Jump to Spring Planting 2026 to see this year's selection of seasonal seed types, available starting Wednesday, April 1.
Borrow seeds to grow your own healthy food and contribute to a sustainable community—it’s 1-2-3 easy with your Burlington Public Library card. Here's how our seed library works:
- Browse & Borrow... Select what plants you’d like to grow—you can select up to three "try-it" sample-size seed packets per family. Please see a staff member to check out your seeds.
- Sow & Grow... Plant, tend, and enjoy your crop
- Reap & Return... If you are able, harvest new seeds and return them to the library, packaged (we explain how!) to be borrowed by local gardeners next growing season.
Seasonal seeds are available at all BPL branches every spring, while supplies last.
Seeds For Every Gardener
With so many possibilities, you might wonder which seeds best suit your skills and interests. Our handy guide will help you have the best gardening experience.
🌼 Curious: (Re)Discover the joys of gardening! These seeds are easy to sow, and the plants need basic care, like watering and weeding. They are great for everyone—from beginners to experienced gardeners.
🌼🌼 Comfortable: These seeds and plants need some tender loving care and are perfect for gardeners with 1-2 successful growing seasons or adventurous new gardeners.
🌼🌼🌼 Confident: You're up for a growing challenge! These seeds and plants need patience and regular care to reach their full potential—but the extra effort is worth it!
Seed Types Available Year-Round
While most seeds are available only at the start of the current outdoor growing season, we have a small selection you can borrow year-round, while supplies last. Location: Central Branch, 1st floor
Chives
🌼 - Curious. The green stalks add a mild onion flavour to salads, soups, and more. You can eat the purple flowers, too.
Chives are a perennial member of the onion family with beautiful edible flowers. This cold-tolerant herb grows best when planted early to mid-spring and can also be grown indoors in containers.
How to grow: 60 days to harvest. Create a small trench 1.5 cm (½") deep and disperse seeds; lightly cover. Full sun.
Lettuce
🌼 - Curious. Lettuce is a cool-season crop that grows well in spring and fall in most regions.
Our seed library offers three varieties:
Lola Rossa has full, frilly leaves that are deep red from edge to base—perfect for garnishing or adding visual interest to a salad blend. 50–60 days to harvest.
Romaine produces crisp green leaves with a sweet flavour. 72 days to harvest.
Buttercrunch is a popular, time-tested variety with thick, green outer leaves and a sweet, cream-coloured, compact head. Mild flavour with a pleasant crunch—excellent for lettuce wraps! 55 days to harvest.
How to grow: Create a small trench 3 mm (⅛") deep and disperse seeds; lightly cover. Full sun.
Oregano
🌼 - Curious. Sometimes called wild marjoram, oregano is a woody perennial culinary herb and a fragrant, pollinator-friendly ornamental plant. It grows easily in containers indoors or outdoors as a spreading ground cover. Oregano self-seeds readily and is an excellent companion plant for tomatoes and peppers.
How to grow: 45 days to harvest. Create a small trench 6 mm (¼") deep and disperse seeds, but do not cover them as they need light to germinate. Thin plants to 30 cm (12") apart. Full sun.
Parsley
🌼 - Curious. Curly Leaf parsley adds a clean, earthy flavour to salads and many culinary dishes. Use it as a garnish or in cooking. It performs well indoors and outdoors—in planters or the garden—and allows multiple cuttings from a single planting. Upright leaves make harvesting easy, and plants tolerate light frost.
How to grow: 80 days to harvest. Create a small trench 3 mm (⅛") deep and disperse seeds; lightly cover. Full sun.
Spring Planting 2026
Along with year-round seeds, we offer seasonal seeds on a first-come, first-served basis until our supply runs out. The selection of seed types changes every year. Seasonal seeds will be available to borrow starting April 1, 2026.
Acorn Squash
🌼🌼 - Comfortable. Also called winter squash, acorn squash is distinctive for its acorn shape, deep ridges, and butter-coloured flesh. These winter squashes grow on productive, semi-bush plants. They're a good source of fibre, vitamins A and C, and minerals.
How to grow: 71 days to harvest. Sow seeds 1.5 cm (½") deep, spacing plants about 90 cm (3') apart. Full sun.
Aster
🌼 - Curious. With vibrant hues and delicate petals, the Powderpuff Bouquet aster (also commonly known as China Aster) attracts butterflies and bees, helping promote pollination. Its lovely bouquet-type habit makes it an excellent cut flower. Removing faded blooms helps prolong the flowering season.
How to grow: Start indoors or sow directly in warm soil one week after the last frost, 1.5 cm (½") deep; lightly rake in. Full sun to partial shade.
Basil
🌼 - Curious. A fragrant and flavourful herb, basil thrives in rich, moist, well-drained soil with full sun. Sweet (or Italian) basil is the most widely grown variety and pairs beautifully with tomato, egg, and cheese dishes. Also delicious in sauces, soups, and stews.
How to grow: 85 days to harvest. Sow seeds 3 mm (⅛") deep and lightly cover. Full sun.
Beans
🌼 - Curious. Green beans are an excellent source of vitamins A and C and dietary fibre. Tendergreen is a compact bush variety that produces excellent yields of 15 cm (6") stringless beans with tender texture and great flavour—perfect for fresh eating, canning, or freezing.
How to grow: 50–60 days to harvest. Sow seeds 2.5 cm (1") deep, spacing plants about 10 cm (4") apart. Lightly cover. Full sun.
Calendula
🌼 - Curious. Calendula Pacific Beauty Mix produces large, cheerful double blooms in shades of yellow and orange on easy-to-grow plants that flower generously throughout the cool seasons. A beautiful addition to gardens, containers, bouquets—or even as an edible garnish for salads.
How to grow: 60 days to harvest. Sow seeds 6 mm (¼") deep and lightly cover. Thin plants to 20–30 cm (8–12") apart. Full sun to partial shade; keep soil lightly moist.
Carrots
🌼🌼🌼 - Confident. Nantes Coreless is one of the most popular and dependable home garden carrot varieties. The bright orange roots are sweet, tender, and crisp with very small cores—excellent for fresh eating or freezing. These seeds are grown and certified organic.
How to grow: 68 days to harvest. Make shallow rows 1.5 cm (½") deep and 30 cm (12") apart. Lay seed tape in the row, water thoroughly, then cover with soil and water again. Full sun.
Chamomile
🌼 - Curious. These miniature daisy-like flowers are commonly grown and dried for teas, essential oils, and balms. The tiny white flowers are sweet-smelling and prolific.
How to grow: 60 days to harvest. Sow seeds 1.5 cm (½") deep and lightly cover. Thin plants to 12 cm (5") apart. Full sun. Harvest flowers when fully open.
Corn
🌼🌼🌼 - Confident. Peaches & Cream is a popular sweet corn variety known for its tender, sugary kernels, ranging from pale yellow to creamy white. The tall plants produce generous ears with excellent flavour—perfect for fresh summer eating.
How to grow: 75–80 days to harvest. Sow seeds 2.5 cm (1") deep and lightly cover. Space plants 20–30 cm (8–12") apart in rows 75–90 cm (30–36") apart. Plant in blocks rather than single rows for best pollination. Full sun.
Cucumber
🌼 - Curious. Cucumbers are a long-time favourite in home gardens. Refreshing and crisp, they contain plenty of water along with minerals and vitamins A and C.
Chicago Pickling is an heirloom cucumber dating back to 1888. Vigorous vines produce heavy yields of bumpy-skinned green fruit. Crisp and firm—perfect for crunchy gherkin-style pickles.
How to grow: 50–75 days to harvest. Sow seeds 1.5 cm (½") deep and lightly cover. Space plants 30–60 cm (12–24") apart. Full sun and consistent moisture.
The Marketmore variety produces uniform dark green cucumbers about 20–23 cm (8–9") long with tender skin and a mild, sweet flavour. A high-yielding open-pollinated cucumber.
How to grow: 65–75 days to harvest. Sow seeds 2 cm (¾") deep and lightly cover. Space plants 120–150 cm (47–60") apart. Full sun.
Dill
🌼 Curious. Aneth dill is a compact variety that grows about 60–75 cm (24–30") tall, producing feathery blue-green leaves with a fresh, tangy flavour. The fragrant foliage and seed heads are excellent for seasoning fish, potatoes, soups, and pickles.
How to grow: 65–75 days to harvest. Sow seeds 6 mm (¼") deep and lightly cover. Thin seedlings to 30 cm (12") apart. Harvest leaves regularly to encourage fresh growth. Full sun.
Lemon Bergamot
🌼 - Curious. This fragrant, bushy plant belongs to the bee balm family, though it’s sometimes called lemon mint. Spikes of lemon-scented lavender-pink flowers and aromatic leaves attract pollinators such as bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds. Both leaves and flowers can be used to flavour teas and salads.
How to grow: Start seeds indoors in a cool place (15–21°C) 6–8 weeks before the last frost, or sow directly in warm soil after the final spring frost. Sow seeds 6 mm (¼") deep and lightly cover. Space plants 30–45 cm (12–18") apart. Full sun to partial shade.
Nasturtium
🌼 - Curious. Whirlybird nasturtium produces large, spurless semi-double blooms in seven brilliant colours. Plants are dwarf, compact, and non-trailing. The colourful blossoms are edible and add a peppery flavour to salads.
How to grow: Sow seeds 1.5 cm (½") deep and lightly cover. Space plants 25–30 cm (10–12") apart. Full sun to partial shade.
Peas
🌼 - Curious. Two varieties are available. Peas are relatively easy to grow and generally have few pest or disease problems.
Green Arrow is an English heirloom that tolerates both cool and warm conditions. These strong plants produce high yields of 10 cm (4") sweet pods, excellent for eating fresh, freezing, or canning.
Sugar Snap peas are like candy off the vine, with dark green, slightly curved edible pods and a longer picking window than most varieties.
How to grow both varieties: 65 days to harvest. Sow seeds 4 cm (1½") deep and 2.5 cm (1") apart. Lightly cover. Full sun.
Peppers
🌼🌼🌼 - Confident. Golden California Wonder (also called Calwonder) produces large 10 × 10 cm (4" × 4") bell-shaped fruits with crisp texture and sweet flavour. Excellent raw, cooked, or stuffed. Fruits can be harvested green or allowed to ripen to a rich golden colour.
How to grow: 75–80 days to harvest. Start seeds indoors 6–8 weeks before the last frost, sowing 3 mm (⅛") deep. Transplant outdoors after frost, spacing plants 60 cm (24") apart. Full sun.
Pimento peppers are heart-shaped red fruits with thick, sweet flesh and mild flavour, traditionally used for stuffing olives and adding colour and sweetness to many dishes.
How to grow: 70–90 days to harvest. Start seeds indoors 6–8 weeks before the last frost, sowing 6 mm (¼") deep. Transplant outdoors after frost, spacing plants 45 cm (18") apart. Full sun.
Poppy
🌼 - Curious. The cheerful heirloom California Eschscholzia offers masses of dainty double flowers in shades of pink, scarlet, copper, orange, and yellow.
How to grow: Sow seeds 6 mm (¼") deep and lightly cover. Space plants 15–25 cm (6–10") apart. Full sun.
Pumpkin
🌼🌼 - Comfortable. Grow your own Halloween pumpkin this year! Aspen Hybrid produces large pumpkins with thick stems and rich burnt-orange skin. This semi-bush plant typically grows pumpkins weighing 4.5–9 kg (10–20 lb).
How to grow: 95 days to harvest. Sow seeds 2.5 cm (1") deep and lightly cover. Space plants about 1m (3') apart. Full sun.
Radish
🌼 - Curious. Despite their size, German Giant radishes stay crisp, mild, and tender without becoming woody or spongy. These bright red globes grow larger than most radishes and are perfect for salads, snacking, and pickling.
Sparkler White Tip radish produces nearly round scarlet roots with distinctive white tips. These crisp radishes deliver a lively peppery flavour.
How to grow both varieties: 25–30 days to harvest. Sow seeds 12 mm (½") deep and lightly cover. Thin seedlings to 5 cm (2") apart. Full sun.
Spinach
🌼 - Curious. Countryside spinach produces smooth, dark green leaves with a mild, tender flavour, making it an excellent choice for both fresh salads and cooking.
How to grow: 35–45 days to harvest. Sow seeds 12 mm (½") deep and lightly cover. Thin seedlings to 10 cm (4") apart. Full sun to partial shade.
Sunflower
🌼 - Curious. Colour Fashion sunflowers are a striking variety known for their vibrant mix of colours—from rich yellows and deep oranges to warm reds and browns.
How to grow: Start indoors or sow directly outdoors one week after the last frost. Sow seeds 12 mm (½") deep and lightly cover. Thin plants to 7–10 cm (3–4") apart. Full sun.
Tomatoes
🌼🌼 - Comfortable. Looking for a great sandwich or hamburger tomato? Big Beef produces large, flavourful slicing tomatoes. Plants require support with a cage, stake, or trellis.
Sweetie cherry tomatoes grow in clusters of small, bright red fruit with a rich, sweet flavour—perfect for snacking straight from the garden. These seeds are grown and certified as organic.
How to grow both varieties: 65–70 days to harvest. Start seeds indoors 6–8 weeks before the last frost, sowing 6 mm (¼") deep. Transplant outdoors after frost, spacing plants 60 cm (24") apart. Full sun.
Zucchini
🌼 - Curious. Also known as summer squash or courgette, Dark Green zucchini is one of the most popular and versatile garden vegetables. The cylindrical fruits grow 15–18 cm (6–7") long and are easy to grow. The firm, creamy flesh is excellent for sautéing, baking breads or muffins, and even eating raw. The flowers are edible too!
How to grow: 50–55 days to harvest. Sow seeds 2.5 cm (1") deep and lightly cover. Space plants 60–90 cm (24–36") apart. Full sun.
Collecting & Donating Seeds
All seed types can be "returned" to the library, whether they were initially borrowed from BPL's seed library or not! Returning seeds is not a requirement for borrowing seeds—but seeds returned from successful plants will grow our collection and help cultivate seed stocks best suited to our local climate. How you collect seeds depends on the types of plants you are growing. Generally:
- Harvest mature seeds from your healthiest plants.
- Pick fruits and vegetables a bit riper than you normally would. Remove the seeds, rinse them, and let them fully air dry.
- Leave your flowers to dry on their stems, then carefully snip them and shake the seed into a container.
We recommend reviewing a seed-saving resource, such as the Community Seed Network, if you are new to harvesting seeds. Or, explore the library’s seed-saving collection to help you get started.
How to Package Seed Donations
- Make sure your seeds are completely dry.
- Put each type of seed into a different bag or envelope. Make sure your packages are well-sealed!
- Label each bag or envelope with the seed name, variety, and harvest year. Library staff can provide labels. For example:
- Seed Name: Sugar Snap Pea
- Variety: Pea
- Harvest Year: 2025
- Drop off donations to a staff member at any of our branches during open hours. Do not put seeds in our drop boxes, please.
Frequently Asked Questions about the Seed Library
Q: Do I have to return the seeds?
The beauty of a seed library is the ability to engage in the complete growing cycle—sowing, growing, harvesting, and seed saving. We encourage all seed borrowers to try their best to save seeds and return some to the library.
However, we understand this is a challenging task. So, during the growing season, we'll share more information about seed saving and instructions on donating harvested seeds to our Seed Library. And watch for seed-saving programs to help build your skills so you can confidently harvest seeds from your crops.
Q: May I donate seeds?
We want to build our seed collection from the healthiest vegetables and herbs in your garden. We appreciate that you might like to donate extra seeds from store-bought packages—instead, please pass those seeds along to your friends and family to grow, harvest, and then give to our seed library!
Q: What seeds do you have?
We order a selection of vegetable seeds you would traditionally see in a home garden, as well as herbs. We attempt to order a few varieties in each category. All seeds are non-hybrid and organic where possible. In 2025, our seed supplier was OSC Seeds, Ontario Seed Company.
Q: How many seeds can I check out?
You are now part of a community of gardeners, and we ask that you respect that the Seed Library is a shared public resource. You may borrow up to three seed packets on one library card per family.
Q: Are seeds available year-round?
The seed library will have materials available throughout the year, though not all seeds can be planted year-round. More information about when to plant various seeds can be found in our seed library catalogue.
Q: What do I do if I can’t find the kind of seed I’m looking for?
If there is something that you would like to see next growing season, let us know. Or, if you choose to purchase heirloom seeds instead this year, you can choose to save those seeds and donate some to the library to help us grow next year.
Q: How do I properly save seeds after harvest?
The methods for saving seeds will depend on the variety of plants. Some seeds are quite easy to save. The seeds in this collection have little risk of cross-pollination, so when you plant seeds next year, you’ll get the same fruits or vegetables that you got last year. These seeds also require fewer steps to successfully save seeds. Some seeds, like those in the squash and pumpkin family, require a bit more work to successfully save. These seeds easily cross-pollinate and need plenty of space between plants; they also may need to be hand-pollinated.
We encourage home gardeners to save seeds from the "easy" plants: tomatoes, lettuce, beans, peas, and peppers. (Some extra know-how is needed for peppers.)
Q: Are the seeds from BPL's Seed Library all organic?
The start-up collection of seeds in the library were heirloom varieties (saved and passed down for generations) and bought from a vendor that is certified organic by an independent certifier, Pro-Cert Organic Systems Ltd. BPL Grows Seed Library encourages seed donors to practice organic growing methods and to be honest when providing information on their seed donations. However, there is no guarantee that the seeds donated by community members are organic. As long as you use organic growing methods, your vegetables will be essentially organic, just unable to be certified by an independent certifier until you have been growing them organically for a minimum of three years.
Q: Is there supporting information for the seed library?
BPL Grows Seed Library provides access to information to support our gardeners in growing their own food. As well as information sheets on basic gardening and seed saving, the library may offer workshops of interest to gardeners throughout the year. Burlington Public Library also has a wide variety of resources of interest to gardeners.
Q: Who do I contact for more information?
For more information, please call our Digital Resources & Collections Librarian.