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Seed Libraries Across Canada Series, Part 10: Heading East!
Rayna Almas
Earlier this year, I spent a week road tripping across NB and NS, a trip that was altogether too short but completely engrossing for those few glorious days. Most of our time was spent strolling through towns speckled across the provinces - Terence Bay, Lunenberg, Maitland, Truro, Alma, St Martins, just to name a few. And it got me thinking about this Seed Library series that we’d been running for two and a half years at that point. For the next three editions, we're going to head East!
I recalled one feature from Halifax way early on in the series (September 2022 to be exact). But that was it… when I got home, I went through the list and verified that I was right. Only one Seed Library from the East Coast out of the 21 spotlights so far. While not completely unsurprising, I knew what needed to happen next. So here we are, with a beautiful story below of the NBCHG Seed Library in Fredericton, NB. And the next two editions, Parts 11 & 12, will be all about the East Coast as well!
Do you run, or know of, a Seed Library in Newfoundland, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, or PEI for us to feature? Get in touch and let’s chat! rayna@seeds.ca
Fredericton, NB
In the city of Fredericton, New Brunswick, NBCHG (NB Community Harvest Gardens) started as an idea in 2010 and has been growing ever since. We currently run 2 community gardens and a teaching farm within city limits. NBCHG’s mission is to provide an inclusive space for all citizens to garden together within the city. We have succeeded in cultivating a place for individuals, families and friends to learn about and to experience the rewards of gardening – “to grow food, grow minds and grow community”. We model all our programing on a ‘pay what you can’ basis, allowing all community members access to gardening, education, and fresh regeneratively grown food. With that goal in mind the two ‘Carol’s’ came up with the idea of starting a seed library. We hoped to remove any barriers to accessing seeds for those wishing to grow their own food. We were one of the first seed libraries to open in New Brunswick. We initially opened a small portable library for community garden members in 2013. With a grant from the Bauta Family Initiative on Canadian Seed Security, we were able to expand our library. This progressed to a partnership with the city’s public library who now host our library in 2 locations.
We grew and saved our own seed, purchased some, provided seed saving workshops and hoped that those borrowing seeds would also grow seed and in turn donate to our library. We have found over the years that those ‘borrowing’ seed from the seed library, do well to actually grow their own food. Seed saving just wasn’t happening, at least in quantities to donate. We now have a yearly ‘plant sale’ to raise the funds to purchase those seeds we can’t save and packaging for our library.
We started our library with around 10 to 15 varieties of the ‘basics’ and now we have anywhere from 40 to 50 varieties of locally adapted or sourced seeds. The seeds we must purchase are usually the ‘hard to save seeds’, like biennials. We have a large selection of tomatoes, beans, peppers, flowers and herbs that we have been stewarding and saving in our community for 10 years. These are well adapted to our growing conditions.
In 2024, close to 2000 packages of seeds were packed by a team of volunteers during the long winter months. Our packages contain enough seeds that the average family might want to grow. More than 200 individuals or families made use of our library this year. We know our statistics don’t capture all our users. Most years all our seeds are ‘checked out’. We have also assisted other communities in starting up a seed library, providing advice, educational materials, and packaged seed. In New Brunswick, our public libraries commonly host seed libraries.
Our ultimate goal is to save more and more of those ‘hard to save seeds’. Over wintering is the biggest issue. We have found that wild animals have decided crops left to overwinter in the garden are a great source of food! We have experimented with harvesting and storing root crops indoors for the winter, and replanting them in the spring with mixed results. We also would like to have a library list of perennial roots and bulbs people are willing to share.
Sadly, our seed library is closed for the season but we look forward to filling our library as we head into the 2025 season.
You can learn more about NB Community Harvest Gardens on their website: www.NBCHG.org or by following them on Facebook: @NBCommunityHarvestGardens
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(1) Old library cabinet holds one seed library
(2) A repurposed jewelry cabinet houses the seed library in the smaller location
(3) The original seed library, a bunch of file boxes. How far we’ve come!
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