Welcome

The idea is very simple - you take a seed and leave a seed!

To use a seed library, community members borrow healthy seeds to be planted in gardens, free of charge! Inside the seed library you will find a variety of different seeds that have been harvested, dried, and labeled, ready to find new homes.

To collect seeds to donate, allow a portion of your mature and healthy plants to go to seed for saving. Once you have properly harvested seeds from your healthiest plants, make your way to your local seed library and remember…take a seed, leave a seed!

Seeds may be small but they are mighty! Saving seeds helps to conserve diversity and preserve varieties that have adapted to local conditions and our cultural preferences. When we save seeds each year, we are producing more resilient seeds able to resist stressors such as diseases, insects, and climate change. If we wish to take back control of our own food system, saving seeds will help us do so.

Dry Seed Processing

For seeds that grow on the outside of plants:

- Allow for the seed to dry on the plant, then simply collect the seedpods before they break open.

For plants with seeds that develop in the centre of the flower:

- Allow for the plant to dry, harvest the seeds when the seed head turns brown.

To avoid mould and reduce additional drying time, make sure you collect seeds under dry, warm conditions.

Examples: Herbs, Arugula, Beans, Sunflowers, Coneflowers

Wet Seed Processing

For seeds that grow inside the fleshy fruit of plants:

- Rinse off the seeds and ensure they are dried thoroughly.

- If a gel-like coating occurs around the seeds, use the fermentation process described below.

To determine if your seeds have a coating, float them in a small amount of water. The coating will become evident in the water.

Examples: Capsicum, Chilli peppers

Fermentation Seed Processing

For seeds with a gel-like coating:

- Using a glass or plastic container with a lid, mix the seeds and the seed juice with a small amount of water.

- Allow the seeds to ferment for 4 days.

- Fermentation is complete when a layer of mould has formed on top of the water and the seeds have sunk to the bottom. Add more water to the container, swish it around and remove the mould and pulp. Save the good seeds which will have sunk to the bottom, dispose of the bad seeds which will have floated to the top.

- Remove the seeds from water and place them on a plate, screen or paper towel and allow them to dry thoroughly. Once the seeds are completely dry, place them in a moisture-proof container. Label and store the seeds.

Examples: Tomatoes, cucumbers, melons, pumpkins