Welcome to the Pasquotank County Library Seed Library Guide!
Here you will find a collection of resources and information to help you make the most of the library’s seed exchange. This guide will include growing instructions for each variety the library distributes, gardening book suggestions, and online gardening resources.
A seed library is an exchange of seeds that allows seeds to be “borrowed’ and “returned”. Seeds are a form of information, just like books or movies. However, because of their form, seeds can’t be returned exactly like your favorite library book. Instead, seeds are “returned” by saving the seeds from a harvest in order to restock the library. This not only makes the library sustainable and self-sufficient, it allows for a local adaption of seed stock, creating better seeds for the future.
The Pasquotank County Library Seed Library is a free exchange of seeds for the community, an open invitation to beautify our neighborhoods and localize our food production. Our goal is to make the library the center of our growing community, a place for everyone to experience the joy of gardening.
Do I need to be a member of the library to check out seeds?
Anyone from the community can check out seeds, even without a library card. But, in order to check out the gardening books listed in this guide and featured in our collection, an active library card is required.
How many seeds can I take at a time?
In order to ensure everyone has a chance to participate, we ask that you limit yourself to a few seed packets a visit.
Is the seed library free?
Yes! The seed library is completely free and open to all members of the community. We only ask that you consider donating a portion of your saved seeds after harvest to contribute to the seed library.
Do you accept donations of seeds?
We do accept donations of both saved seeds and purchased seeds. We only ask that seeds are clean and dry upon donation and that you fill out a seed donation form. Often, gardeners find that they do not need all the seeds included in a commercial packet; donating those extra seeds to the library gives those seeds another chance at life and supports our mission.
Beginning Seed Saving for the Home Gardener by Films
Video: Seed Savers Exchange: Saving the Planet by Saving Seeds—Growing a Greener World
On an 890-acre farm in Decorah, Iowa, the horticultural heritage of America is being preserved one seed at a time. The Seed Savers Exchange—a nonprofit, member-supported organization—uses this farm to save and share the heirloom seeds of our garden heritage, creating a living legacy that can be passed on to future generations. Viewers will learn how to save seeds from their own garden and better understand the importance of doing so. Part of Growing a Greener World. (27 minutes)
Video: Seeds of Change, Episode 3 Full Video (24:44)
Seeds represent hope, a new beginning. Amid battles over GMO crops and monocultures that dominate American farmlands, meet seed savers pursuing grassroots alternatives. From the dry deserts of Arizona to corn and soybean growers in Iowa and Illinois, genetic diversity does matter and the roots of change are taking hold.
Video: Open Sesame: The Story of Seeds Full Video (01:21:51)
Open Sesame: The Story of Seeds illuminates what is at stake in the conflict between hybrid and open-pollinated seed systems. Providing the basis for everything from fabric to food to fuels, seeds are as essential to life as the air we breathe and the water we drink. In the past, seeds were communal—a shared resource not unlike the water we drink. A century ago things started to change. Now large corporations claim seeds as intellectual property, restricting their use and interfering with the livelihoods of open-pollination farmers. This documentary introduces a range of individuals whose lives center around seeds. Farmers, renegade gardeners, passionate seed savers, artists, and activists all work to plant the seeds of information and inspiration within this film.
Our Seed Library is stored in a reused card catalog cabinet. Take a couple of seed packets and help us plant a greener future. Library cards are not required to take seeds from the seed library but please limit yourself to a few varieties a visit to ensure everyone has a chance to participate.
Plant your new seeds and watch them grow! Update us on their growth with our social Media hashtag #seeourcommunitygrow. At the end of the season, consider saving some of your seeds and return a few with a donation form. This way, we can keep the seed library growing!
Julian Sawyer
jsawyer@earlibrary.org
Pasquotank County Library
100 East Colonial Avenue
Elizabeth City, North Carolina, 27909
Phone: (252) 335-2473
Pasquotank Cooperative Extension Website
The best place to start for all gardeners, a great source for local growing information and expert knowledge.
Vegetable Gardening: A Beginner's Guide
Written by Shawn Banks and Lucy Bradley - N.C. Cooperative Extension
Written By Kate Holt and last updated by Emilee Morrison - N.C. Cooperative Extension, Onslow County Center
We welcome donated seeds! Whether you are donating extra seed you've purchased or seed you've saved from your own garden, use this form to submit your donation.
Written By Eli Snyder and last updated by Tina Lovejoy - N.C. Cooperative Extension, Wilkes County Center
Garden Planting Calendar for Annual Vegetables, Fruits, and Herbs in North Carolina
Published by North Carolina State University Cooperative Extension
