Garden seeds? At the Library? Yes, heirloom seeds are available for checkout

Vickie Hicks
·2 min read

Borrow ... Grow ... Share. Choose from a variety of vegetables, herbs and flowers, and native heirloom seeds to borrow with your Springfield-Greene County Library card. Plant the seeds, enjoy the harvest, save the seeds and return them to the Library to share with others. Welcome to the world of sharing and saving seeds with the Library.

Seeds of all varieties are available at the Library Center, Library Station, Midtown Carnegie Branch Library, Mobile Library, Republic Branch Library and Schweitzer Brentwood Branch Library. There is a checkout limit of four seed packets a day.

Do I have to return the seeds? The Library encourages donations back to the Heirloom Seed Library, but you are under no obligation to save and return seeds. The Library wants you to learn the basics of gardening and seed saving, first.

Join us at these great programs to learn more:

Heirloom Seed Garden: How to Start Garden Plants from Seed on Saturday, March 9, from 1-3 p.m. at the Midtown Carnegie Branch Library. Learn how to start and grow garden plants from seed with the Springfield Community Gardens coordinators Stephanie Handy and Shanna Borthwick. This program is provided in partnership with Springfield Community Garden. Registration is required. Visit thelibrary.org/programs or call 417-862-0135.

Sweet Potato Love on Saturday, March 30, 10 a.m.-noon at the Midtown Carnegie Branch Library. Stephanie Handy with Springfield Community Gardens will share how to grow and prepare beautiful sweet potatoes. Provided in partnership with the Springfield Community Garden. Registration is required and starts March 16; visit thelibrary.org/programs or call 417-862-0135.

Of note, both programs are in the upstairs meeting room at the Midtown Carnegie Branch Library. The building elevator is not operational. When making your reservation, please indicate if you need special accommodation.

Visit https://thelibrary.org/services/seedlibrary.cfm to learn more.

The Friends of the Library Spring Book Sale is fast approaching. This year’s sale will be April 24 -28. Please consider making book donations in March so items can be included in the spring sale. For questions regarding book donations reach out to friends@thelibrary.org or visit https://thelibrary.org/friends.

Vickie Hicks is the community relations director of the Springfield-Greene County Library District. She can be reached at vickieh@thelibrary.org.

This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: Garden seeds? At the Library? Heirloom seeds available for checkout