Ever think about growing your own produce or plants?
With Gloucester County Library System’s (GCLS) Seed Bank, you can get into gardening at a fraction of the price.
Through the library system, which Mullica Hill is part of, community members can receive up to 12 free packs of seeds each season. All you need to do is fill out an online request form, pick up the seeds and plant them at home. The program is even open to the general public – living in Gloucester County is not required. There also is no specific deadline for requesting seeds, as it is an ongoing, year-round program.
The concept comes from Library Seed Bank, a program founded by Jeff Quattrone in 2014 to bring better seed access to libraries in South Jersey. With Quattrone’s program, the intention is to connect the community to the Garden State’s seed and agricultural history.
Heirloom seeds are donated or retrieved from various distributors in the area, and then the seeds are sorted into small packages made available to the public. The hope is gardeners will continue to save their seeds and continue to grow these plants every season.
Quattrone reached out to GCLS to partner with his program. Judith Pissano, assistant library director of GCLS, and another colleague presented the Seed Bank to the library, and it was officially established at GCLS in 2021.
Over the last five years, Pissano said the program has been a popular part of the library system. The Seed Bank is operated out of the Logan Township branch, and volunteers – mostly from the Gloucester County Certified Gardeners Association – at the library sort through the seeds and package them into small envelopes for individual use. When someone fills out a request for seeds, they can select which branch they want to pick them up from, and the seeds will be transported there. Then, a staff member at the selected library will notify them when the seeds are ready for collection.
Mullica Hill Library, Glassboro Library, Greenwich library, Logan Library and the Margaret Dombrosky Swedesboro Public Library are all branches of the GCLS.
The library receives donations from different vendors, such as Seed Savers Exchange, Territorial Seed Company and Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds. Pissano said the library system just pays for the shipping and handling.
Currently, the library system has 25 different seed varieties available for patrons. Boro beet, Valmaine Romaine lettuce, Sugar Hubbard winter squash, dark green Italian parsley and jelly bean poppy flower seeds are just some of the options available this season.
While the Seed Bank program helps people save money and increase accessibility to gardening, it also is a way to introduce people to the value in growing their own food, which Pissano said has grown in popularity in recent years.
“I think (COVID) kind of sparked people to think about their food and all the issues with certain communities that have food deserts. We want to encourage people in this community to grow their own foods,” she said.
According to the New Jersey Economic Development Authority, Paulsboro is considered a food desert in Gloucester County. A food desert is an area or town that its population does not have access or has limited access to food, specifically fresh, good-quality foods like produce.
For residents in Paulsboro who wanted to participate in GCLS’s Seed Bank, the Greenwich Township would be the closest library to pick up seeds from.
GCLS and Library Seed Bank website also provide resources and guides for how to plant and care for the seeds, the best time of year for planting seeds, and journal pages for keeping track of gardening.
Additionally, GCLS often hosts different free events surrounding nature and gardening that can be helpful for maintaining your own garden and plants. Keep an eye on GCLS’s online event calendar for future events.
A list of all the available seeds can be found in a Google Sheet on the GCLS Seed Bank website. A Google Form must be completed – also found on this webpage – to request seeds. Head to www.gcls.org/gcls-seed-bank.
GCLS’s Seed Bank allows patrons to request and receive up to 12 individually packaged kinds of seeds per season. All the seeds are packed into small envelopes and labeled. Then, they are put into a paper bag with the patron’s name and more information about the Seed Bank.
