Seed libraries are sprouting across San Diego County
Lisa Urabe, Public Information Officer and Master Gardener for the Vallecitos Water District, shows seed packets kept in the Native Seed Library located outside of the Vallecitos Water District offices in San Marcos on Tuesday, June 25, 2024. Say the word “library,” and your word association is likely “books.” But across the country, including in San Diego, many libraries also lend other important items, including seeds for home gardens.
“From a water district perspective, we have so many customers who want to put in a drought tolerant landscape, but it can be costly,” she explained. “We try and help them, but it can be costly. So, the idea behind it was if we could provide seeds at no charge for our customers and help them out, not only it would be a win/win because they’d see the water savings, but also they would be planting natives, which are good for the wildlife.
“The native seed library program at San Diego Audubon is part of our advocacy program,” explained Kelcy Coleman, native seed library coordinator and conservation assistant with San Diego Audubon. “Through grants, we were able to obtain seeds from the California Native Plant Society andThe California Native Plant Society-San Diego Chapter, another partner with the Vallecitos Water District seed library, focuses on collecting, cleaning, sorting and packaging native seeds.
“Gardening is my form of self-care and stress relief while I’m in grad school,” she explained. “My father and I built a raised bed and I’m on a learning curve for what works here. I want to plant natives but didn’t know where to get the seeds or how to care for them. I want to transition my little patio garden to something that would thrive in the local climate and support the birds and butterflies here.
All of the city’s seed libraries have different borrowing policies. At the Ocean Beach Library, patrons don’t require a library card. Anyone can come in and take seeds, but they’re limited to three packets at a time to make sure there are enough for all who want them. Also available near the seed library are resources to help borrowers learn how to grow the seeds, as well as books on gardening. In addition, the library hosts workshops and other informational programs.
“It was started to help the community be more self-sustaining at home after COVID, so that, instead of having to go to the grocery store, they could grow fruits and vegetables in their own backyard,” he explained. “We get donations from seed companies, but we also partnered with, who are community gardeners in the Skyline, Paradise and Paradise Valley area. They offered to buy us different types of seeds.
“It was very small, a cabinet with six little drawers,” she recalled. “It was a popular idea. People were constantly taking seeds and then would come in to show us what they were growing. But staff was purchasing the seeds, so it wasn’t sustainable and went away pretty quickly. “We did notice, too, as we were writing our grant, that the cost of everything is so expensive, so we thought, why don’t we try to teach our community some food resiliency? We can show them ‘You can grow vegetables, you can grow fruits.’ We could show them that there’s a way to have nutritious food that they don’t have to pay an arm and a leg for.”“They came out and we read a book to the kids,” Vega recalled.
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