Have you noticed the displays with garden seeds going up in the stores in your community? Those displays are a sign to me that it is time to start thinking about our garden for the summer. We do not plant our garden until after the middle of May to avoid freezing, but it is fun to start planning what we want to plant. For us, the garden is a family project that gives us tasty fresh vegetables, but it can feel like a risk. What if the seeds do not grow? What if an animal eats the plants? What if we do not like what we grow?
Last summer, deer ate everything in our garden except the marigolds my youngest son planted and the zucchini my daughter planted. We were sad about losing some vegetables and flowers. However, we enjoyed harvesting and eating the zucchini and the beauty of the marigolds. If your garden does not work out for any reason, it can feel like the risk was not worth the money and the time. To reduce some of that risk, you can use free or low-cost seeds to start your garden. Below are some ideas for finding these seeds.
- Check with your local Extension office. The office closest to where I live often does a seed giveaway in the spring. If your local office does not do a giveaway, they may know where to find low-cost seeds.
- Visit your local library. Some have a seed library program where you can check out a set number of seed packets. Then, to keep the program going, you harvest some of the seeds from your garden and return them to the library.
- Share with a family member, friend, or neighbor. Depending on garden size, there may be enough seeds in a packet to use in more than one garden.
- Find a local gardening group. These groups may do seed exchanges at a community center or through social media.
- Store extra seeds for another year. We often have extra seeds, so we put them in labeled envelopes and store them in a cool, dark, and dry place in our home. My oldest son has been in charge of this for several years.
If you find out how to get free or low-cost seeds in your town, consider starting a garden this summer. A garden can be a bucket or pot on your front step, a section of your yard, or a plot in a community garden.
