Seed Libraries: Preserving Genetic Diversity

The concept of seed saving, seed sharing and even seed swapping is not a new concept – it is as old as agriculture itself.  For thousands of years seed was stored and shared for crops for the following year’s harvest.  In Native American culture trading posts were places where seed was exchanged and even used as pocket pieces – a currency-like system that could be exchanged for other seed or other products. Pawpaw (Asimina triloba) is a good example of such seed.

What is new?  Today, public libraries are acting like trading posts of yesteryear where you can pick up and return seed.  It certainly makes sense to have seed available at a public library a place of lending and returning.  The systematics of organization and cataloging are already in place for books and now it’s seed packets too! 
​
Due to the digital age, old card catalogs that were obsolete are taking on new life filled with seed packets that gardeners can check out with the simple swipe of a library card. 

Well known author Rita Mae Brown said, “When I got my library card, that was when my life began.” In the hands of a gardener – the library card has new meaning and value.  It expands a typically indoor activity of reading into an outdoor activity of gardening.  The concept is simple, if you have a library card you can check out seed packets and if you have the know-how, you can return your seeds to the library after you have grown out the vegetables and harvested the seed from the best-looking fruits. Some vegetables like tomatoes, lettuces, peas, and beans self-pollinate so the seed can be easily harvested and saved with little effort. But, for other plant seeds it 

may take a greater skill because hand-pollination needs to take place in order to get the same plant from the seed. According to Rebecca Newburn founder of the Richmond Grows Seed Lending Library – libraries can label the seed by the level of knowledge one has on seed saving – super easy – easy, difficult or advanced seed saving. You can take out difficult to save seed and not return the seed if your knowledge on seed saving is limited – however this is where the library once again adds another layer of service by offering classes in seed saving, hand-pollinating, and
​growing. Libraries are also checking out more books 

on gardening in tandem with seed lending.  It makes sense to have the how-to with the seed.  

From a story on seed saving on National Public Radio (NPR), a mother and daughter checked out carrot seeds because carrots were mentioned in the book that the mother had just finished reading to the daughter at their local library.  The seed check-out now made the story more relevant to the young girl and the parent.  The book will now come to life in their garden.  I think Benjamin Franklin would be thrilled to know how libraries have advanced over time.  As he once said, “an investment in knowledge always pays the best interest.” In the case of the mother and daughter, the knowledge of carrot growing will be a long-term investment for the future.

According to Ken Greene, the founder of the Hudson Valley Seed Library: Heirloom Seeds and Contemporary Art – Greene said that stories that go along with the seed are just as important as the seed itself.  He started his seed library in 2004, one of the earliest libraries in the country and the first on the east coast.  Greene started his seed library in the local library where he was working as a librarian.  He figured that providing seed to the local community would increase the seed diversity over time.  Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) was a new topic when he began the seed library and he believed that saving seed would preserve the genetic pool of edible plants by keeping them tamper proof from large corporations.  Ken Greene also developed a host of classes that went along with the seed library to help residents learn how to save seed. Participants also began to learn good citizen science – as he said there is a great deal of bad science out there in the public domain. Once the success of the seed library took hold he moved the seed library to a farm he purchased in Accord, New York. 
 
The artwork on the seed packets from the Hudson Valley Seed Library are designed by local artisans.  The stories of the seeds are told to the artist and then the artist creates their rendition of the story through their art medium. “The art on the cover of the seed packet works better than a photo,” said Greene. He observed that the handcrafted

seed covers makes the gardener really think about what the seed is trying to tell the gardener in the artwork.  One thing that Greene noticed over time after using the artwork on the packets – patrons selected seed by the artwork rather than the content and tried vegetables and fruits that they typically would not have tried with conventional seed packets. Over time, obscure vegetable seed has become more popular because of the artwork and has a greater relevance within the gardening community.  Even the hunt for recipes for less popular vegetables has increased over time. 

Artisan seed packets from Hudson Valley Seed Library

Greene’s dream of greater seed diversity has come to fruition and the artistic seed packets helped in this mission!  Now Greene and partner Doug Muller help to support local artisans in their community and they preserve seed, and work with local farmers to grow out seed for continued use in the programs that Hudson Valley Seed Library provides. Today people can buy their seed from the library directly online or from their traveling seed show.  Their exhibit had eye-catching appeal at the Philadelphia Flower Show in March of 2016 where I first saw the display. 
​

Part of the Philadelphia Flower Show Exhibit describing the Hudson Valley Seed Library.

Greene’s wealth of knowledge has spawned libraries across the country, but he says that not all seed libraries function the same way – some may be a library that just gives the seed to the gardener or has a seed and plant swap. The latter works best when there are a limited number of people in the seed community.  Full-fledged libraries with formal check-out policies work best when there are many more people involved in the programs and more staff to maintain them. 
​
“Communities have to pick the library system that works best for them”, Greene said.  Even the type of garden will dictate the type of library system the community will create. Urban gardens are better when seed is only collected from self-pollinating plants because plants that cross pollinate will have too many crosses going on with open pollinated plants in smaller spaces.  Vine crops in the Curcurbitaceae Family cross-pollinate easily and are better grown isolated in more remote areas so the seed maintains the original genetics of the plant – or they need to be hand 

pollinated which takes a higher level of skill says Greene.  Some urban libraries may choose to have a smaller library of saved seed while they purchase more difficult to pollinate seed.

In a small town just outside Philadelphia, Bonnie Miller heads up the Jenkintown Seed Library. The library’s beautiful interior with elaborate wood molding and tall book shelves, sets the scene for another type of community seed library.  On one of the deep window ledges there sits a large wooden bowl filled with seed packets from the Seed Savers Exchange.  Signs surrounding the bowl explains how the seed swap works. Bonnie Miller explained that their library seed program is simple – patrons can take up to two seed packets with no questions asked and if they take more than two they replace a packet they are taking with one that they have brought.  (A one-for-one swap.) If they return seed from their own garden, they have to fill out a form that asks all sorts of questions: where did the seed originate from; the name of the fruit or vegetable; what are its growing requirements, was the plant self or hand pollinated, how was the seed collected and stored, etc.  The Seed Savers Exchange gives the library seeds each season to replenish the store.  The library staff also encourages plant swaps too.  If someone has too many plants, they can share them with fellow gardeners.  Jenkintown Library volunteers plant a small display garden outside the library each year to showcase the various vegetables that are available from seed in the library.  Once mature, vegetables in the library’s garden can be picked by families in need or they are donated to the local shelter. ​
​

Rebecca Newburn a science and math educator from Richmond, California began her seed library as a ready preparedness model for her community. She is the co-founder of Richmond Grows Seed Library.  She, like Ken Greene believe that the story behind the seed makes the seed more relevant to the members of her community. She tells the story of Sasha’s tomato. The seed came from a 

Librarian Bonnie Miller with bowl of seed.

professor that she knew who went to Russian and was told that a person in one of the villages said he had the best tasting tomato in the world.  Sasha gave the professor a handmade envelope of the seed.  The professor grew it on, it was delicious.  When the professor heard about her project – he gave her seed.  She is now growing the tomato.  The seed packet is labeled Sasha’s Tomato – the best tasting tomato in the world.  Newburn says her library has over 400 varieties and it continues to expand in diversity.  The success of Newburn’s seed library model has helped encourage communities around the world to follow her lead. 

Justine Hernandez is a librarian who started the Seed Library of Pima County, in Arizona. In 2011, Hernandez began the planning process for the seed library that opened in 2012.  After looking at Newburn’s model, she was convinced that she and fellow librarians could have a successful seed library.  In the first year of operation, 8,000 seed packets were dispersed with a good percentage returned after the growing season. Hernandez believes that a good plan with support from residents in the community was the secret to their library’s success.
​

According to David King of the Seed Library of Los Angeles, “it’s important that you plant out at least four plants for seed gathering – this insures genetic diversity for the future seed store.”  If you rely on just one or two plants, the genetic diversity can cause what he calls a “bottle neck” a narrowing of the genetic diversity so that the next time seed is planted there will be a less diverse gene pool.
​

King says that selecting from plants that have survived the hot, dry summer of Los Angeles increases the next generation’s tolerance for drought.  His example is why community seed libraries are so important – they increase the number and variety of plants that are suited for the particular area in which they are grown.  The Seed Library of Los Angeles has hundreds of members, and the man power that it takes to keep it running is impressive.  David King said he could not take all the credit for the seed library because it takes a community to make it work.  He said the board for the Seed Library of Los Angeles has 45 members – those that attended the original meeting.  The goal was to make Los Angeles a GMO free zone.  Unlike some seed libraries, King explains that they have a membership fee and they give seed directly to the members.  Members sign on to a safe seed pledge and honor system. When returning seed, members need to tell how the seed was saved and what practices were used to grow the seed.  As King said, everyone shares the load of the seed library.  The Learning Garden at Venice High School is where some of the seed is grown and its Garden Master is David King. The garden’s great diversity is like the community itself.  Here they grow anything that can be a potential food source.  Like Ken Greene, David King’s knowledge is comprehensive, and he shares it unselfishly. He also has an added vision for the future – his mission is to make the framework of the seed library as strong as possible so that when he moves on to something else in his life, he won’t have to worry about the seed bank’s future – the seed library will continue to grow and carry on its mission.  ​​​
​

Steps for Starting a Seed Library

• Contact local community groups and form a community advisory: garden clubs, farmer’s markets, cooperative extension, gardening groups, local businesses that are green based and that have knowledgeable staff, experienced seed savers schools, universities…
• Create a volunteer base to help with organization
• Grants through public libraries, gardening groups – that might provide seed money for beginning the process
  • Seed money will help with the expense of seed envelopes, labels, books, cleaning materials
  • Defrays the cost for training how to save seed
  • New books for the library that relate to seed saving and garden and pollination
• Ask for donations from the friends of the library
• Ask seed companies for donations to get started
• You will need people power for:
  • Packing and repacking seed
  • Cataloguing
  • Outreach
  • Education
  • Volunteer Coordinator
• Need volunteers to:
  • Catalogue seed by pollination ease or difficulty
  • Research each plant online
• Inventory of the physical spaces needed
  • Card catalogues
  • Filing drawers
  • Storage boxes
  • Events that help with the process - PR
• Pick the target date for beginning to lend seed

Additional Ideas
With small numbers of people who are interested in saving and exchanging seed, a plant and seed swap might be a good beginning to peak interest in the community.  If this is successful you can begin to draw on the attendees to begin a volunteer base for a seed and plant library. 


​Sources

Hudson Valley Seed Library
http://hudsonvalleyseed.com/

Renee's Seed Garden
https://www.reneesgarden.com/
​
Basil Seed Library         
http://ecologycenter.org/basil/ 

Conner, Cindy. Seed Libraries: And Other Means of Keeping Seeds in the Hands of the People.  Gabriola Island, BC: New Society Publishers, 2014.

How to Save a Public Library: Make it a Seed Bank   http://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2013/02/02/170846948/how-to-save-a-public-library-make-it-a-seed-bank
​
How to Start a Seed Library at Your Public Library https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zX6VwZEHY0I 

International Seed Library Forum: Rebecca Newburn – Keynote Speaker
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8a9Yj-_bVaM 

Organic Seed Alliance   http://www.seedalliance.org/
Phillips, Judith. Growing the Southwest Garden. Portland: Timber Press, 2015. 

Richmond Grows Seed Lending Library  http://www.richmondgrowsseeds.org/ 

Root Simple: Seed Saving and Seed Libraries with David King
https://www.spreaker.com/user/rootsimple/seed-saving-and-seed-libraries-with-davi?autoplay=1 

Seed Library of Pima County https://www.library.pima.gov/browse_program/seed-library/ 

Seed Library Social Network  www.seedlibraries.org 

Seed Libraries
https://www.facebook.com/SeedLibraries/ 

Seed Savers Exchange   www.seedsavers.org   
http://blog.seedsavers.org/blog/in-defense-of-seed-libraries 

The National Heirloom Exposition http://theheirloomexpo.com/ 

Urban Gardener – Rebecca Newburn Richmond, Cal https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zX0V7EVKCVE 

Whealy, Diane Ott. Gathering: Memoir of a Seed Saver. Decorah, Iowa: Seed Savers Exchange, 2011.