Grow a garden, build community, share the excess, save seeds, and feed the future.....

They are the aims of Urban Farming Tasmania's new centre, the Seed Studio, that has just opened in a converted rusty iron industrial building, in Launceston.

"The idea behind Seed Studio was to create a hub for people to come and talk about seed saving,"

Dr Bridgitte Watts said.

Space to play or pause, M to mute, left and right arrows to seek, up and down arrows for volume. Listen Duration: 6 minutes 35 seconds 6 m Heather Thorpe, Jillian Weston, and Dr Bridgette Watts at urban Farming Tasmania's seed studio opening ( Rose Grant ) Download 3 MB

"But also a hub for garden memories and stories and narrative.

"So as an artist, I'm really interested in the exchange and how we invest these memories in what we grow and what we eat.

"Today is not just a collection of seeds, it's a collection of stories and people."

Dr Watts said Urban Farming Tasmania was creating resources for people who need help to grow their own fresh food.

She said seeds were free but recipients could exchange their stories, memories or drawings, and produce, seed, or found objects from their vegetable patch.

"Stories like being in their veggie patch with their mother and what she grew and how she cooked it," she said.

"It's stories of food that may be missing or there in their childhood but not there now.

"So we're hearing lots of different tales."

One of the fascinating stories shared at the studio opening was by Lilydale farmer, Jillian Weston.

Ms Weston said she found an unusual tin box, holding 60 tiny glass jars, containing different seeds for farmers and gardeners.

"This is one of my favourite possessions," Ms Weston said. These cork-capped vessels are part of a complete Sutton's Vasculum used by travelling salesmen to sell farmers seeds. ( Rose Grant )

"I bought it for $10 at a clearing sale many years ago.

"During the '20s and '30s, travelling seed salesmen would ride their bicycles from farm to farm and mix up a mixture of pasture grass seeds, but also vegetables for the home garden.

"So this is a complete collection and I've never tried sowing any of the seeds, but I am quite sure that they'd still be viable."

The collection contains 60 different varieties of seed in their original small glass bottles.

It mirrors, in miniature, the studio itself with shelves holding scores of glass jars.

Each jar holds hundreds, or thousands of vegetable, herb, and flower seeds.

Heather Thorpe from Urban Farming Tasmania, said the seed studio community project has already amassed collect, save and share seed to those in need.

She said community members are responsible for growing most themselves, including dozens of quite rare varieties.

"The major part come from our grower base," she said.

"People grow them at home, set aside their best plants, let them mature, dry.

"And we do run classes in how to save seeds, so people know exactly what they're doing with it.

"They come in here and we check that they are totally dry.

"And then as well as our packet making days we have packet filling days as well."

The Seed Studio is at 3 Charles Street South, it is open on weekends for visits.

A mobile seed bank also travels to community events and seed packets can be posted to people who live remotely or are unable to access the studio.