Friday night was the Bay Area Seed Interchange Library's 14th annual seed swap and potluck. While I did not win any raffle prizes, alas — I was especially hoping for the potted Cascade hops, though Oak Barrel has promised to call me when their rhizomes arrive — I did arrive home with a full belly and a bunch of new kinds of seeds to try.
Some had been carefully grown, protected from cross-pollination, dried, labeled, and brought to the seed lending library by local gardeners who are a little more on the ball than I am. Others were grown and labeled less carefully, by gardeners who propagate seeds the way I cook.
There were also commercially grown seeds — some in half-empty packets, some untouched — brought by gardeners like me, who get so swept up by the beautiful illustrations and toothsome descriptions of heirloom veggies that we buy more seeds than we have room to grow.
For those of you who did not make it to the event, you can still "check out" seeds from BASIL or your local seed lending library.
The Bay Area Seed Lending Library (BASIL): http://www.ecologycenter.org/basil/
Richmond Grows Seed Lending Library: http://www.richmondgrowsseeds.org/
To find seed libraries in your area, search for “seed library” and the name of your town and state, or browse the listings at:
http://www.richmondgrowsseeds.org/sister-libraries.html
http://www.localseeds.org