Howard County Seed Share

What can gardeners do in the cold of winter when the ground is frozen? Plan for next spring’s garden and come to the Howard County Seed Share! A seed exchange is a great opportunity to acquire new varieties, save money, and reduce seed waste, while learning and sharing with fellow gardeners.  Adults and families welcome (children must be accompanied). Registration is preferred.

Tips for our participants:

• Seeds should be clean, dry and labeled with the name of the plant (species and variety) and date collected. No seeds from invasive plants! 
• Please include any other useful information that you can think of for the grower
• Seeds do best in paper envelopes or bags to help them stay dry (seed envelopes will be available to share bulk seeds)
• Seed donations are encouraged, but not required to participate in the event

If you would like to share seeds, bring your seeds to the Seed Share between 2-2:30 pm.  
Can’t make it the day of? You can drop your seeds off from now until January 19th at one of our three locations: 

• Miller Branch (9421 Frederick Rd, Ellicott City) 

• Elkridge Branch (6540 Washington Blvd, Elkridge) 

• Community Ecology Institute (8000 Harriet Tubman Ln, Columbia) 

Learn more about seed saving with these resources: 

HCLS resources:

https://polaris.hclibrary.org/polaris/view.aspx?brs=91711&sort=AU_PD

Videos: 

• Collecting Native Seed:  https://youtu.be/dVEsoq9d78U  

• Saving and Storing Seeds for Next Year: https://extension.usu.edu/video/saving-and-storing-seeds-for-next-year   

Articles/Presentation Slides:  

• Seed Saving 101: Vegetables: https://extension.umd.edu/sites/extension.umd.edu/files/2021-02/Seed%20Saving%20Veggies%20Resources.pdf 

• Seed Saving Basics: https://extension.psu.edu/seed-saving-basics 

• How to Collect and Store Seeds: https://www.wildflower.org/learn/collect-store-seeds 

• https://extension.umd.edu/resource/invasive-plants-avoid-buying-your-yard-and-garden-maryland

In partnership with : University of Maryland Extension - Master Gardeners, Howard County Bureau of Environmental Services, Community Ecology Institute @ Freetown Farm, Watershed Stewards Academy of Howard County, Yards Alive!