Free seeds available at the Seed Library!
Manchester Seed Library located at the Manchester District Library, 912 City Road, restocked for 2026. Photo by Sara Swanson.
by Sara Swanson, Manchester Seed Library volunteer
It’s Seed Library time!
The Manchester Seed Library is once again set up for self-service in the vestibule of the Manchester District Library (MDL), available whenever the library is open: Monday through Thursday, 10am to 8pm; Friday, 10am to 6pm; and Saturday, 10am to 2pm. The MDL is located at 912 City Rd. Everyone is invited to stop by and pick up free seeds to plant!
The mix of available seeds will look a little different this year. In the past, the MDL purchased Wetsel bulk seeds wholesale through the Garden Mill and sorted them into small packets to be given away. With the closing of the Garden Mill, we lost our ability to purchase from Wetsel. This year we instead purchased seed packets wholesale through Lake Valley Seed so all of our purchased 2026 seeds are commercial packets. On top of this, seed prices have increased significantly over the last few years so we were able to purchase less seed than previous years, even with the generous increase in funding from the MDL for this purpose.
We do have packaged bulk seeds this year, but they are the end of bulk seeds purchased in previous years, reinforced with saved seeds donated by Seed Library patrons. And while we will be investigating new potential partners for bulk seed purchasing next year, seed saving provides an easy and inexpensive way for anyone with a garden to help restock the Seed Library!
Do you grow heirloom tomatoes? When a tomato gets overripe and you can’t use it, pull out the seeds, rinse them very well in a strainer, rub them to remove pulp if needed then dry on a paper towel.
Do you grow green beans or peas? When it starts to get late in the growing season and you miss a couple of pickings and the pods are too big to eat, leave them on the plants. If the pods turn brown and dry and rattle inside the pod before the first frost, you can pull out the dry seeds from the pods. Freeze the seeds for two weeks in your freezer to kill any potential pests hitching a ride.
One Seed Library patron saved and donated Osh Kirgizia seeds so you, too, can grow this sweet, pink-fleshed, Russian heirloom watermelon this summer. Photo credit: University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources.
Other easy seeds to save include winter squash, muskmelon, watermelon, and pumpkins. When preparing the fruit or vegetable to eat, instead of throwing away the seeds, separate them from the pulp, put them in a strainer, rinse them, then allow them to dry on paper towel. BUT only save these seeds if you only grow one variety, as they are all insect pollinated and two varieties grown in the same garden might cross-pollinate.
Once seeds are completely dry, stick them in an envelope, write the variety name and the date or at least year you saved them on it, seal it, and drop it off at either the box for collecting seed donations at the Seed Library or at the front desk of the MDL. You saving seeds from one tomato will keep us from buying a seed packet next year. You saving seeds from one watermelon will keep us from buying 10 seed packets next year!
This is just entry-level seed saving. You can save seeds from anything you can grow. For more detailed seed-saving information, pick up a free seed-saving guide from the Seed Library.
If saving seeds is not your thing, please consider donating any unused seeds you have leftover from previous years. The longer seeds sit, the less likely they are to germinate. As a rule, the Seed Library only stocks seeds 5 years old or newer. The exception is if a germination test has been performed to make sure the seeds are still viable.
Germination testing is easy! Place a few seeds between damp (not soaking wet) paper towels inside an unsealed plastic bag and put it somewhere dark for a week. If the seeds sprout, you know they are still viable. If you are donating old seeds that have been germination tested, write that on the package so we know!
We are also trying something new this year. Manchester has its own very special heirloom tomato variety, Geno’s Tomatoes and we are hoping to grow our own supply of the seeds for next year with your help!
Our current supply of seeds was grown, saved, and donated by Manchester gardener Dr. Dori Tamagne who related the story of the seeds brought to the US from Italy by Geno, the uncle of her friend Paul, and how she came to grow them. The tomatoes vary in size from ½ lb to 1 ½ lbs., are good for sauce as well as eating fresh, and produce a non-stop, bountiful harvest in late summer. The story of the seeds and specific growing advice will be included with each packet.
We will be giving out Geno’s Tomato seeds, 10 per gardener to anyone who wants to grow them, with the special request that if you take a packet, you commit to saving seeds from a couple of tomatoes and donating some back to the seed library. Just ask at the front desk of the library for a packet. We hope to be able to give out many more Geno’s Tomato seeds to everyone next year!
Thank you to the Seed Library patrons who have saved and donated seeds, and thank you so much to Kathy Dimond and the Manchester District Library for making the Seed Library possible!
2026 seed varieties. Photo by Sara Swanson.
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