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A sidewalk seed library can be a community’s answer to growing food and sustainability.
After transforming my front yard into an edible garden, I wanted a way to share my excess seeds with my neighbors and encourage them to start growing food and pollinator-friendly flowers. With the structure of our current food system and farming practices, sustainability starts in our own gardens and growing food locally with our community. The freshest ingredients can transform our cooking — and it can all start with a simple seed library.
Similar to the Little Free Libraries scattered throughout neighborhoods, seed libraries are a place to share and find seeds in your local community. Often tucked in at the fence line of someone’s front yard or within a local library, seed libraries increase access for people to garden. This inspired me to build our own seed library in our front yard.
Determined to use what we already had or that I could source from neighbors, I enlisted my husband to help with the building. From the shingles to the plexiglass and lumber, it was all leftover items sitting on the side of our house or a neighbor’s garage. Together, we successfully built an adorable little seed library for our neighborhood. I do my best to keep it stocked throughout the year with seeds that come from our garden or community events and, just like the little book libraries, it relies on a pay-it-forward mindset, encouraging others to donate their extra seeds.
Building a Seed Library
If you want to start a seed library in your yard or neighborhood, here are a few tips to get you started:
- Figure out your purpose. I decided our library would focus on growing food with a majority of the seeds, like lettuce, butternut squash, peppers, and greens, supporting an edible garden. Since our food relies on pollinators and their favorite food comes from flowers, I also keep a good stock of flower seeds in the library.
- Find the right spot. If it will be outside, take into consideration your weather. If you live somewhere that gets snow or high summer temperatures, you will likely just stock your library at the beginning of your growing season to protect the seeds. Another option would be an indoor library. Consider connecting with your local coffee shop or bookstore, and see if they would like to host a seed library in their space that you could help manage.
- Build! There is no right or wrong way to build a seed library. Pinterest will give you a zillion ideas. Try to reuse items like an old kitchen cabinet or dresser. Make sure to use exterior paint and weatherproof your library. This could be a fun neighborhood project to get the kids involved and scavenge for supplies! If installing outside, take into consideration safety and your local ordinances. You don’t want it falling over or making a non-garden-lover neighbor report you to the city!
- Decorate. Don’t forget the whimsy and fun. Paint it a fun color, add a mural, and make it stand out. You want people to notice and check out your seeds.
- Stock it. This by far is the hardest part. Keeping it stocked takes a little creativity. Building and managing it with others helps lighten the load and share the responsibility. Many libraries have seed-sharing programs. Look for community events. Where I live, there is a San Diego organization that does a semiannual seed swap that typically results in dozens of seed packets for my library. Oftentimes garden clubs have similar events. Get connected to your local garden community and you will be surprised how many resources are out there. Don’t forget to save your seeds when you’re cooking!
- Register it. Research options in your community for support and potentially to register your seed library. The San Diego Bird Alliance registers seed libraries and provides resources to help create biodiversity in the area. You can register your seed library via the Seed Library Network, which also offers resources and ideas for obtaining seeds for your library.
- Sit back and enjoy! I love watching neighbors pause on their walk or kids riding their bikes pull over to check out the library and help themselves to a little envelope of hope and potential. Seeds are incredibly powerful. Within their tiny package holds the future.
Check the Seed Library Network’s world map to see if there is a seed library already established near you!
Saving and Sharing Local Seeds
When using my homegrown vegetables and fruits in the kitchen, I look for easy opportunities to harvest the seeds. Foods like watermelon, spaghetti and butternut squash, pumpkins, cucumbers, and zucchini have relatively easy seeds to harvest, and some are typically discarded during the cooking process. For these larger, hardier seeds, collect them in a bowl when prepping your food, soak and wash off all the pulp, and lay out on a towel to dry. Then package them up!
Harvesting or sourcing local seeds means you are growing a plant that, in its DNA, has adapted to your climate and growing zone. This often results in stronger, healthier, more pest-resistant plants and a more abundant harvest.
