Borrow, Grow and Return Seeds for your garden and the Dallas Public Library

Laurie Bartron, Paulding County Master Gardener Extension Volunteer wants you to know about an initiative that has been undertaken by the Dallas Public Library to help give residents the opportunity to grow and share plants in our community.  Laurie is the author of this blog post:

Have you ever bought plants or received a transplant from a kind friend? You may have then planted the plant not really knowing anything about it, and the next thing you know, it has taken over the garden, not in the right place, or it does not grow at all. Like many gardeners I am always looking for new plants to add to my garden, transplanting and trading plants with friends, or many of you may plant a vegetable garden. One thing we all have in common – we want to be successful.

The Dallas Public Library launched a great program this past spring, called The Dallas Seedbank. The concept behind of the program is that participants check out or borrow seeds, grow the seeds, and then return new seeds from the plant. This is a great way to obtain free seeds for flowering plants or fruits and vegetable you want, grow the seeds, and then give back seeds produced from your plants grown.  A great advantage is you are able to obtain seed you need, give back to the bank and help your community.

The program was initiated by Justin Nobles, Dallas Library branch manager. He contacted Mary Carol Sheffield, Coordinator with the Paulding County Extension office, to propose the idea of starting a seed bank with the support of the Paulding Master Gardener Extension Volunteers. He wanted to set the Dallas Library apart from others, and reach out to the community.  Betty Jean and Michael Brown, Paulding County Master Gardener Extension Volunteers, worked with Mr. Nobles to organize the seeds, set up the tracking system and get the program running.

The public began checking out seeds this past May.  Thus the Seed Bank is still in its early stages, and word is slowly getting around. Mr. Nobles reports the library is using a tracking system so that participants check out selected seeds, information about the number of participants in the program, type of seeds checked out, and the return rate on seeds will be collected. Since this program is still in its early inception, Mr. Nobles reports the program is a work in progress. This first year he reported a fair amount of people did check out seeds. Hopefully as the summer growing season approaches the program will begin see the turn around and return of the seeds.

The seeds that are available for check out include three categories; flowers, vegetables, and fruits.  Most seeds were donated by Master Gardener Extension Volunteers. Sam Elrod, owner of Elrod’s Nursery, was also a generous donator of fruit and vegetable seeds. Mr. Elrod has maintained a strong partnership with the Seed Bank Program.

Flowers seem to be the most popular seed type checked out. Vegetable seeds that are available include bean, squash, turnips, and lima beans. The fruit seeds include cantaloupe and watermelon. As the program grows more seed variety will be available.

The seeds are available for check out to any citizen with a Pines Library card. The Seed Bank is located inside the Dallas Library.  Seeds are ready for check out in envelopes containing about 5 to 6seeds. Each envelope is labeled with pertinent information including when to plant, depth, soil type, type of light, and moisture requirements.  The Master Gardener Volunteers have also made available at the library informational pamphlets on specific gardening topics.

Mr.  Nobles has plans to work with Master Gardener Volunteers as the program grows to include educational programs to meet the need of program participants. Such programs may include how to correctly gather seeds, clean them, and labeling the seeds. Anyone may donate seeds. Please make sure the seeds are in paper envelopes, and write on the envelope as much of the following information as you can; the name of the plant, including the common and the scientific name, when flowers can be expected to bloom, foliage and bloom color, or note heirloom varieties. Also the depth, soil type, type of light, and moisture.

Mr. Nobles invites interested participants to come visit the Dallas Library Seed Bank.  Come in and check out seeds for fall and winter planting.  As summer comes to an end, donators should start collecting seeds you would like to donate. Gardeners know to observe their garden in all seasons. Every day your garden has something new and wonderful to show you.

The author of this article, Laurie Bartron, is a Paulding County Master Gardener Extension Volunteer.  As representatives of the University of Georgia Cooperative Extension, Master Gardener Extension Volunteers are trained experts, who answer questions about home horticulture, sustainable landscaping, and environmentally friendly gardening practices using unbiased, research-based information from the University of Georgia.  For more information on gardening in Paulding, contact a Master Gardener or the County Extension Agent at the Paulding County Cooperative Extension Office at 770-443-7616 or check us out online at www.ugaextension.com/paulding.