Seed Library returns March 2!

Muhlenberg County Public Libraries is excited to welcome back a popular seasonal service, the seed library, for a fifth year this spring.
The seed library is available now at either library branch.
The Muhlenberg County Seed Library is a collaboration between Muhlenberg County Public Libraries and the Muhlenberg County Conservation District.
The seed library is just what you might expect from its name. A selection of garden seeds will be available at either library branch location for Muhlenberg County residents.
The service, like most others provided by the library, is offered for free, but there is one major difference. Unlike the books, movies and other circulating materials offered by the library, the seeds in the seed library are given away, not loaned. Once chosen, the seeds you take from the seed library are yours to keep, as are the plants that hopefully will grow from them.
Library director Janet Harris said the library is happy to be able to be able to provide a service like the Seed Library. “This is one more way we can provide beneficial items to our community members,” she said. “We’re always trying to find ways to provide services people need.”
Harris added, “Libraries in the 21st century are so much more than just books!”
Gardening has multiple benefits, Harris pointed out, from offering a fun outdoor activity families can enjoy to providing healthy fresh produce. “That’s especially important now,” Harris said, “when food prices are still high and so many people struggle to find nutritious meals for their families.”
Library users may each choose up to 15 packets of seeds from the Seed Library to use in their home gardens, and participants can choose their own seeds, according to their individual needs. You can get 15 different types or mix and match as needed.
The 2026 Muhlenberg County Seed Library includes 15 different varieties of edible plants, plus one variety of flower:
● Bush Bean – Roma II
● Bush Bean – Strike
● Cabbage – Early Jersey Wakefield
● Carrot – Danvers
● Cucumber – Boston Pickling
● Lettuce – Simpson
● Pea – Sugar Snap
● Pepper – Sweet Emerald Giant
● Radish – Crimson Giant
● Squash – Yellow Crookneck
● Tomato – Calypso
● Tomato – Cherry
● Tomato – Floradel
● Tomato – San Marzano
● Zucchini – Black Beauty
● Zinnia (flower)
Quantities are limited, and seeds will be available on a first come, first served basis. Some varieties are more limited than others, so you will want to visit the seed library early if there is a specific item you hope to take home. Harris said the flower seeds are in particularly short supply, so anyone wishing to receive those seeds should visit as soon as possible.
The seed library has grown steadily since its beginning in 2022. Seeds were only available at the Harbin Memorial library branch that first year, Harris said, as a trial run to see how things would go with the new service. It was such a success that the seed library expanded to Central City the following year, and since then, the library has continued to offer an expanding variety of seeds each spring at both library branches.
These seeds are provided for free to any Muhlenberg County resident.
For more information about the seed library or other library services, please call Muhlenberg County Public Libraries at 270-338-4760.