St. Charles free seed library offers 400 varieties

The seed library that sprouted last year at the St. Charles Public Library continues to grow and blossom, pardon the puns.

In a chest atop a counter near the information desk, people can peruse envelopes of more than 400 varieties of seeds for vegetables, herbs, melons and gourds.

"I thought it would be a real cool idea, because we have tons of gardeners here in St. Charles," reference librarian Brandon Buckley said. And two of the most popular book collections at the library are on cooking and gardening.

Growing vegetables, he said, "is a way to turn that passion that you get from a book, into something active."

Several companies and organizations donated seeds, including Seed Savers Exchange, Baker Creek Heirloom and Territorial Seed Company. The companies are known for promoting the preservation of open-pollinated and heirloom varieties. Open-pollinated means that, unlike hybrids, seeds saved from the plants should produce identical plants, not revert to the originals that make up a hybrid. Heirloom varieties that were typically grown years ago that fell out of favor with commercial growers, but were preserved by small operations or by amateurs.

Interest in seed-saving has picked up in recent years. People do it as a way to preserve genetic diversity, or to encourage the continuation of varieties. Two weeks ago the library hosted a seed exchange ­- and about 60 people attended. Libraries in Chicago, Deerfield, Park Ridge and Lisle also have seed libraries.

How to take part

People who get seeds from the library are not obligated to save them, although Buckley hopes they will give it a try.

The packets are organized by vegetable, and marked as to whether the seed-to-mature-produce process is easy, moderate or difficult. (Beans, easy; carrots, a two-year commitment.)

Buckley splits the seeds received from the companies into smaller batches - typically enough to grow one row of lettuce, or maybe 10 tomato plants.

People are free to take as many envelopes as they want, but are encouraged to start moderately, to leave some for others. It is available to everyone, not just St. Charles residents.

They are also asked to record what they take. Last year, people took about 1,500 packets, Buckley said.

One of the popular choices last year was "Bloomsdale Long-Standing" spinach. You also will find "Long Island Cheese" pumpkin, "Early Jersey Wakefield" cabbage, "Indigo Rose" tomato and "Love Lies Bleeding" amaranth seeds in the drawers, plus plenty of herbs. A visitor was thrilled Friday to find poblano pepper seeds; for another, salsify was the highlight.

Considering the seeds are free, "If you screw up, you don't lose a lot," Buckley said. That encourages people to try "something different" than the standard varieties you find at a big-box store.

A stand of seed catalogs and newsletters about gardening supplements the library. And Buckley, himself a gardener, enjoys chatting with people as they pick their seeds.

"I love hearing everybody's 'mistakes,'" he said.