How to donate seeds in 3 steps

I’m ready. Let’s do this!

  • 1. Prepare seeds

    Place fully processed (separated from chaff, clean, dry, and labeled) organic seeds in a sealed envelope, glass jar, or heavy paper bag. (View video below for details.)

  • 2. Fill out form

    Click the button above and fill out the form that pops up. We will receive it by email and know that your seeds will be dropped off at one of our library locations. We’ll match your seeds to the form and share them.

  • 3. Drop off seeds

    Deliver your seeds to the library location you selected on the form. While you’re there, grab some seeds for your garden. Thank you for donating your saved organic seeds!

How to prepare seeds

To show you how to prepare your seeds to return, donate, or exchange, we created this video just before we held our 2nd Annual Seed Swap. (In April 2024, we’re holding our 3rd Seed Swap!)

When you return, donate, or exchange locally adapted, organically grown harvested seeds, you circulate the joy of resiliency within the community and feel the success your efforts. Thanks for sharing your seeds!

3 secrets to seed keeping

Whether you are a home gardener or farming for a small-scale culinary or market garden, you can save your own seeds using 3 secrets we’ve learned while building our seed library network. Play the video to the right to get these time-honored tips and apply them for yourself!

HUGE THANKS to our seed keepers Carmen, Vivian, Brent, Jacob, Robin, Lavender, Sabrina, Roger, and Leslie who help keep our outdoor seed library annexes maintained under conditions that keep the viability of our seeds as high as possible. You all are the best!

During summer, if temperatures are sustained above 80 degrees our four outdoor seed library annexes (Bird Nest, Downtown Napa, North Napa, and St. Mary’s Episcopal) are subject to these periodic closures. The St. Helena Library annex is housed inside the public library building and is open during library hours.

Find out more about how we select and care for our seeds on the About Seeds page on this website.