Elk Grove Seed Bank

I can't believe I have not posted about the Elk Grove Seed Bank yet, to be fair I am a terrible blogger and often forget (goldfish brain) and am easily distracted, clearly. I wanted to create a little space for people to share seeds, exchange seeds, connect with one another and more importantly I wanted a way that I could be a small part in giving something back to the community.

I built this seed bank in June of 2020 from a $5 nightstand I bought off Craigslist a few months prior. I sawed the legs off and removed the doors and built a mini greenhouse on top as well as a succulent living roof. This was the first time I have ever worked with plexiglass and let me tell you that is an interesting experience, I also had to build a fence for the first time in my life to be able to prob this bad boy on.

I always saw little free libraries online and around town and thought they were so great for people to share their love of reading and it got me thinking, how can I do something similar with my love of gardening? And that is how the seed bank began. I love gardening and have recently in the last couple of years learned how to save seeds from crops and flowers to be able to continue to grow them in future seasons. With seed saving, I found that I had an abundance of seeds that I would never be able to use myself and wanted to be able to share them. Thus the creation of the seed bank began. The more I thought about it, the more things I wanted this to turn into, thus the greenhouse portion of the seed bank.

Now that the EG Seed Bank has been up and running for about 7 months, people including myself have been sharing seeds they have collected from their garden, they have been sharing produce like oranges and lemons, succulent cuttings, and even dry and canned food goods. This little slice of Elk Grove has brought people together who want to not only start gardens or add new varieties into their established gardens but also opportunities to give back to others who may need it.

What does this look like in the future? I would love to actually make this bigger, literally bigger. I want to build a mini food pantry for people to drop off dry and caned goods and more produce in abundance to be able to share with people who may be struggling.

Through this "program" I have been able to collect monetary donations and donate them all to the Elk Grove Food Bank as well as collect produce and donate them to the food bank as well through the local community garden.

I encourage anyone and everyone to stop by and share seeds, food, and plants with others, to be able to give back and exchange local goods. Take some if you want, leave some if you may. All is appreciated.

The EG Seed Bank is located on Valley Oak Ln and East Stockton Blvd in Elk Grove, CA 95624.

Check out more info here on my live segment on Good Day Sacramento

If you too decide to build something similar in your town, tag me on instagram! I would love to see.

XXO,

Cassidy