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Location
The Domes Seed Lending Library is located in the yurt, look for the fridge under the Seed Library Poster.
Come by during daylight hours and be respectful, this is a living space.
Baggins End (South of Orchard Park Cir. at Orchard Park Dr.)
Contact
To learn more about saving seeds, get updates of our meeting times,seed swaps or hands-on workshops join our listserv by emailing us at [email protected] and on Facebook

Upcoming Events!

FALL SEED EXCHANGE!

Bring your favorite seeds at the EC Garden on October 5, 4-6pm

About the Collective

The Davis Seed Savers Alliance is a collective dedicated to saving and sharing seeds among the various gardening communities in Davis. Our vision is to establish a Seed Library and Seed Garden to provide free access to seeds and seed saving knowledge to everyone. We support gardeners and seed savers, from beginner to expert, through the process of growing, harvesting, and saving seeds. We also aim to promote seed sovereignty, and foster cooperation among davis gardeners. We hope to ultimately connect to a larger regional network of seed libraries serving the Bay Area and northern Central Valley.

Past Events!

Thank you for the seed donations to the Library!

What is a Seed Library?

It is a depository of seeds held in trust for the members of the library. Members come and borrow seeds for their garden. They grow the plants and let a few "go to seed". They collect the seeds and return the same amount or more as they borrowed. Seeds are free to members. The library is both a collection of seeds and a community of gardeners. Since seed is a living thing, it must be renewed each year somewhere by someone or unique varieties can become extinct. Growing one seed and returning it to the library is a valuable contribution. Check out a few examples of the Bay Area Seed Libraries!

If you would like to learn more about how the Seed Library works, check out our Seed Library Pamphlet.pdf.

Richmond Seed Library San Francisco Seed Library Bay Area Seed Interchange Library Los Angeles Seed Library

Why save seeds?

Humans have been saving seeds for over 12,000 years. However, in our culture much of that knowledge, along with significant biodiversity, has been lost over the last hundred years. When you grow, save your own seeds and share the surplus, you create a culture of abundance, and you promote seed sovereignty by:

* Increasing the genetic diversity of your own seed stock

* Developing seed stock that is more resilient and better adapted to our climate and soil

* Perpetuating the knowledge and culture of seed saving

* Providing free seeds to everyone

Commercial Seed Diversity. We lost 92% of diversity for these 10 food crops in less than a century! Carrot Seed Sorting Seed Sorting

How to save seeds and help your local Seed Library grow

You can find on the Seed Matters website useful tips to help you learn how to save seeds, and you can also download for free the Guide to Seed Saving, Seed Stewardship, and Seed Sovereignty. Some very easy plants to save seed from are tomatoes, peas & beans, lettuce, and herbs like basil, cilantro, and garlic chives. Go save some seeds and share the surplus with your local Seed Library!

The Seed Library poster

What about the Seed Garden?

Seed Garden gate Seed Garden Location Located in the front part (east side) of the EC Garden, the Seed Garden project offers EC Gardeners and community members a spot to grow plants in order to harvest their seeds. It is an opportunity for gardeners to experiment the joys of seed saving without sacrificing space in their plots. Come and bring healthy, locally adapted and delicious vegetable, flower and herb seedlings to grow in the garden. At the end of the growing season, thousands of seeds will be harvested and shared with the community and seed libraries. We hope the garden will be an important step towards seed sovereignty in Davis.

Get informed on our next Seed Garden Workparty by emailing us at [email protected], or check out our Facebook page

Seed Garden design brainstorming! Sheet Mulching in the Seed Garden

How can I participate?

Signing up for our ART project

We are teaching an Action Research Team project for the Spring quarter starting April 3. Help us build a portable seed cabinet “Seeds on Wheels” with recycled materials for the Domes Seed Library! We are looking for a user-friendly design with a bike hauling system. Then, reorganizing the seeds, figuring out interesting seed categories and creative labels. We will finalize the project with a seed event introducing the Domies and Davis community to the “Seeds on Wheels” Lending Library. The goal is to provide a convenient and free access to seed everywhere in Davis. The Davis Seed Savers will teach one aspect of saving seed each week. No specific skills are required to participate except enthusiasm and creativity!”

Volunteering

If you have your own ideas for seed related activities we would love to hear about them. Let's create a local network of seedsavers, gardeners and seed saving stations in Davis! UC Davis students can find here internship opportunities.

We are looking for volunteers to help with:

  • seed sorting, repacking and library organization
  • organizing seed saving workshops
  • organizing seed swaps, seed walks and other fun events!
  • participating in the Seed Garden project
  • and much more!

Come to our regular meetings to learn about what we do and join the Davis Seed Savers Alliance!

Donations

The Seed Library and the Seed Garden are always looking for free materials and resources. Right now we need:

  • 2 Filing cabinets
  • Shelf
  • Seeds, seeds and more seeds!
  • Drip irrigation supplies: ½ and ¼ inch inline drip, T, L and straight connectors, a filter and a pressure guage

Comments:

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2013-04-23 19:44:03   I have some seeds. What kinds of seeds do you want? I have a nifty lima bean (don't know how well it does in Davis, but it does well here in Iowa). I'll have a pea I love in a few months after I increase my seed stock. And I have access to a plethora of seeds from Seed Savers Exchange. I can send a whole bunch of stuff - yay saving seeds, and yay Davis! —ChristyMarsden

2013-09-25 12:39:58   Hi Christy, sorry our group was not very active the last 6 months! Thanks for the seed offer, that's so awesome! We welcome any seed in our Seed Library. We are organizing a Seed Swap at the EC Garden on Saturday October 5, 4-6pm and I will bring the portable Seed Library I have been working on this summer. —MelanieLataste

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