Gardeners of all skill levels will be able to get free seed packets at the Redding Library starting on Feb. 10.
This new program was funded by a grant from the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services and the California State Library, which helped to purchase a large quantity of seeds, including tomatoes, melons, corn and some types of herbs. Library Associate Stacey Weller started looking into the idea when patrons asked about creating a seed library in Redding.
“More and more community members and patrons were asking and I thought, 'This would be a great thing to have.' We have a lot of gardeners in our community and I think it has the chance to really take off and become a great resource,” Weller said.
She said there's already been a lot of support from the community. In addition to purchasing seeds, the library received a large quantity of seed donations from local gardeners and businesses. Around 30 people also came to a seed packing party on Jan. 31 to help get the seeds ready for distribution.
Alongside giving out free seed packets to community members, Weller said there will also be classes to learn about general gardening as well as saving seeds for the future. She said the library will encourage people to donate seeds from their subsequent harvests to keep the program sustainable.
"We want to encourage people to learn how to save seed, not just to get seeds back for the library, but for themselves," Weller said. "Because the more people grow out and save seed and continue to grow those same seeds, the better those varieties, those plants are going to become adapted and resilient to our area and our climate."
The seed library will be open to all community members, including those without a library card. Alongside the seeds, Weller said they've also put together a collection of gardening and seed-saving books for checkout.
"It's an honor system," Weller said. "We're just asking people to take just what they need for their own home garden for this season. You can take a number of different varieties; we want you to try things out. But limit it to just one packet per variety."
In the future, Weller would like to expand the program to include seeds for native plants and classes for gardening and landscaping with them.
A grand opening for the seed library is set for early March, but it will be open starting on Feb. 10. The seed library will close for the year in mid-October.
