While the rest of the world is winding down their gardens, for us in the Valley of the Sun, it's the opposite! Right now, with the weather becoming more hospitable, is the time to put on our gardening gloves and get planting for fall blooms and veggies. Whether you have a large dedicated space in the yard or a couple of terracotta pots in a windowsill, gardening is rewarding. Even better, it’s something kids can participate in and learn from, making it a great family activity.
You can certainly head to the nursery and pick up some plants or seeds there, but did you know that most of our local libraries have a Seed Library? Yup, set out on a counter somewhere at your local library is a little Seed Library display where you can get Free Packs of Seeds! They usually also have literature to help you garden successfully in our climate in case you are newer to gardening here.
There are a variety of seeds from which to choose and they are always changing. Generally, you can expect to find an assortment of vegetable, herb, and flower seeds. Every month, if you have a library card (Sept. is Library Card Sign Up Month!), you can check out 3 packs. Don’t worry, the library does NOT expect you to return the seeds two weeks later like you do books, they are All Yours to plant and enjoy. Maybe the kids can each choose something they want to grow. Or maybe you want to get seeds that make a kid friendly “set”, like basil, tomatoes and oregano, all of which can be used to make pizza.
We are so lucky to have wonderful, well funded libraries in our community. Whether your local library is part of the Maricopa County system or is a city based library like Surprise, Youngtown, and Peoria, they are all valuable community resources and have so much to offer families - like free seeds!
As mentioned above, it’s National Library Card Sign Up Month, so if you and the kids don’t already have cards, go to the library, get your cards and, while you are there, select some seeds for your fall garden.
