Dreaming of Seeds

After the bitter temperatures we experienced last week, many of us are dreaming of spring. That means gardening! It is fun to start planning what you want to plant when the soil starts to thaw. We have several books in our collection on devising gardens and we just received some brand-new books on the topic.

One way you can start planning is to look through your seeds in storage. I just brought up the library’s seed exchange boxes from our reserve, taking inventory with hopes that the seeds are still viable. Every year we encourage our community to plant seeds, grow plants, and finally harvest the seed for the following year. In this process, we hope you will consider donating seeds to our Seed Exchange Library. Sharing seeds is such a wonderful way to promote gardening, whether someone is a pro or a beginner. Plus, harvesting seed is not difficult with many plants. For example, I plant zinnias every year from seeds that I harvest myself. When autumn rolls around most of the zinnia flower heads dry out naturally on the stems and I simply cut off those tops. I also cut blossoms that are not yet dry and dehydrate them in the sun. All of these go into a dry container which I store indoors in a cool cupboard. In the spring, or sometimes earlier, I take the dried blossoms and pull them apart, revealing seeds that are ready to be put in the ground! Some other flower seeds that are easy to harvest are sunflower, marigold, poppy, and coneflower. You can easily harvest seeds from vegetables you grow such as tomato and pepper seeds or pumpkin and squash seeds. As long as you harvest only mature seeds, dry them, and store them well, you can become a regular seed harvester. You might even become addicted to the process.

As I anxiously wait for spring, I have recently been looking for other seed I can harvest right now from produce that I purchase at the grocery store. Did you know you can harvest lemon seeds? I had a lemon tree for a while that I grew from seed. It never produced fruit, but it was a fun little tree to put out on the patio in the summer. I am planning on trying grapefruit seed next, as well as starting an avocado pit in a glass of water. I find that the process is sometimes just as fun as the product.

With your generosity, we can continue to exchange seed with others in Washington with our WPL Seed Exchange Library. You can donate store-bought or harvested seeds, in packets or in bulk, ornamentals or edibles. You might also find a seed treasure from our stash you have been looking to try in your dream garden. Let’s share and grow together!