Our Seed Library: How It Started, Why It Matters, and What’s Next
When we started our seed library, it honestly came from a simple place: wanting to make seeds accessible for everyone.
 |
| Our little seed library at the end of our driveway. Where the dream of making seeds accessible for everyone first began. |
With the way inflation has hit, it feels like everything costs more right now, including seeds. For some people, that extra expense is enough to hold them back from starting a garden.
We wanted to change that.
To make matters worse, many seed companies have started patenting varieties. Patented seeds used to be something you’d only see on large commercial farms, but now it’s trickled into the home gardening world too.
That means some seeds are considered a “product” that’s legally owned; you can’t save or share them without potentially infringing on the patent.
Patenting seeds takes away the joy and tradition of sharing and saving seeds, and could make gardeners dependent on buying new packets year after year.
 |
Each packet is filled and labelled with care before heading out to our seed library. |
Seeds are a gift from our beautiful world, and my ethics are clear: they should always be treated as such, never ‘owned'.
Our seed library was born from the belief that everyone should be able to grow food. Whether it’s a pot of herbs on a front step, a couple tomato plants in the backyard, or a full and bountiful garden.
Seeds are tiny, but they carry the promise of food, sustainability, and connection.
Here are a few tips on how to start a seed library of your own!
Why Start a Seed Library?
 |
| A peek inside our little seed library. Always changing with the season, but always filled with many varieties to share. |
If you’ve ever thought about starting a seed library in your own community, let me just say, it’s 100% worth it. Not only does it help people grow food, but it brings neighbours together, creates a sense of sharing, and keeps old gardening traditions (like seed saving) alive.
Plus, it’s fun!
The Stories That Stick With Me
One of the best parts of running this seed library has been the messages I receive from people planting our seeds.
From the time a child, known as a “picky eater” according to their parent, grew a giant cucumber. To everyone’s surprise, the child devoured the whole cucumber and exclaimed, “I grew it!”. Let's just say, the photo sent to me was priceless!
 |
| One of our favourite stories. A “picky eater” who grew this cucumber from our seed library and happily ate the whole thing, simply because they grew it themselves! Cartoon photo instead of the actual photo for privacy. |
Or the time I heard from someone going through a really challenging season in life. They told me that because of our seed library, they were able to grow a garden this year without financial stress, and that time spent gardening helped them stay present and calm, when everything else in their life felt like it was falling apart.
And then there are the many messages from people who planted seeds from our library for their first ever time growing. These messages are always filled with joy and excitement when they send over pictures of harvested food they grew from scratch!
These moments are just some of the many reasons we keep doing this. Seeds are about so much more than food.
Tips to Keep It Simple
 |
| Our youngest helping with the harvest. Many of these peas will be dried and saved to stock the seed library for next season. |
- Start small. A few easy seeds (beans, peas, lettuce, tomatoes) is plenty to get going.
- Keep it organized. We use size 2 coin envelopes to keep all our varieties compact & visible.
- Stock Open Pollinated and Heirloom Varieties. The internet will be a great friend of yours when determining if a variety meets this criteria. These are beneficial to a seed library as they will produce true to seed when seed saved from. If someone donates seed saved from a Hybrid variety, it will not grow true to type and should be labelled as such. DO NOT STOCK ANY PATENTED SEED.
- Label everything. Be sure every seed package is labelled with the variety. Planting instructions are not necessary as majority of us have internet connections to look it up, but be prepared to answer growing instructions as required. The year the seeds were collected is also fantastic to include (if possible) for a general idea of germination rates. If extra small seeds, make note so the receiver doesn't accidentally toss them out thinking nothing was packaged!
- Encourage seed returns. Ask gardeners to save some seeds from what they grow and bring them back to keep the cycle going.
 |
| Some seeds are so small they look like powder. Clear labelling ensures no one accidentally tosses them away instead of planting them. |
What’s in Our Seed Library Right Now
The inventory in our little library* changes one to two times per month, depending on the season, and more often in early spring when seed starting is in full swing.
Right now, we’re offering many beautiful varieties that are native to Ontario and immensely beneficial to our pollinators.
Some of these seeds require a period of cold stratification, meaning they need to experience winter conditions to germinate in the spring.
Winter-sowing is a fantastic, hands-off way to grow them.
 |
| Winter sowing made simple. Reusing berry clamshells as mini greenhouses lets Mother Nature decide when it’s time for seeds to sprout. |
Here’s How I Do It:
Plant the seeds in the ground after the first frost, but before the ground freezes solid, or use containers with a lid.
I love reusing plastic clamshell containers from berries, they work perfectly.
Fill the container with moist seed-starting mix, place the seeds, close the lid, and set it somewhere safe outside.
Then just wait until spring to see what’s sprouting!
This method is amazing because Mother Nature does all the work. The seeds sprout exactly when conditions are right, which means no tracking weather patterns, no frost warnings, and no need to harden off plants before transplanting. It’s one of my favourite ways to let the garden do its thing.
 |
| Butterfly Weed Milkweed (Asclepias tuberosa) is not only beautiful but also a vital food source for monarch butterflies. 📸 Photo courtesy of Native Plant Gardener |
Current Varieties:
- Butterfly Weed Milkweed - Asclepius tuberosa
- Great Blue Lobelia - Lobelia siphilitica
- Blue Vervain - Verbena hastata
- Cardinal Flower - Lobelia cardinalis
- Common Self Heal - Prunella vulgars var. lancelota
- Purple Giant Hyssop - Agastache scrophulariifolia
- Mad-dog Skullcap - Scutellaria lateriflora
- Red Columbine - Aquilegia canadensis
- Anise Hyssop - Agastache foeniculum
- Square Stemmed Monkey Flower - Mimulus ringens
- Spotted Beebalm - Monarda punctata
- Yellow Giant Hyssop - Agastache nepetoides
- Downy Goldenrod - Solidago puberula
- Water Avens - Geum rivale
- Greyheaded Coneflower - Ratibida pinnata
Looking Ahead: Growing With Sponsors
The response to the seed library has been incredible! Much larger than we ever imagined when we started this project!
By the end of this month, we will have gifted over 3,000 packages of seeds!
Most have stayed within the Waterloo and Guelph regions, but many were sent throughout Northern Ontario, the west coast, and the Maritimes!
With this growing popularity comes the challenge of keeping up with demand. We’d love to expand the seed library even further, and that’s where sponsors come in.
Support from local businesses, organizations, or individuals helps us keep seeds stocked, cover the costs of supplies, and spread the word so more people can access free seeds. If this is something you’d like to be part of, we would be so grateful to connect.
Because at the end of the day, this isn’t just about seeds. It’s about growing food, growing skills, and growing community.
Share Your Story With Us
If you’ve grown something from our seed library, we would love to hear about it!
Did your very first tomato plant give you the confidence to keep gardening? Did your kids or grandchildren light up when they picked their own beans for dinner? Or maybe tending to your garden helped bring some peace in a hard season of life.
Your stories not only make our day, they also inspire others! So please don’t be shy, share your seed library success story with us!
Comments
Post a Comment