La Grainothèque

Seed returns are due by Mary Strate (December 2016)

This last February 2016 marked the official opening of La Grainothèque, a seed library serving the community of Hemmingford and neighbouring villages. La Grainothèque was then the second only seed library in the entire province of Quebec and since then, Grainothèques have been blooming in different communities. Friends gathered at the Rec Centre last February to swap seeds and to listen to two very special friends, Benoit Coulombe of Ferme Giroflee and Carole Lizotte of Covey Hill, who gave informative presentations about seed saving.

La Grainothèque has been a huge success. Over fifty people have borrowed seeds from La Grainothèque with helpful advice from Beryl Tovim and Johann Strate-Friesen, our seed librarians. We hope to widen our scope next year, thanks to seed facilitation fund grants from USC Canada. With this grant money, we will have a freezer for seed storage and a website where people can view the catalogue created by my patient husband, Peter Friesen. Moreover, two garden beds at our Jardin Collectif, will be dedicated to La Grainothèque to serve as a seed garden. This is welcome news indeed.

La Grainothèque would not be possible without the generous donations and support from our community members. Please return your seeds to La Grainothèque, currently located in the rear of our municipal library, with as many details as possible (e.g., plant species, variety, soil conditions, harvest, colour, and taste). The most important aspect that I want to add to our online catalogue are the stories from your garden; it is this part of our cultural history that will make the flowers bloom longer even during winter.