COLUMBUS - Local gardening enthusiasts have banded together to create a free community seed library for all residents of Austin, Colorado, Fayette, La vaca and Wharton counties. Be- ginner gardeners are encouraged to participate; the library is for every level of gardener. The Sprout to Share Free Seed Library will open Saturday, Aug. 24. Terry Rich, owner of Create Space Studio in Colum - bus, has graciously offered an area at the front of the studio to
house the library. Here is how the library will
work. Bulk packets of seeds for growing veggie and herb gar - den produce (no flowers yet) are available to take seeds from. No library card or any official doc - umentation is needed. But there is a check out log where 'seed borrowers' are asked to fill out to keep track of which seeds are the
most popular. Each resident may take home up to four seed vari - eties daily, at no cost! Seed bor -
rowers are encouraged to grow their seeds and enjoy the pro - duce, sharing it with family and friends, then saving seeds from a small part of the produce to return to the library for the com - munity's future gardening needs. In addition to offering free seeds, the library organizers will present workshops in person and information online about success in gardening. Topics will include bucket gardening, saving seeds, germinating seeds, what to plant when, successful varieties for our area, and more! The Sprout to Share Free Seed Library opens with a cele - bratory event with a short presen - tation on planting a fall garden in south central Texas and a Seed Exchange. The fun event will include door prizes and opportu - nities to meet others interested in gardening. Everyone is welcome to sign up for the seed exchange as participants are not required to bring seeds, but are encour -
aged to do so. Generous seed donations by local and national
businesses have provided seeds so that everyone can participate in the exchange. To join in the fun of this seed library opening event, reserve your space for the event at https://tinyurl.com/ex - change-rsvp or visit the Seed Li - brary inside Create Space Studio at 717 Walnut St. in Columbus to sign up on the Seed Exchange event list.
The library is already set up for seed donations and volunteer sign-ups. Want to volunteer? Drop by the library Tuesday-Friday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. or Saturday, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. to sign up or email [email protected].
