How SF’s Seed Library Is Empowering Local Gardeners

Gardeners and green thumbs, please proceed with delight. The San Francisco Public Library’s seed library program is a tool you should know about.

What’s A Seed Library

Benjamin Franklin sowed many seeds in his time. He inspired Americans to be restless, innovative, and revolutionary. Just like plants! Old C-Note Franky also founded the country’s first library in Philadelphia, spawning the idea of a neighborhood repository of information.

The rest is history. Libraries are widespread municipal resources where families can find hours of entertainment and job seekers can ask librarians for a resume review. In San Francisco, we’re twice lucky because patrons can seek repose in The City’s most comfortable and astonishing locations. Have you seen the view from the Potrero Hill Branch?

Cut to today: Books aren’t the only thing we need to survive the wildly fluctuating micro-climates of San Francisco (which will only get more disparate with climate change barking at our door. That’s where novel ideas like seed libraries come into play. 

The Concept

The idea is simple, though it relies on the goodness of your heart to fulfill it. Patrons visit their local branch, select seeds from a repurposed card catalog drawer, and grow whatever is contained. Then upon harvest they save the seeds of the strongest and most sweet of their garden’s creations and return them to the seed library. This creates an opportunity for the human hand to get involved in natural selection.

Since the Agricultural Revolution, we’ve been playing God. It’s natural to do. The crops that do well are rewarded by being saved; those that are mealy, poor growers, or otherwise indisposed find themselves at the end of their family tree. No reproducing for you, Mr. Cucumber. 

Micro-Climates

Seed libraries hasten the game. They create a collective resource for micro-climates, enabling the fogged out Sunsetters to cultivate tomatoes that are preternaturally capable of fattening in the gloom. Or, conversely, Sunbelt San Franciscans can select cruciferous vegetables that carry a crunch without shying from the mega-watts in the Mission or Bayview. 

But the librarians at Potrero Hill say they’re a bit worried people will forget about the resource. Upon a January visit, they’d just moved the card catalog down from the top deck to the main floor under the stairs with the hopes of renewing patron interest in the project. They were also very loosey goosey with the rules, with no reminders about bringing back the seeds of plants that do well. 

Why Swap Seeds?

In addition to imbibing whatever Dr. Frankenstein was having and creating something you’re proud / slightly afraid of (don’t plant mint in a big shared bed, for the love of God and all things holy), there are several reasons you should swap seeds. 

Sure, you can buy a Survivor’s Haul of doomsday prepper seeds, promising heirloom and organic varieties, but if you’re funneling money to Jeff Bezos how heirloom can they be? Best to go local. Supporting your local plant economy increases our resilience to things like supply chain issues and the lack of genetic diversity that endanger bananas. 

Why, Though?

It’s quirky, out of the way, and weird. We don’t live in The City because it’s easy, though. We live here because it’s badass and the high school version of ourselves would think it’s very punk rock. So consider this one of many calls to action and dig those roots in. Be hyperlocal in all the senses of the word.

You can grow a plethora of things in San Francisco’s overall temperate climate. Don’t be discouraged by the soil type, unending fog, or confusing wind. Tap into the SF Plant Finder, a free resource that tells you what grows best, and ask your branch if they have a seed library. Or go far afield and visit a library in another neighborhood that shares attributes of your own. It’s only a 7×7 mile city, after all.