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Seed Library

Seed Library

Our Mission

The Jefferson County Extension Seed Library offers a selection of locally developed seed to Jefferson County gardeners and seed savers in an effort to strengthen regional biodiversity and resiliency.

We support a communal model of seed saving and hope to foster a community of seed savers who contribute to the adaptability and genetic diversity of our local seed stock.  As we grow, save and share seeds, we make micro adaptations to the seed that contribute to the evolution season after season.  Help us grow and save these seeds and become seed stewards.

We wish to honor and offer our gratitude to native and indigenous peoples who tended the seed and the plants they produced.  Through their relationship with seed, they created fruit and vegetable we eat today and those seed bear their history.  This connect us to our ancestors and the ancestors of all people throughout the world.

Become a Member

Become a member to check out seed at Jefferson County library and other locations! Local seed saving is essential for ensuring an abundant supply of regionally adapted seeds that is securely maintained.
Visit Become a Member

Seed Saving Education

Participate in our upcoming events and online resources
Visit Seed Saving Education

Check out seeds at the Libraries

Check out seeds at the Jefferson County Library front desk and the Bookmobile from March - September, 2023; and the Port Townsend Library on the first Tuesday each month from 12:00-2:00 at the Charles Pink House
Visit Check out seeds at the Libraries

Borrow, Grow, Return!

Each spring, the library will feature locally developed varieties that you can “borrow“.  We’ll provide you with enough seed so that you can grow plants to eat and for seed saving.  We ask that you select several of your most vigorous, fast maturing and delicious plants to go “to seed”.  At the end of the season, return your cleaned and dried seed to the Seed Library at the WSU Jefferson County Extension office or at one of our seed cleaning events.

Returned seed will be combined with others of the same variety.  The following year, we’ll distribute the seed to the community.

Seeds Available for Spring 2023:

Vegetables: spinach, beets, swiss chard, fava beans, broccoli rabe, kale, turnips, snap-peas, mustard, lettuce, radish, cilantro, parsely,

Flowers: marigold, phacelia (bee’s friend), calendula, sunflower

Read our story in the Port Townsend Leader: What’s New at the Community Seed Library! 

Upcoming Events

Questions? Email us at seedlibrarywsu@gmail.com.

Thank you for doing your part to support community food resilience.

Karen Seabrook ~ Jefferson County Extension Seed Library Manager

Mado Most ~ Jefferson County Extension Community Seed Project Coordinator

Next Community Seed Project in 2024

Contribute to genetic seed resiliency! Join residential and community gardeners who grow 1 or 2 varieties of saved seed every year to give back to the community. All seed is combined for distribution at the end of the growing season.
Visit Next Community Seed Project in 2024
Seed Library FAQ Master Gardener Program Growing Groceries Class WSU Extension Event Calendar

Thank you to our Sponsors!

Seed Library Tribal Acknowledgement

Washington State University acknowledges that its locations statewide are on the homelands of Native peoples who have lived in this region from time immemorial. Currently, there are 42 tribes in Washington, 35 of which are federally recognized, that share traditional homelands and waterways in what is now Washington State.

Here on the Olympic Peninsula, Tribes include the Lower Elwha, the Jamestown S’Klallam, the Port Gamble S’Klallam, the Skokomish, the Quinault, the Hoh, the Quileute and the Makah.

The University expresses its deepest respect for, and gratitude towards these original and current caretakers of the region. As an academic community, we acknowledge our responsibility to establish and maintain relationships with these tribes and Native peoples, in support of tribal sovereignty and the inclusion of their voices in teaching, research and programming.

As a land grant institution, we also recognize that the Morrill Act of 1862 established land-grant institutions by providing each state with “public” and federal lands, which are traced back to Indigenous peoples. In 1890, Washington State received 90,081 acres of Indigenous lands designated to establish Washington State University. Washington State University retains the majority of these lands to this day. We acknowledge that Indigenous lands were often taken by coercive and violent acts, and the disregard of treaties. For that, we extend our deepest apologies. We owe our deepest gratitude to the Native peoples of this region and maintain our commitment towards reconciliation.

 

 

*The seeds being distributed by The Seed Library of Jefferson County may not meet germination or varietal purity standards prescribed by the state (see law).  Patented seed or varieties protected by the Plant Variety Protection Act will not be accepted or distributed by The Seed Library without permission of the certificate holder.

 

 

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