As household expenses increase, families struggle to save money and cut costs. And as the gardening season approaches, many turn to gardening as a viable option to stretch their dollars and decrease grocery costs. In fact, according to the National Gardening Survey, sixty-nine percent of respondents noted that inflation is an important factor when planning gardening activities in 2023. The study also found that more than one-third of gardeners want to grow more and newer varieties of plants this year. Whether you want to grow vegetables or herbs to reduce grocery expenses, or fragrant flowers to add color or attract helpful pollinators to your yard, you can find lots of resources to participate in this popular pastime at your Portage County District Library (PCDL)!
For starters, visit The Little Seed Library at PCDL’s Aurora, Garrettsville, or Windham branches to select some free seeds. There’s an astounding variety of seeds, including flowers and ornamentals like amaranth, borage, milkweed, and sunflowers. If you’re looking for culinary or medicinal herbs, they’ve got those as well, including a variety of basil seeds, lavender, and thyme. There’s also a large collection of fruits and vegetables, including cucumbers, tomatoes, and many varieties of squash.
To select seeds, browse the Seed Catalog and Growing Guide for available seed packets and information about the variety and level of growing difficulty. The PCDL Seed Library is open to any Portage County resident, regardless of age. No library card is required to access the collection. Seed Library users may check out up to twenty (20) seed packets per household per growing season, with no more than five (5) packets per person to be checked out at a time. Supplies of seeds are limited and are available on a first come-first serve basis, so make sure to stop by any of the branches to select your seeds and get growing!
In addition, to providing seeds and access to a variety of seed-starting and gardening books and magazines, PCDL branches also offer a variety of free, in-person events to help provide the information and inspiration to get your garden growing.
Each Monday in April the Little Seed Library will offer seed starting kits to create a different summertime dish. A limited number of kits will be available on a first-come basis with contents changing each week. Each kit includes domed nursery pots, vegetable/herb seeds, and flower seeds for companion planting. Themes include PIZZA (tomato-onion-herbs), SALSA (tomato-onion-jalapeno-cilantro), SALAD BOWL (greens-carrots-radish), PICKLES (cucumber-dill-green beans), and HERB BOUQUET (mixed flowers & herbs).
At the Garrettsville branch on Saturday, 4/13, you can attend a Seed Starting (and seed bomb making) event. The Randolph branch will host an Intro to Gardening for Kids on Thursday, 4/19. Brimfield is hosting a seed planting event featuring your choice of seeds from the Seed Library on Earth Day, April 22. Whether you choose to grow veggies for the table or simply take time to smell the flowers from your homegrown blooms, you’ll find the information and tools to get started at your local library.
For more information on these and other free programs, visit portagelibrary.org. For details on the Seed Library in Windham, call (330) 326-3145, at Aurora call (330) 562-6502, and at Garrettsville call (330) 527-4378.
