Local Library Offers Free Native Seeds To West Michigan Residents

Is it spring yet?

With another batch of winter weather headed directly towards West Michigan, I can't be the only one that's counting down the days until spring's arrival.

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In the meantime I'm thinking plenty of warm thoughts, drinking through my stash of last season's Oberon, and drawing up plans for this year's garden. That's why I was so excited to see a post from the Portage District Library (PDL) regarding the return of their seed library!

What's a Seed Library?

If you've never heard of a seed library I'm sure you'll be able to pick up on the general idea as it works just like a typical library except instead of borrowing books, you're borrowing seeds.

How Do You "Borrow" Seeds?

In order to keep the program going from year to year participants are encouraged to save the seeds from their harvests, dry them, and place them in an envelope to replenish inventory for the following year. It's one big self-sustaining cycle! Writes the PDL,

Our aim is to maintain continuous availability of a variety of species until our stock is depleted or replenished by further donations. We are so excited about the enthusiasm for native plants!

How to Get Your Free Seeds:

Native seeds are now available for check-out from the PDL and a free to all community members. Yes, that means you are not required to have a PDL card in order to use the seed library.

However, because there is such high demand and limited resources the library asks you only take what you intend to plant. Returning seeds is also imperative to ensure the library is stocked for future generations of gardeners, so if you are unable to save your seeds please consider buying a packet to donate.

Native plants for Michigan include plants like "Smooth Astor" and "Butterfly Weed", some of which may be harmful to people and pets when ingested. Read more about Michigan's native plants here.