A SEED LIBRARY is a place where seeds are made available and shared among a community.
It works by donation – seeds are donated to the library where they are made available for people to “check out” for the season. People take the seeds home, plant them in their garden, and enjoy the produce.
At the end of the growing season, seeds are harvested from mature plants and are donated back to the Seed Library.
Bedford Township has a Seed Library that is located at the Bedford Branch of the Monroe County Library System.
Seed packets are in the drawers of a Card Catalog located inside the library. Gardeners are welcome to “check out” up to 3 seed packets to grow at home. Gardeners are asked to harvest their seeds from mature plants and donate them back to the library at the end of the plant’s growing season. Directions for growing are included on each packet.
Seeds available:
- Beans
- Beets
- Carrots
- Corn
- Cucumber
- Flowers
- Herbs
- Kale
- Lettuce
- Peas
- Radish
- Spinach
- Tomato
Useful Links on gardening
The Old Farmer’s Almanac online – This website includes growing instructions for all kinds of garden plants. Just type the plant name into the search box to retrieve directions for growing that specific plant.
Michigan State University Extension – Check out MSU’s Gardening in Michigan webpage. Subscribe to the newsletter or follow the links to find information about Vegetable, Fruit, and Flower gardening as well as other gardening information
The Bedford Flower and Garden Club – Check out a local gardening group that promotes the joy of gardening.
Never harvested seeds before? Check out some of these sites for expert know-how.
Rodale’s Organic Life guide to saving seeds
Seed Savers Exchange How to Save Seeds
Mother Earth News Save Seeds in Your Backyard
More information on Seed Libraries and Seed Exchanges
Seed Savers Exchange – A non-profit (501(c)(3) status) organization dedicated to saving and sharing seeds. They maintain a collection of more than 20,000 seeds stored in an underground freezer vault at their Heritage Farm, each year growing out select varieties of plants in gardens at the farm to refresh their supply of seeds. The Exchange offers a Community Seed Resource Program that provides tools and guidance to communities that create events, exchanges, seed libraries, and gardens.
The Seed Librarian – A website with a map showing the location of seed libraries throughout the world.