New Year, New Seed Library!

Happy New Year Gardeners!

Current Seed Library Inventory for Micanopy branch

The Alachua County Library District's seed library is celebrating the New Year by welcoming a new library location to the fold. The staff at the Newberry branch library have been trying out seeds with their users and now, with a fresh donation of expired seeds from Home Depot (Thank you Home Depot!) they will officially begin offering a full variety of vegetables and flowers. Welcome Newberry branch library!

If you’re looking for a New Year’s resolution why not start with seeds from your closest seed library? We now have seeds at ten library locations: Headquarters, Alachua, Archer, Cone Park, Hawthorne, High Springs, Millhopper, Micanopy, Newberry, and Tower Road. Try something super easy if you’re new to gardening. Cherry bell radishes do well in our area and are great for kid garden projects. If you’re short on space consider some basil and dill for the windowsill.

IFAS suggests planting the following veggies in January:

(Easily survives transplanting)

Arugula
Beets
Broccoli
Brussels sprouts
Cabbage
Cauliflower
Chinese cabbage
Collards
Endive/Escarole
Kale, Kohlrabi
Lettuce
Swiss chard

(Survives Careful Transplanting)

Carrots
Celery
Mustard
Potatoes
Spinach

(Use seeds)

Onions (bunching, shallots)
Peas (English)
Radish
Turnip

More information including soil recommendations, recommended varieties, spacing, and so much more can be found on the IFAS Vegetable Gardening Guide.

If you’re on Facebook check out the Grow Gainesville and Gainesville Ornamental Gardeners groups. Both are full of local gardeners with years of experience eager to share their knowledge. If you prefer picking up a book, check out these recent additions to our collection.