Tag Archives: seed library orientation

Seed Inventory Update!

'Lettuce Get Together', Seed, seed inventory, seed saving, Uncategorized, , , , , , , , , , ,
5-15-2017 (2)
8 varieties of Bush Bean, 5 varieties of Pole Bean, Yardlong, Cow Pea, and Edamame!

Chico Seed Lending Library now has more than 23 varieties of Beans for your growing, eating and seed saving pleasure! ALL beans are ‘Beginner’ so a very easy type from which to save seed. Please consider growing out some of these varieties and returning them to CSLL!

Simply allow some of the beans to dry in their pods on the plants before collecting, but gather them before they shatter. Spread the collected pods on a tarp and gently step or rub the pods together to separate the pod from the seed. Blow the chaff away using the wind or a fan and collect the seed. Here is a video from Sow True Seed which shows you how. Do ensure the seeds are completely dry before storing in an airtight container. Then follow the steps on our seed donation page and bring some back to CSLL!

Family Common Name Scientific Name Variety Qty
Fabaceae Yardlong Bean Vigna unguiculata Thai Suranaree 10
Fabaceae Tepary Bean Phaseolus acutifolius var. latifolius Mitla Black 14
Fabaceae Tepary Bean Phaseolus acutifolius var. latifolius Gold 8
Fabaceae Bush Bean Phaseolus vulgaris Rolande 10
Fabaceae Bush Bean Phaseolus vulgaris Provider 14
Fabaceae Bush Bean Phaseolus vulgaris Kentucky Wonder -bush 10
Fabaceae Bush Bean Phaseolus vulgaris Black Turtle 10
Fabaceae Bush Bean Phaseolus vulgaris Royalty Purple 10
Fabaceae Bush Bean Phaseolus vulgaris Harvester 10
Fabaceae Bush Bean Phaseolus vulgaris Nickel Filet 10
Fabaceae Bush Bean Phaseolus vulgaris French Filet 14
Fabaceae Bush Bean Phaseolus vulgaris French Marcotte 12
Fabaceae French Bush Bean Phaseolus vulgaris Roc d’or 9
Fabaceae Pole Bean Phaseolus vulgaris German Pole Bean 12
Fabaceae Pole Bean Phaseolus vulgaris Blue Lake 12
Fabaceae Pole Bean Phaseolus vulgaris Mama’s Cannellini 11
Fabaceae Pole Bean Phaseolus vulgaris Old Homestead 13
Fabaceae Pole Bean Phaseolus vulgaris Kentucky Wonder -pole 12
Fabaceae Runner Bean Phaseolus coccineus White Emergo 3
Fabaceae Cowpea Phaseolus unguiculata California blackeye 10
Fabaceae Lima Bean Phaseolus lunatus Henderson’s Baby 1
Fabaceae Soybean Glycine max Surge 1
Fabaceae Soybean Glycine max Edamame 10

More than 300 seed packs were added to our inventory at our monthly ‘Lettuce Get Together‘ yesterday, thanks to volunteers who help us keep our inventory strong! Check out the full CSLL seed inventory for the list of all seed we have available for you to borrow.

Since January of this year CSLL members have borrowed more than 1000 seed packs, which is almost double what was borrowed in all of last year! We now ask that members also return some seed so we can locally adapt this seed to our bioregion! We have helpful information on Donating and Returning Seed but feel free to contact us if you need additional information to info@chicoseedlendinglibrary.org!

beans

 

Tomatoes!!

'Lettuce Get Together', Seed, seed saving, Uncategorized, , , , , , , , , ,
Tomato banner 8-9-16
TUESDAY, AUGUST 9th from 4:30 – 7:00pm in the meeting room of the Chico Branch of the Butte County Library (1108 Sherman Ave. Chico, CA).

Do you have tomatoes coming out of your ears?

If you do bring in some of your favorite varieties for a Tomato Tasting and Seed Saving Demonstration! You’ll learn how to process & save your tomato seed for next season and taste some delicious local tomato varieties. And even if you don’t have buckets of tomatoes come on in anyway and enjoy!

At 4:30 we’ll start with our Seed Library Orientation for those who are new or would like to know more about how to best utilize CSLL. We’ll provide information about how our seed borrowing system works, our different levels of seed saving for returning or donating true to type seed and how to advance your knowledge of seed saving in general.

Around 5pm we’ll start packing seed for our inventory and discuss our monthly seed topic which is TOMATOES!

At each and every ‘Lettuce Get Together’ you are able to:

  • Become a member of CSLL (the only requirement is to be an existing library card holder; if you’re not it’s free and easy to do!)
  • CSLL Orientation to learn how to best utilize the seed library
  • Check out up to 5 seed packs per season
  • Seed saving education and discussions (discussions include timely local gardening information)
  • Package up diverse seed varieties

We hope to see you at our ‘Lettuce Get Together’. You can join our ‘LGT’ on Facebook too!

In Seedy Abundance,

~The Chico Seed Lending Library Team
Sherri Scott, Jane Hirtel, Joan Bosque, Stephanie Ladwig-Cooper and Sarah Vantrease

(CSLL is a collaborative program lead by Earthshed Solutions, GRUB Education Program and the Butte County Library)

CSLL Logo color 2016

March ‘Lettuce Get Together’

'Lettuce Get Together', Seed, , , , , , , ,

Bean banner 4-14-15

March 8th from 4:30 – 7:30pm at the Chico Library meeting room (1108 Sherman Ave.)

We will hold our Seed Library Orientation for those who are new or would like to know more about how to best utilize CSLL. We will provide you with information about how our seed borrowing system works, our different levels of seed saving expertise for returning or donating true to type seed and how to advance your knowledge of seed saving in general.

While we package up BEAN seeds for our seed inventory we will talk about BEGINNER SEED CROPS. Beginner seeds can be fairly reliably saved without cross-pollination. These crops are a great place to start and learn about saving seeds and include:

  • Asteraceae (lettuce, sunflower, artichoke)
  • Fabaceae (bean, lentil, pea, peanut)
  • Solanaceae (tomatoes in particular are Beginner in this family)

We will also have a ROOT TASTING to enjoy sharing our crop harvest of the early spring season. Carrots, radishes, turnips, parsnips, beets and more. You can bring a certain variety you enjoy and/or make a dish with the root crop for sharing potluck style.

At each and every ‘Lettuce Get Together’ you are able to:

  • Become a member of CSLL (the only requirement is to be an existing library card holder; if you’re not it’s free and easy to do!)
  • CSLL Orientation to learn how to best utilize the seed library
  • Check out up to 5 seed packs per season
  • Seed saving education and discussions (discussions include timely local gardening information)
  • Package up diverse seed varieties


We hope to see you at our next ‘Lettuce Get Together’!!