seed exchange

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Seed Exchange

The Seed Exchange offers access to local librarians who will support, coach, and cheer you on as you grow your own home, school, church, or community garden. The best part about our Seed Exchange: it’s free! All you need is a library card.

Get Seed Packets

In-Person Browsing Only

The following libraries offer in-person seed browsing and borrowing. These locations do not offer curbside pickup for seeds.

Main | Bordeaux | Edmondson Pike | Southeast

Order Seeds for Pickup

The following libraries offer curbside pickup for seeds. View the seed inventory at a specific location, then call the branch to place an order for pickup.

Bellevue | Donelson | Goodlettsville | Green Hills | Hermitage | Inglewood | Richland Park | Thompson Lane

How it Works

Borrow Seeds

Use your library card to borrow vegetable, herb, and flower seeds at Main Library and select branches. Find a Seed Exchange location near you.

Borrowing seeds is free. All you need is a Nashville Public Library card.

Grow Plants

NPL’s Seed Exchange offers access to local librarians who will support, coach and cheer you on as you grow your own home, school, church or community garden. We’re also working with local farmers, gardeners and community agencies to offer free gardening workshops throughout the year.

Return Seeds

Once the season is over, harvest seeds from your garden and return them to the library. We ask that you follow certain protocol when harvesting seeds to share with the Seed Exchange. We want people who take seed to get what was on the label and we want to protect from passing on disease.

Additionally, we are always looking for open-pollinated, heirloom seeds from anyone in the community who is willing to share, a little or a lot.

Our Seed Protocol includes guidelines for properly saving and preparing seeds to share.

See our Seed Protocol