Volunteering – King County Seed Lending Library

February 28, 2024

Snoqualmie Valley Seed Exchange Coming March 16

The 2024 Snoqualmie Valley Seed Exchange will be held at the Red Barn/Picnic Shelter at Tolt Macdonald Park in Carnation, WA on Saturday, March 16, 10am – 12 noon.

This is an open-sided facility with large picnic tables inside for spreading out the seeds. It could be chilly….or glorious….on March 16 so plan to wear some layers to stay comfortable.

There is plenty of free parking available in two lots within short walking distance of the Shelter. There are also handicapped spots for those who need them.

About the Seed Exchange

The Seed Exchange is a volunteer-led project. We are grateful that Sno-Valley Tilth will have us as one of its projects! This means your contributions are fully tax deductible as a charitable contribution to a 501(c)3 non-profit organization.

Other local entities involved in our seed exchange: Strategies for Provident Living and the Cedarcrest High School Future Farmers of America.

What do we do with seeds remaining at the end of the seed exchange? We share seeds with several local giving gardens, including Hopelink’s Carnation garden, the garden at Holy Cross Lutheran Church in Bellevue, the Stillwater School garden, the Granite Falls Boys and Girls Club, the Crossroads School Garden, the Fall City Learning Garden, a community garden that grows produce for the benefit of the Fall City Community Food Pantry.

We also share seeds with the Cedarcrest High School horticulture students, who grow salad greens for the high school cafeteria lunches.

April 28, 2020February 10, 2021

Filling Orders Virtually

NOTE: This post is from 2020; seed orders are not being filled in this manner in 2021.

We are delighted that we’ve found a way to share seeds during this difficult time. In our first week, we have served several dozen gardeners, from a third-grader to a neighbor group. Our seed supply is getting short on some items, but we are happy to get the seeds into peoples’ gardens while it is still relatively fresh and viable. Thank you for your patience as our intrepid volunteers fit this task into their full lives. Shout out to Polly for all her help!

Here are a few images of the process at the NW Seattle branch, starting from cataloging the seeds to filling and packaging up the orders.

September 17, 2017September 28, 2017

Attend OSA’s Community Field Day on Sept. 25

The Organic Seed Alliance (OSA) will host its annual community field day and variety tasting on September 25th from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. in Chimacum, Washington. All are invited to join in the celebration, taste new varieties of organic produce, and learn about OSA’s cutting-edge research in the field. In addition to the variety tasting, local chefs will serve appetizers that showcase the culinary potential of what’s growing in local trials.

OSA is a local nonprofit with a national reach. It is known for its leadership in organic seed research, education, and advocacy, and participates in collaborative research with farmers, universities, and seed companies from coast to coast. The September gathering celebrates the third annual harvest at OSA’s Washington research farm, which serves as the hub of its Pacific Northwest organic plant breeding, seed education, and variety trial projects. The event also allows OSA to thank its strong and growing community of friends in the region and beyond.

The field tour will be held from 4:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. with the variety tasting and chef showcase following from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. OSA’s research farm is part of the Chimacum Farm Collaborative located at the Finnriver Orchard and Cidery, which will be open for no-host tastings and purchases.

The event is free and open to the public. RSVPs are encouraged but not required. RSVP today at seedalliance.org/events.

The Finnriver Orchard and Cidery is located at 124 Center Road, Chimacum, Washington, 98325.

July 24, 2017September 28, 2017

New Logo in Place, Thanks to Designer Donation

You may have noticed a lovely new sunflower gracing the pages of this website and our Facebook page. It is the centerpiece of our new logo, created by JoEllen Wang of Tiny Beast Design.

All of us at the King County Seed Lending Library want to give a big thanks to JoEllen for her lovely design and hard work creating it. Thanks also to Krista Staudacher, our West Seattle coordinator, who worked closely with JoEllen to make it happen.

JoEllen is a West Seattle architect who offers a full range of services to commercial and residential clients.

This is the third logo for the King County Seed Lending Library. Our image has evolved from a dandelion seedhead to an umbel of parsley seeds. The sunflower was chosen for its cheeriness and abundant edible seeds.

JoEllen also provided us with a color palette and a version of the logo to use on stamps, which will be used to label envelopes. The stamp will premiere at our annual Seed Swap, coming up next January.

January 18, 2017January 23, 2017

Four Seed Swaps Coming: Learn and Share

Details are coming together for the Great Seattle Seed Swap, sponsored by the King County Seed Lending Library. Three swaps are planned around the city, with a fourth being held by our friends in the Snoqualmie Valley.

The first event is the 4th annual Seed Swap in Northwest Seattle (share our Facebook event), set for Saturday, Jan. 28, which is National Seed Swap Day. Get some seeds, visit with exhibitors Seattle Tilth, P-Patch, Resilient Seeds and the Seattle Farm Co-op, and enjoy three 15-minute workshops.

Details of each swap:

Northwest Seattle: Sat., Jan. 28, 1-3 p.m., Phinney Neighborhood Center, 6532 Phinney Ave. N., in the Community Hall of the Brick Building

Snoqualmie Valley: Sat., Feb. 4, 11 a.m.–2:30 p.m., Cedarcrest High School, 29000 NE 150th St., Duvall

Northeast Seattle: Sat., Feb. 11, 10 a.m.-5 p.m., Meadowbrook Community Center, NE 105th and 35th Ave/ NE

West Seattle: date/time TBA

How to participate:

Please bring seeds if you have them. They can be homegrown or store-bought — even partially used packets. They should be recent, 3 years old or less. No hybrids or GMO seeds.
If you will be bringing seeds to swap, please arrive at the beginning of the event to set out your seeds.
Make a display card for your seeds stating the variety, year saved, and brief notes about growing the plant.
It is not necessary to bring seeds to participate.
Seeds will be organized by type of vegetables, herbs and edible flowers.
Attendees will be asked to limit the seeds they take so all may share in the supply.
You may donate your extra seeds to the seed lending library, which will have them available throughout the year.

At the Northwest Seattle event, enjoy these 15-minute workshops:

1:30-1:45 Basic Seed Saving – Laura Matter, Seattle Tilth

2:00-2:15 Make a Seed Ball! – Christy Cusick, Seattle Farm Co-op

2:30-2:45 Meet Our Bioregional Seed Companies – Bill Thorness, KCSLL

A resource table of books, seed catalogs and other material will be available for browsing.

At the Northeast Seattle event on Feb. 11, gardening author Bill Thorness, coordinator of the Northwest Seattle library branch, will give a lunchtime talk on seed starting and the seed-saving movement at noon.