.Plant them now, dig them later

During the pandemic, if people weren’t making sourdough bread, they were starting a garden. Some got hooked on the primal connection between hands and soil, and discovered seed libraries—a resource in both Alameda and Contra Costa counties that continues to bloom.

The East Bay dug the ground for the seed library movement. The Berkeley Ecology Center is credited with creating the first modern seed library in 1999, called the Bay Area Seed Interchange Library. BASIL still thrives, with a legacy of more than 450 seed libraries worldwide.

As noted on the BEC website, one important reason for people to grow and share seeds locally is this: 

“In the last three decades, the majority of the world’s family-owned seed companies have been bought out by multinationals, such as the Monsanto and Novartis corporations. These companies are not interested in creating sustainable food systems and communities. They are busy replacing carefully bred strains of vegetables and flowers with their own hybrids and patented varieties. Hybrids don’t produce viable seed, and the seed from patented varieties cannot legally be collected and used. Instead, the seeds must be bought fresh each year, forcing gardeners and farmers to purchase from corporate seed sources annually.

“Traditional knowledge of seed saving and plant-propagation techniques exists in fewer and fewer minds and communities. In order to create a positive ecological future for the planet, we need to begin teaching each other the skills necessary to save our own seeds.”

BEC store Program Manager Christine-Angelica Belardo explained that inside the resource center on San Pablo Avenue are several sets of drawers holding many varieties of herbs, flowers and vegetables, with an emphasis on California natives. Visitors sign in, indicating if they are taking or donating seeds.

“It’s very busy,” Belardo said, adding that the library has been extended to hold jars of seeds. Milkweed, which nurtures Monarch butterfly larvae, and cucumber seeds are in high demand, she said. Fact sheets supply info on subjects such as how to create a raised bed, and which seeds grow best where and when. “People can also call our Help Desk to get questions answered,” Belardo said.

Although a drop-off in seed demand immediately followed the pandemic, “there’s been a jump up again,” she said. The BEC is regenerating its classes and event offerings, such as composting workshops, and hopes to restart Master Gardener talks and demos.

Richmond Grows! seed library has been housed in the Richmond Civic Center Main Library since it opened May Day 2010, and its use has grown exponentially. But the Main Library will shortly undergo a major renovation, so the seed library will move to the rec center at 3330 Macdonald Ave., “right next to the Tool Lending Library,” likely by the end of May, said co-founder Rebecca Newburn. Which, she pointed out, might well be a boon for those beginning gardeners who need tools as well as seeds.

Richmond Grows! has evolved to become one of the most active and successful seed libraries in the East Bay. Like the majority of these libraries, it’s self-serve: People take seeds from the herb, flower and vegetable cabinets, and store them in provided coin envelopes. But its popular website provides guidance on what to plant when, including a month-by-month spreadsheet. It also provides info on which seeds might likely produce cross-pollinated seedlings, as some plants are very prone to this. Richmond Grows!’ Lettuce Unite! newsletter can be found at [email protected].

During the pandemic’s first year, Newburn said, the seed library gave away an astounding 20,000 seed packets, followed by 13,000 the next year. Even now, she said, economic uncertainty and concern about climate change continue to grow interest in home gardening. “People fall in love with a plant and learn how to steward it,” she said.

The most popular seeds include lettuce and tomato varieties, arugula, cilantro, beans, herbs and, among flowers—cosmos, marigolds, sweet peas and nasturtiums.

Richmond Grows! maintains a seed library finder for the entire East Bay at richmondgrowsseeds.org.

The Kensington Seed Library was founded in 2017 as the Kensington Seed Circle. It began as a mailing list to alert interested patrons about upcoming seed-starting or gardening-related programs, and kicked off an annual Seed Swap in March. The Seed Circle was launched thanks in part to a generous donation of seeds from local resident and urban farmer Charlie Costello of MariLark Farm, and from seeds purchased with the support of Friends of Kensington Library.

Jenny Rockwell, the current community library manager, brings her love of nature to the seed-sharing program. Many of the world’s problems could be alleviated, she believes, by finding ways to “connect with nature and grow food.” She first encountered seed libraries while working in the Potrero Branch of the San Francisco library system, then, while working with Oakland Public Library, she secured a $20,000 grant to buy seeds and sponsor classes.

She’s been at the Kensington Library since August 2023. As noted, the library already had a seed library—in its case, a seed cart—and volunteers packing seeds into coin envelopes. Now, it offers occasional events with Contra Costa Master Gardeners, a planting guide, access to copies of Golden Gate Gardening, the bible of local gardening lore, and accepts seed donations from enthusiastic local gardeners.

One recent donation that proved extremely popular, Rockwell said, was a quantity of “Drama Queen” poppy seeds. A bee favorite, Drama Queen’s brilliant, fringed red blossoms reseed themselves and can be grown in containers. Rockwell herself has a container garden and takes care to provide varieties of herbs, flowers and vegetables that do well in small, contained spaces, recognizing that not everyone has a front or back yard.

Seeds in demand from the cart include flowers, “particularly natives and heirlooms,” she said, and fava beans. Each season, four or five varieties of seeds that grow well during that time are featured.

Kids have asked for ways to participate in planting, and Rockwell is looking to develop a space or a program to propagate that. Her goal is to “create a culture of gardening, with conversation circles” and community sharing of knowledge and support.

Oakland’s library system includes 15 locations with seed libraries, including the African American Museum and Library and the César E. Chávez Branch, said Senior Librarian Celia Davis. She works with Friends of the Oakland Public Library, which provides funds to buy seeds in bulk, and volunteers to package the seeds. Davis also helps produce brochures on seed saving and gardening tips, and a container gardening ’zine.

“We look at what will [grow best] in Oakland,” including plants that attract pollinators, she said. Some locations focus on beginning gardeners and, in addition to seeds, offer seedlings of popular herbs, flowers and vegetables, such as tomatoes. As with all of the seed libraries, native plants are also a priority.

Community partners, such as Oakland’s Pollinate Farm & Garden, are welcome. Many workshops are offered in both English and Spanish, and kid gardeners may attend events such as the upcoming “Activities in the Garden,” on April 11 at the Brookfield Branch. 

Davis noted that the branches also refer interested seed borrowers to the Oakland Parks & Recreation Department’s 13 community garden locations.

“Interest in our seed libraries has really grown in the last five years,” Davis said, adding, “We also encourage seed donations.” And library visitors are not the only people enthusiastically embracing the seed libraries, she said. Library staff members are also picking up trowels and learning the joy of nurturing plants from seed.

Find a list of branches with seed libraries, including a list of upcoming garden-related events, at oaklandlibrary.org/seed-lending.

Saving Seeds GloballyThe Svalbard Global Seed Vault in the Arctic, established by the Norwegian government in 2008, is not a library but rather an icon of the seed-saving movement. The vault holds more than 1 million seeds from all over the world, with room for millions more. These seeds back up the global seed genebank, and could be used to preserve a future food supply. For more information on the Seed Vault, visit regjeringen.no.