There is so much more than books to check out at your local library. The Irondequoit Public Library added a new seed library to help residents get their home garden growing.

What You Need To Know

  • Irondequoit Public Library users can "borrow" seeds for edible and ornamental plants

  • Seed library users are encouraged to cultivate seeds and return them to the library for other users

  • The seed library was made possible by ARPA funds with help from the Conservation Board and Irondequoit Town Board

The second floor at the Irondequoit Public Library now has a dedicated seed library. You can check out vegetable seeds from beets to carrots to tomatoes and even ornamental seeds like sunflowers and lavender and grow them at home. There are more than two dozen varieties of seeds available.

Library director Greg Benoit says the seed selection will rotate depending on what’s popular, what’s viable and what’s donated. If you have seeds, you're encouraged to bring them in. Seed donations are encouraged.

“We have the prepackaged variety,” Benoit said. “Some of those were purchased with funds and others were donated by seed vendors. Gardening books and cookbooks are two of the most popular types of non-fiction material that circulate out of the library. That makes the seed library a perfect fit. We hope people who haven’t been here in a while will come in and check it out and for people who haven’t been in at all and didn’t think that the library had something for them will come in and borrow some seeds and help make their neighborhood a more beautiful place and maybe offset some of the increased cost of food by growing their own fruits and vegetables.“

Carol Tanck donated some pumpkin seeds to the seed library and is looking to grow some new vegetables in her home garden.

“I am going to have tomatoes and rhubarb,” Tanck said. “I’m going to buy rhubarb, my rhubarb passed away. I haven’t decided yet but maybe beans and spinach. I have to put that in soon because it’s going to be warm before we know it.”

IPL will be hosting a variety of gardening workshops including how to build an air plant terrarium, intro to cherries and summer squash. Irondequoitlibrary.org has a list of upcoming classes.