BWG Seed Library
The BWG Seed Library shares seeds. Gardeners borrow seeds, grow them and then hopefully return some of the harvested seeds back to the library. Community seed libraries are an effective way to collect and distribute heirloom, unique and culturally important seeds. They help protect genetic diversity, promote food security and aid in the development of locally adapted varieties of plants. Many plants from seed libraries attract beneficial insects and pollinators, while gardeners who use seed libraries can save money and learn new skills. Seed libraries can include vegetables, flowers and native species. They help disseminate seed varieties not typically available from seed companies and promote public access to seeds.
This year, browse through our seed collection, select your desired seeds, and fill in the form below. We will contact you when your seeds are ready to pick up!
How to use the Seed Library
The Seed Library is now self serve! Visit the BWG Library and browse through the available seeds in the cupboards behind self-checkout. Please fill in your name and the packages that you have borrowed.
green@BWGPL newsletter
To receive green@BWGPL, our newsletter about seed-related initiatives, sign up at http://www.libraryaware.com/518/Subscribers/Subscribe
Share your Gardening Experience with us!
Please share photos of your gardening experience with us! You can send them to the BWG Library through Facebook or Instagram (@bwglibrary), or email them here. We are looking forward to sharing this gardening journey with you and will be posting photos and videos of the BWG Library Community Garden, as well as photos and videos submitted by staff and community members, on Facebook and Instagram.
Saving Seeds
The BWG Seed Library is already preparing for next year - as our gardens grow, and flowers and vegetables ripen - our volunteers are saving seeds for you for next year. All of our seeds are open pollinated and suitable for saving - we encourage you to save seeds and if you have enough, to donate some back to the BWG Seed Library to share with other gardeners next year.
There are plenty of sources of information on how to save seeds from different types of plants. Use our library catalogue to search for gardening books. As well, you can find information on-line, two of our favourite sources are seed saving organizations. Check out Seeds of Diversity and Seed Savers Exchange for great information and tips on gardening and saving seeds.
To donate seeds, bring them to the Library, fill out the information form and place them in the donation box. Please provide as much detail as possible - colour, variety and type is important. No need for packing them in envelopes - we will package and label them for the Seed Library. Open pollinated varieties are preferred.
Planting and Growing Information by Seed Variety
Basil
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Variety: Sweet basil: Common large leaf basil with mild flavour used for tomato sauce, pesto, salads.
Planting: Can start and grow indoors anytime. Can direct seed after all danger of frost and soil has warmed up. Sow .5 cm deep in warm soil (15 - 20 degrees C) in full sun. Germinates in 7 – 14 days. Thin to 15-20 cm apart.
Harvest: 60 – 90 days.
Other: Pinch tops to encourage bushiness. Pinch flowers to prolong harvest. |
Bachelor Buttons
Variety: Blue Boy: Easy to grow blue flowers on long stems. (Out of Stock)
Planting: Start outdoors in spring sow into well drained warm soil. |
Beans
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Varieties:
Black turtle: Small black kidney with excellent flavour, extremely prolific half runner with purple stems and flowers. Cranberry: Old-time favourite for dry beans, excellent in soups and stews, large crops of plump burgundy mottled beans. Dragon’s Tongue: Dutch butter bean, wax variety, with creamy pods striped with purple; makes a good shell bean when stripes turn red. Hyacinth: Tropical vine produces blue-green leaves and fragrant purple pea-like flowers followed by lovely purple pods. Roma: Bush romano bean with good flavour and high yields. Scarlet Runner: Good as small snap bean, sliced pods or green shell; used in place of limas. Large plants: 12–15' tall, highly ornamental with numerous scarlet flowers and attractive foliage. Thibodeau: Heirloom bush bean from Beauce County, Quebec. Delicious straight green pods with purple-red stripes.
Other: Pole beans require support. |
Beets
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Variety:
Planting: Plant seeds 1 cm deep, 2cm apart. Thin to 8 cm between plants. Germinates in 7 – 15 days. Full sun.
Other: Planting mid-season for late summer or fall harvest can result in a sweeter more tender beet. |
Rudbeckia (Black-eyed Susan)
Variety:
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Bok Choy (Pak Choy)
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Variety:
Planting: 6 mm deep in rows 30 cm apart. Thin to 8 cm. Grow in partial shade. |
Broccoli
Variety:
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Brussels Sprouts
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Variety:
Planting: Sow seeds from spring to early summer .5 cm deep, 10 – 15 cm apart. Thin to 45 -60 cm apart. Sunny location. Seeds germinate in 10 – 21 days. |
Cabbage
Variety:
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Calendula
Old fashioned annual with a delicate scent can be used in herbal creams or as a cutflower. |
Carrots
Variety:
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Celosia
Variety:
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Chamomile
Small white flowers can be steeped to make a soothing tea. |
Chives
Variety:
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Columbine
Variety:
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Corn
Variety:
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Cosmos
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Variety:
Planting: Easy to grow. Sow outdoors when the soil is warm, after frost date in full sun. Sow .5 cm deep. Seedlings will emerge in 7- 10 days. |
Cucumber
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Variety:
Planting: Direct seed in warm soil (22-27 degrees C). Plant 4 seeds 1 cm deep in hills 60 cm apart. |
Dill
Planting: Dill seeds need some light to germinate. Sow seeds no more than 5mm deep in rows 45cm apart.
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Fennel
Sweet anise flavour, can be used for cooking or salads |
Gourd
Variety:
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Hibiscus Trionum
(Out of Stock)
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Kale
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Variety:
Planting: Sow .5 – 1 cm deep, plant 3-4 seeds every 30-45 cm and thin to one plant per bunch. Sow from Early May to end of June, in partial shade. Germinates in 5-14 days, soil temperature 10-21 degrees C. |
Kiss me over the garden gate
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Planting: Sow them by pressing the seeds lightly into the soil in a place that receives full sun. Once the seedlings have sprouted, thin them to one every 40 cm.
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Lettuce
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Variety:
Planting: Sow .5 cm deep, 2.5 cm apart in rows 30 apart in early spring. Germination 7 – 14 days, soil temperature 5 – 18 degrees C. Likes cool weather and lots of moisture. |
Marigold
Variety:Yellow French: Fast growing annual with bright yellow flowers. (Out of Stock)
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Morning glory
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Variety: Purple: Vigorous climbing purple flowers that bloom in the morning. (Out of Stock)
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Nicotiana
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Variety: Tall white: Nicotiana sylvestris.White long trumpet flowers with pleasant fragrance. (Out of Stock) |
Onion
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Variety: Early Yellow Globe: Early variety that can be direct seeded. |
Parsley
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Varieties: |
Peas
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Variety:
Planting: Plant 2.5 cm deep, 3 to 5 cm apart in full sun. Sow from early spring to last frost date, optimal soil temperatures 8 to 15 degrees C. Germinates in 5 to 7 days. |
Pepper
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Varieties: Early Chocolate: Early chocolate brown colour pepper. (Out of Stock) Sweet Banana: Firm sweet peppers that turn from waxy yellow to red. (Out of Stock) Tequila Sunrise: Similar to the size and shape of a baby carrot. They are approximately 15 centimeters in length and somewhat fleshy with a crunchy texture and minimal seeds. (Out of Stock) |
Poppy
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Variety: Breadseed: Enchanting purple-blue flowers are followed by attractive seed pods. (Out of Stock)
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Pumpkin
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Variety:
Planting: Direct seeds in hills of 3-4 seeds in warm soil 90 cm apart. |
Radish
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Variety:
Planting: 1 cm deep, 2 to 4 cm apart in rows 15 cm apart. Germinates in 5 to 7 days at soil temperatures 10 to 18 degrees C. Prefers cool soil. |
Rose Campion
(Out of Stock) An old-fashioned favorite that adds brilliant color to the flower garden in shades of magenta, bright pink and white. |
Rutabaga
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Variety Nadmorska: Large, green-topped rutabaga with golden flesh. Uniform, large, round, vigorous and early maturing with very little neck.
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Spinach
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Variety:
Planting: Spinach does best in cool weather. Sow seeds 1 cm deep, 2.5 cm apart. Thin to 8 to 15 cm apart. Germinates in 5 to 7 days at soil temperature of 15 degrees C. |
Squash (Winter)
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Varieties: Acorn: Dark green fruits with bright orange flesh. Butternut: Dark orange flesh in tan cylindrical fruit. Galeux D'eysines: A lovely French heirloom pumpkin with salmon pink coloured skin covered in peanut-like warts caused by sugar swelling in the skins. Spaghetti: Heirloom squash produces plenty of medium-sized, 3–4 lb. oblong fruits. |
Sunflower
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Varieties: Russian: Tall annual boasting huge flowers, up to 8-14 in. Borne atop sturdy stalks, the impressive flower heads are attractive to bees, butterflies and birdsPlanting: Direct seed in warm soil after danger of frost. |
Swiss Chard
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Varieties:
Planting: Swiss chard plants are somewhat frost hardy, so the seeds can be sown outside directly in the soil about two weeks before the average last frost date of spring. |
Tithonia
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Variety:
Planting: Direct seed after last frost. |
Tomato
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Varieties: Bared boar: Flattened beefsteak fruit is pink-brown with metallic green stripes and weighs 8-12 ounces. Very meaty pink flesh is very flavorful. Bonny Best: Mid-season. An old-timer with wonderful old-fashioned flavour. Emerald Evergreen: Mid-season. One of the best-tasting green tomato in the beefsteak size (8–10 oz.). Rich olive-green fruits ripen to a brighter shade of green with a golden yellow tint. Mortgage Lifter: Early. Large (many over 1 lb.), meaty and vigorous red beefsteak (Out of Stock). Red Cherry: Tasty red cherry tomatoes. Roma: Mid-season. A quality paste variety with very thick flesh and few seeds in a 2–3" plum-shape. Prolific and durable. Sweet 100: Extremely high yields of red sweet mid sized cherry tomatoes. White wonder beefsteak: Creamy-white beefsteak tomatoes. (Out of Stock) Yellow Pear: Very sweet, 1½-inch yellow, pear-shaped fruit has a mild flavor. |
Zinnias
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Variety: Mixed: Drought & heat resistant easy to grow flower in a mix of colours. (Out of Stock) |
Zucchini
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Variety:
Planting: Sow outdoors after frost date, four seeds per hill spaced 60 cm apart. |