The Bedford Public Library is now home to the Bedford Seed Library!
What is a seed library and how does it work?
Just like you would check out a book from the library, you can “check out” seeds from a seed library. Our seed library will give those who’ve never gardened before an easy way to dive into this rewarding hobby and it will also provide a selection of new plants for more experienced gardeners to test out. Hopefully, after a successful growing season, gardeners will be able to save seeds from their plants and “return” them to the library for other gardeners to use next year. Over time, this will create a sustainable collection of tried and true seeds that we know grow well and are particularly adapted to Bedford and the surrounding area.
The Bedford Public Library has brought in donations from gardening companies and seed saving organizations and Bedford’s gardeners have also generously donated seeds. We hope to create a fun and varied mix of vegetables and fruits, herbs, and flowers for gardeners to try out. With the help of library staff and volunteers from the Bedford Garden Club, these seeds have been repackaged into smaller portions for our patrons to take home and plant.
If you'd like to donate leftover seeds from 2020 or later to help build our library, please drop them off at the Reference Desk.
To participate:
- Browse the boxes near the newspapers to find seeds you are interested in growing.
- Sign out your seed packets in the provided folder. (This helps us keep track of what types of seeds are popular and how people are using the library. A library card is not required to "check out" seeds.)
- Take a picture or make a photocopy of the growing and seed-saving instructions for your plants.
- Bring your seeds home to plant!
- If you share pictures of your growing garden on social media, don't forget the use our hashtag #BedfordNHSeedLibrary.
- If you are able, consider trying to save seeds from your garden at the end of the growing season and "return" them to the library in the fall. (Returning seeds is not required to participate, but we hope you'll give it a try!)
We are grateful to the Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds, Select Seeds, Fedco Seeds, High Mowing Seeds, and Seed Savers Exchange who have all donated seeds to help make the the 2024 seed library possible! We'd also like to extend a huge thank you to our gardening superstars who helped to package and organize the seeds!
Looking for ways to save and propagate seeds? Browse the carousel below to see books available from Bedford and other GMILCS libraries.