Marshall Public Library offering seed packets for check out
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POCATELLO — Gardeners can now “check out” seeds from the Marshall Public Library for the upcoming growing season.
And how can you check out seeds from the library if you can’t actually return them after being planted? Library officials say the best way to return the checked-out seeds is by sharing the literal fruits and vegetables of your labor.
“If you’re successful and you got a bumper crop of zucchini, then you know, give them to your friends, give them to your family, give them to people in your neighborhood,” said Kristy Lyon, a librarian who started the seed library at Marshall.
The seed library operates off donations from companies, local greenhouses and members of the community with extra seeds. The library was also able to buy some seeds for the collection.
The program began last year when Lyon started to hear from friends who live out of state about how their library carried a seed collection. Librarians also had people approach them and ask why they didn’t have a seed library.
“We just thought now is a good time to do it,” Lyon said.
She researched the topic more and reached out to seed companies to see if she could build up a collection for the library. In its first year of operation, the seed library had 175 seeds to offer. This year, the library started with a collection of just over 500 seeds available.
Seeds are limited to three per person.
The first day they became available was March 30.
The library offers a wide variety of different kinds of flowers and plants for people to check out.
“Oh, we have everything,” Lyon said. “We’ve got sunflowers, we have echinacea, we have some marigolds. We’ve got lettuce, spinach, kale, beans, peas, sweet peppers, hot peppers, tomatoes, beets, squash, corn and a lot more.”
Lyon said that people who don’t know much about gardening can access gardening books as well as free-to-use computers where they can do research. The library also offers information on seed saving, for people who want to grow their same plants again next year.
With the three-seed minimum, people can also start small with just those plants.
“You can start with some flowers. You could start with lettuce, which grows relatively fast,” Lyon said. “I think if anybody’s interested they should just start small and see where they go.”
