Seed Library

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Gardeners and growers in our community are able to share their seeds, sprouts and produce through our Seed Library.

Stocked with seeds donated by community members, you will be able to grow your own food or flowers. Packets are ready for you to take home and are free.

You don’t need much room to grow your own food. You can grow the seeds at home in your backyard or on your windowsill. You’ll need a good quality seed starting soil and a little bit of patience.

Since the Seed Library began, we’ve shared over 14,000 packets of seeds with the community. That’s a lot of people growing herbs, vegetables and flowers at home!
 

How it works

Generous community members donate seeds from packets they haven't used up, or by harvesting seeds from their own plants.

  • The seeds are sorted into small quantities and put into labelled packets.
  • The packets are displayed in our Seed Library ready to be taken home.
  • You can take up to three packets per customer per month.
  • All seeds on the shelf are ready to sow now.

If you’re not ready to sow yours yet, view the State Government's 'What to plant when' guide

Seeds harvested from your new plants can be donated back to the Seed Library if you’d like to. The more donations we receive means a bigger selection of seeds for you to choose from but we mainly just want more food and flowers growing in our community.

How to donate seeds

During Library opening hours -

  • A box on the Seed Library shelf will be available for you to drop off your seed donations.
    - These donations may be half-used seed packets or seeds you’ve harvested from your own garden.
  • Donate your seeds in a sealed bag, labelled clearly with the type of seed they are and the date they were harvested.
    - This helps our volunteers to sort them.

Your donations will be collected and sorted into packets in smaller quantities and put back on the shelf for customers to take.

To learn how to harvest seeds, visit Grow It Local or Green Adelaide for information and workshops online or near you.

How to get involved with the Seed Library

  • Donate seeds to share with our community – this is completely optional.
  • Attend our Seed Library events and workshops to learn to grow your own food or improve your existing skills and knowledge.
  • Become a volunteer. Share your gardening wisdom at workshops or sort and label seed donations as they come in.

Volunteering for the Seed Library

We are looking for volunteers to help manage our Seed Library. If you are interested in the following roles, please contact us

  • Managing the seed library stock levels by checking the shelf supply and putting out new and seasonal seed stock.
  • Sorting donated seeds into packets and labelling them, prioritising seeds that can be sewn in the current season.
  • Sharing gardening and growing wisdom by running or sharing at workshops and events related to the Seed Library.