of our program. Seeds donated from Johnny’s Seed include bush beans, harvest beets, and lots of lettuce and herbs.”
Grow your garden classes
Monthly classes presented by San Diego Master Gardeners encourage new gardening skills and techniques. On Saturday, Aug. 8, 10 a.m. to noon, Liz Woodward and Jodi Bay will present, “Preserving Your Harvest: Best Practices for Handling and Storing Produce,” at the Cole Library. For other upcoming classes, call the library at 442-339-2870.
Jano Nightingale is a Master Gardener and horticulturist. Contact her at [email protected] for upcoming classes.
