Each year, January ushers in the new year along with many additional new things: ideas, actions, plans, hopes, dreams, attitudes, and beginnings. One of the most popular interests stirred each year in January is gardening.
Often, gardeners begin planning their beautiful and bountiful gardens in January. Although it may seem early to nongardeners, locating and securing desired seeds and preparing for planting in the coming weeks and months proves paramount to a successful growing season. For example, lettuce, carrots, onion, cabbage, potatoes, cauliflower, and peas offer a sampling of vegetables that should be planted as early as mid-February in Oklahoma. While many seeds can be easily found in stores and online, some seeds prove more difficult to acquire, and many people who can benefit from gardening find purchasing seeds too expensive for their financial means, which is how community seed libraries benefit all.
Recently, the Montfort & Allie B. Jones Memorial and Bristow Public Library conducted a community survey to learn what hobbies and interests the community shares and enjoys. Director Heather Hutto said, “As indicated by our Community Interest Surveys, people, despite all of their various backgrounds and beliefs, really appreciate gardening.” For its part, the library decided to start and maintain a seed library in response to the community’s love of gardening. Of its new seed garden, Ms. Hutto also noted, “The benefits are numerous: we're enabling persons in the community who may not have the resources to purchase as many varieties of seeds as they'd like, we're keeping seeds from being wasted, and we're boosting community camaraderie and involvement.”
While seed libraries are not new to public libraries, the one at Bristow’s library will be the first for the community. In a nod of continuity to the community’s commitment to recycling, repurposing, and reducing waste, library staff recently moved an old wooden card catalog cabinet into the library to house the new seed library. It opens later this month, free to members of the public.
As for how the library will work, Ms. Hutto explained that it will be based on an honor system. Anyone who takes seeds will be asked to pay-it-forward, sharing seeds in return by replenishing the same variety of seeds or adding different seed varieties later in the season. Additionally, anyone may donate seeds to the library at any time throughout the year for members of the community to enjoy.
In introducing the new seed library, the library made gardening a programming theme for the entire month, offering a variety of gardening programs. Beginning on January 14th, anyone may pick up a free packet of gardening resources. The following week, on January 20th, wildcrafter Joan Cowden of Bright Circle Herbcraft will conduct a presentation about bioregional plants and land care guidelines. Finally, the last week of January offers a presentation on garden soil preparation by Agent Olivia Toothman of the OSU Extension on the 27th. The month will close with the opening of the new community seed library on the 29th as community members and gardeners are invited for coffee and donuts in the main conference room.
For more information, drop by or call the library located at 111 West 7th Avenue and reachable by phone at 918-367-6562. Information is also available on their Facebook page, Bristow Public Library.