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Patrons to the Rock County Library can obtain more than just books and information at the Luverne location.
They can now pick up flower and vegetable seeds to take home in a unique partnership with the Prairie Ally Food Forest.
Library director Calla Jarvie said Rock County is the first library in the Plum Creek system to organize a seed library, from which anyone can select seeds for planting at home.
“It’s not a lending library,” she said. “It’s a seed-taking library.”
Earlier this year Jarvie noticed the former card catalog cabinets in the basement. The multiple drawers are the ideal size for seed packets.
The cabinet, now moved to the front doors of the library, contains hundreds of seed packets, organized and packaged by volunteers.
“Part of our partnership is we are bringing in our gardening know-how and make sure (the seed packets) have all the information for growing,” said Berty Stearns.
Stearns is an Americorps Community Gardens worker assigned to Prairie Ally in Luverne.
Stearns and fellow gardening enthusiast Erin Hamann work with Jarvie to develop the seed library and share their gardening know-how with the public. At Prairie Ally, Stearns will look to develop a seed garden to keep the seed library stocked.
Hamann worked with Jarvie in the library’s Take and Make Project: DIY gardening kit.
Hamann wrote the instructions, including the pictures, along with adding the seeds and plastic cups needed to grow a garden.
Patrons snapped up the garden kits within a week and Hamann made more.
“It’s been popular,” Jarvie said. “It shows there is definitely an interest.”
The Friends of the Library coordinated with the garden theme giving away books during National Library Week in early April in promotion of the seed library.
The seed library is free and patrons can select a wide variety of flower and/or vegetable seeds.
“What we really want to see is the drawers empty,” Jarvie said.
Seed donations can be coordinated with Prairie Ally organizers by calling 605-951-0227 or email at prairieallymn@gmail.com.