There is another way that Northeast Ohio gardeners can get heirloom seeds for free. The Seed Library at the Cleveland Public Library offers seeds with the hope that gardeners will plant them and bring back saved seeds from the best-performing vegetables and flowers, said Rose Hoge, a librarian in the Main Branch of the Cleveland Public Library who coordinates this Seed Library.

The Seed Library at the Cleveland Public Library got started last fall by offering seeds for cold-weather vegetables. The program is offered at the Main Library and four branches; see the list below.

Gardeners who want to “borrow” seeds can go into any participating branch and look through binders of heirloom seed packets for flowers and vegetables, Hoge said. Gardeners can take home up to five seed packets each month. Seeds were donated by the Cleveland Seed Bank, which also promotes heirloom seed-saving.

The service is free and open to Cleveland residents and non-residents. A library card is not required.

The Seed Library at the Cleveland Public Library allows Clevelanders to grow their own food and learn about nutrition, Hoge said. About 50 people took part in the program last year.

Many of the heirloom seeds that immigrants brought to this country are extinct now because they weren’t marketed by commercial seed companies, she said. Seed saving programs can help save biodiversity.

After a few years, seed library patrons will be able to choose seeds that are well-suited to conditions in their area, Hoge said. “Those seeds prove the most fruitful,” she said.

These are the participating Cleveland Public Library branch libraries:

Addison, 6901 Superior Ave.



Carnegie West, 1900 Fulton Road.



Garden Valley, 7201 Kinsman Road, Suite No. 101.

Lorain, 8216 Lorain Ave.

The Main Library, Louis Stokes Wing, Science and Technology Dept., 325 Superior Ave.