Seed library offers free seeds for local gardeners

Despite the cold Wyoming spring, planting season is here and those looking for seeds to get their gardens started can check out the seed library offered by the Sweetwater County Library System.

The seed library offers free packets of flower, vegetable, herb and even fruit seeds to Sweetwater County residents. It is located at the White Mountain Library in Rock Springs. No library card is needed, and everyone is welcome to simply put their name on a form and take up to 12 packets of seeds each growing season. Each packet has about five seeds in it.

This is the third year the seed library has been available for the community, and it's been a success since it started.

"So far it's been growing - no pun intended - every year," Aaron Volner said with a laugh.

Volner is a librarian at White Mountain Library who oversees most of the work on the seed library. He explained the idea for the library came about after some discussions between a patron and several librarians who enjoy gardening and wanted to find new ideas and solutions for local gardeners.

"It turns out that [seed libraries] are all over the country," Volner said. "They kind of started as the library's answer to community food insecurity. So it's a way for communities to be able to grow their own food and have access to growing opportunities that they might not otherwise have."

After some research, the library system got the seed library up and running in 2020. The seeds were originally kept in a small file cabinet with a tree painted on the side and a quote by Cicero: "If you have a library and a garden you have everything you need."

While the seed library had a successful start, it was quickly interrupted when the COVID-19 pandemic hit and the library had to shut its doors.

The seed library was brought back last year, and able to grow and improve. Local dentists donated wood for a display for the seed library, which is better than the "wonky" file cabinet where seeds could fall easily, according to Volner.

This year, the seed library has already been more successful than ever. Those who take seeds from the library are asked to write down what they took on a form. Volner estimated that last year he had 15 pages full of peoples' names for the whole year, while this year he's already surpassed that amount.

While the seed library is open all year, Volner explained he usually puts new stock up in early February. That way gardeners can get started on things that need to be planted early, but direct-sow seeds usually end up being planted in the spring.

"This is the time of year when it really starts picking up," Volner said.

The seeds themselves are donated to the library from a variety of sources each year.

"The seeds mostly come through seed grants," Volner said.

Some organizations, like the Seed Savers Exchange and Sow Right Seeds, have seed exchange programs and seed grants that provide seeds to the library.

In addition, local retail stores like Walmart and Home Depot will donate stock that didn't sell from the previous year to the library, and some individuals in the community will donate seeds they don't end up using.

Volner keeps track of what seeds the library receives and gives out and looks for places to fill in the gaps in order to keep a mixture of seeds available.

"I brought in some stuff I haven't used for my own seed collection this year just to kind of round things out," he said.

Volner also keeps track of what seeds are taken the most. Bachelor buttons, an annual flower, were "insanely popular" last year, according to Volner.

"I could not keep these on the shelf," he said.