Frome Seed Library

When life gives you lettuce,...barter them for eggs! Our @winnowfarmseeds lettuce has been fantastic, but there's only so much we can eat. So we exchanged one for a few eggs from some neighbouring chickens @rosiemcdownes , and ta dah, the Veg Patch rhubarb cake was born, just in time for a visit from @frometowncouncil who dropped by to chat to us about the exciting plans for the new @fromeskatepark.project skatepark and hear from the kids and their parents. Thank you for giving them the opportunity to share their experiences and thoughts on the space 🙏 Also on the menu, rhubarb fizz. Soon to be replaced with elderflower bubbles and lilac fizz. It's the season of the fizz!

Another top-up of the trays today, with lots of heat loving fruit and veg; cucumber, melon, and a couple of different squashes, including 'Tromba d'Albenga' (also known as Tromboncino) and Jumbo Pink Banana squash (pictured here in 2019 in my yet-to-be-born daughter's cot wearing the first item of clothing we ever bought her. Aah, memories). Also, a couple of different globe onions, kale, chard, broccoli, and Dwarf French beans. All free and available from the library. #seedsovereignty #seedsaremagic ##seedlibrary

Lots of new seeds in the trays today, including Slovakian sweet pepper, fenugreek, borlotti beans, field beans, cucumber, pumpkin, Brussels sprouts, Latvian soup peas, and these locally saved Dwarf French Beans. Expertly shelled by the Veg Patch kids, then clumsily dropped on the floor by me. #seedsovereignty #seedsaremagic

Sprout's-eye view of the Veg Patch. Enjoy the chaos...

Many thanks to Wild Buncher' Jane for the mention, alongside our pals @meadowinmygarden , in the latest edition of the @frome.times published just in time for Seed Week 2026! 🌱 Tomorrow, we'll be dropping off some packets of summer squash, pumpkin, and cucumber, so here's hoping the warm weather continues. And there's still time to contribute towards @thegaiafoundation 's Earth Raise campaign... If you've benefited from the seed library over the past few weeks, please do consider donating before midday on Wednesday, as every donation will be doubled (at no extra cost to you) by @biggiveorg Just click on the link in The Gaia Foundation's bio (if you're reading this on Insta), or follow this link if reading on Facebook: https://share.google/zruxW2c7h29M9uXUc The Gaia Foundation was instrumental in the creation of Frome Seed Library back in 2022, and their Seed Sovereignty team has supported us ever since, so please show them some love. #seedsaremagic #seedsovereignty #SeedWeek2026

It's a double whammy of Earth Day and the first day of Seed Week today, so what better way to celebrate than topping up our seed tray. That's right, we have more than just seed potatoes in stock now, hurrah! Edibles include, Spicy Salad Leaf mix, Carrots, Brussels Sprouts, Peas (a few different varieties), Dwarf French Beans, Tomatoes, Cucumber, Onion and Land Cress, we're still very low on flower seed but we have French Marigolds, giant Alliums and Morning Glory seed available. Any monetary donations received during Seed Week (22nd-29th) will be donated towards @thegaiafoundation 's #SeedWeek2026 campaign, with donations received doubled by @biggiveorg 's Earth Raise campaign, so raid your piggy banks. These 5 bags are the last of the mammoth seed potato donation (125kg!!!), kindly provided by @plantspennard Thank you to everyone who popped along to the library and grabbed a bag, we'd love to see photos of your harvests/potato salads come the summer, so please feel free to tag us. Right, time to work out which pesky librarian left potato overlord, @jamesmartinchef , to supervise the seed library 🧐 #seedsaremagic #seedsovereignty #seedlibraries #earthdayeveryday

We're back from our holidays, which can only mean one thing, SPUDS ARE BACK! We've just dropped off another 10kg or so of Casablanca seed potatoes at the seed library, so if you want to give growing potatoes a try, pop down to the library. We'll do another drop-off on Wednesday, and then that'll be it, so be quick! Apologies for the creepy photoshopping, but we couldn't resist. #seedsovereignty #seedsaremagic

Well, would you believe it? Our first delivery of the mega @plantspennard seed potato donation has all found new homes! That's almost 100kg of spuds!!! Thank you to everyone who answered the potato call, I was genuinely shocked to receive the email from library Dave this afternoon. I'm currently in Scotland (where all these lovely seed potatoes came from, but i'm not here to look at tatties, honest), but my lovely neighbour is going to break into my house and deliver a few bags of Albert Bartlett Elfe seed potatoes tomorrow, and then the remainder of potatoes (we'll only have Casablanca left) will be delivered on the 20th. Thanks for your patience! 🥔

POTATO PARTY AT FROME LIBRARY! FREE POTATOES WTH EVERY BOOK LOAN* Our pals @plantspennard have kindly donated over 125kg of premium seed potatoes to the seed library, so if you were on the fence about growing spuds this year, don't be - DO IT! Varieties include Acoustic, Casablanca, and Albert Bartlett's Elfe and Rooster. All ready and raring to go in the ground. Just think in 8-10 weeks' time you could be eating your very own potatoes. Imagine the satisfaction. You could be that smug person at dinner parties... If you're new to the seed library, we're to the left as you walk through the entrance of Frome Library. We're open whenever the library is open. All of our seeds are free, so fill ya boots! *though not technically true, the library should definitely do this 🥔📚🥔📚 #seedsaremagic #seedsovereignty #Frome

Potato Day really is the gift that keeps on giving. Believe it or not, this wasn't an April Fools' Day prank. Just another day at the seed library...

As our time with Green and Healthy Frome draws to a close, we took a stroll down to Cheap Street to visit the Green and Healthy pop up 'shop' (although i think its officially called an imaginarium, which sounds a lot better). It's a beautiful, interactive, free space dedicated to showcasing the plethora of climate and health projects across Frome, including the seed library. It was surprisingly emotional to revisit the beginnings of the seed library; the newspaper cuttings and library video were particularly poignant (or perhaps triggering- although that might just be me reflecting on how much hair I used to have), and I still can't quite work out how we managed to fit it all in... Over 3,000 seedy chats, at nearly 100 events, with over 5,100 seed packets distributed. Plus, a few hundred potatoes grown. It's been a lot. But you know what, it's also been joyful, nourishing, hilarious, fun, and full of hope. And we need that more than ever...I wouldn't change a thing (apart from inadvertently unleashing that ant nest in Haynesdown school. That was a mistake). Alongside us on our GHF journey were fellow residency buddies @everyoneneedspockets @frome_families_for_the_future and @fromefoodnetwork it's been a pleasure scheming and plotting with you all over the past 3 years, long may it continue (but only after we've had all had a very long nap, right?) None of this would have happened without the legend that is @suepalmer_23 who would have thought that a chance encounter on the river bank in 2022 could have created so many seedy doings? Thank you, Sue, and the whole GHF team for inviting us on this journey. 💚 Oh, and of course @tnlcommunityfund for the lovely funding. Cheers! @greenhealthyfrome @frometowncouncil @frome.medical.practice @edventurefrome @futureshedfrome

WE'VE DONE IT! We finally packed up every single seed donation. As of midday today, this is everything we have, and I can finally reclaim my house from all of the boxes of seed... and retrieve my crumpled daughter from the confines of the seed wagon. Flower seed is proving to be extremely popular this year, but we had a large donation of sweet peas, calendula, and the ever faithful echinops, so if you want to sow these this spring, get your skates on and pop to the library. In regards to veg seed, we've got a diverse array of beans, peas, herbs, salad leaves, and other bits and bobs. I'm particularly excited about growing the 'Moon & Stars' Watermelon. They germinated strongly and are loving the spring sunshine... Although, as I'm typing this, it's currently hailing 🤦‍♀️ As ever, all of our seed is free, but if you wanted to give us a monetary donation, we are asking people to contribute to @why_wehearyou and their appeal, details of which can be found on their website .uk #seedsaremagic #seedlibraries #seedsovereignty