The Salt Lake City Public Library

• Promote biodiversity: Large seed companies often have a limited variety of hybrid seeds,that do not produce viable offspring. Saving and sharing seed promotes a more diverse network of seed that is viable and can be used to breed your own varieties. Some unique plants only exist in the possession of one or two gardeners. Seed sharing helps save some seeds that are in danger of disappearing.

• Preserve characteristics: By saving your own seeds you can hand pick seed from your best plants based off of taste, color, smell, and productivity. Preserving these characteristics helps broaden the genetic diversity within garden plant varieties.

• Local adaptation: By saving and distributing seed locally, we increase the vitality and resilience of our plants. Collecting seed and replanting it results in increasing resistance to local disease and insects. It also encourages our plants to become more well adapted to local climates and soil conditions.

• Connect with your garden and community: Participating in local seed-saving efforts gives you a deeper connection with your garden because of the connection you have with the gardeners that produced that seed. It also deepens your connection with your community when you save and share seeds of your own with others, broadening your influence on sustainable gardening practices.

• Protect Pollinators: Allowing some of your garden plants to mature and flower supports pollinators by providing a source of food, and in return they pollinate your plants allowing you to harvest seeds for the following year.

• Save money: Saving and sharing seed is far less expensive than purchasing new seed every growing season. By saving seed year to year you can essentially eliminate costs associated with purchasing new seed.

• Peruse the card catalog and pick out up to three seed packets.

• Note the growing advice listed on the dividers. Also note the difficulty level of the seed you are taking. This does not indicate how hard the plant is to grow, but how difficult the seed is to save.

• Bring the packet(s) to the Welcome Desk to complete the check out process with the Librarian there.

At the Welcome Desk, you will be reminded that:
You become a member of our seed library automatically when you check out seeds to plant! We operate on the honor system and encourage all members to learn basic seed saving techniques. Please read through our info binder and ask questions! If, for whatever reason, you are unable to save your own seed, please consider donating a package or two of fresh, commercially-grown, open-pollinated (non-hybrid, non-GMO) seed to keep our library stocked. Returning seed is part of your membership and will allow us to keep the library well stocked for everyone!

Go to the Donations & Returns box at the Welcome Desk:

• Please do not donate seeds that are more than 3 years old unless you have taken measures to preserve them impeccably.

• If the seeds you are donating have little to no labeling, fill out a label in the SEED LABEL BINDER and place it on your packet.

• If you have seeds in a pre-labeled packet, simply drop them in the box.

• If you would like to be credited with donating seeds, label packets with your name.

• If you do not have a secure packet, put seeds in the baggies provided, and label them.

• See labeling instructions in the SEED LABEL BINDER.

Before placing your donated seeds in the box, remember:
We must protect the seeds and agriculture that our lives depend on, keeping it a stable foundation for future generations. We ask all donors to promise that they are returning viable seed that will produce plants that are true to the variety they label them to be.