Nine years ago, Coconino Master Gardener Jackee Alston brought an excellent project idea to Coconino Cooperative Extension, a Master Gardener-supported seed library. Within months, volunteers were collecting, sorting, and packaging seeds and the Grow Flagstaff! Seed Library became a reality.
Over the years, the library has grown and now has 50 types of vegetables and herbs, with over 200 varieties. There are also several dozen species of flowers, including many native ones. Some of the seeds have come from returns to the library, while others were sourced from companies that specialize in heirloom and open-pollinated seeds. We also make an annual trip to the Great American Seed Up () to buy bulk seeds suitable for the Southwest. We even have a few varieties that have historical ties to our region.
Using the seed library is like checking out a book, but instead of returning the book in a few weeks, you can return seeds at the end of the season after you have let a few flowers or plants go to seed.
Membership at the seed library is free. Stop by the library and fill out a short membership form with contact information and level of gardening experience. Then select your seeds, recording in the library notebook what you take and plan to grow.
We encourage all members to save seeds and return them to the library. That can be tricky, especially for new gardeners and with plants that are known for cross-pollinating. But as your gardening know-how grows, so will your ability to save seeds. Returning seeds to the library means the seed collection will include varieties especially suited to our climate.
Before returning or donating seeds to the library, there are a few things to consider. Seeds need to be pure strains of heirloom or open-pollinated varieties that will grow true to type. We don't accept seeds from hybrid cultivars, as the next generations will not be like the parent plant.
Some plants are easier to save seed from than others. If you are a beginner, we recommend starting with beans, peas, sunflowers, and tomatoes. Plants that cross-pollinate readily, such as corn and squash, need to be isolated. To ensure pure strains, grow only one variety so that accidental hybridization doesn鈥檛 occur. Carrots and beets are more challenging since they need two growing seasons to set seed.
To make a return, collect and clean seeds from your plants. Make sure you set some aside for yourself as well as the library. Place the seeds in an envelope or container and clearly label with as much information as possible including plant name and variety, year harvested, where grown, and by whom. Or fill out the donation forms at the seed library when you drop off your seeds. Make sure moisture isn鈥檛 trapped in your container.
A seed library does not need to be in a library, though many are. The East Flagstaff Community Library has one. You can find seed libraries in schools, community centers, museums, and farms. The Grow Flagstaff! Seed Library is one of the handful located within a Cooperative Extension office. (Coconino Cooperative Extension is part of the nation鈥檚 Land-Grant system. Arizona's land-grant university is the University of Arizona, with offices in every county.)
The vision for the library was (and still is) to develop, through seed saving and planting, vegetable cultivars uniquely suited to our region. Here's a quote from Jackee, "Collecting and providing a pure source of seeds optimal for Flagstaff's local conditions, a seed library increases the chance people will have a successful garden. With each successive year seeds are grown out in an area, the adaptive knowledge necessary to grow there is encapsulated (no pun intended!) in its next generation."
The seed library is open to the public at the Coconino County Cooperative Extension Office, located at 2304 N. 3rd St. The hours are Monday through Thursday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. For more information, contact Hattie Braun at [email protected] or (928) 773-6118.