The Fayetteville Public Library is giving away free seeds this spring through a partnership with the NWA Food Bank. Ozarks at Large's Daniel Caruth has more.
On the third floor of the Fayetteville Public Library, Samantha Herrera, marketing and communications manager for FPL, watches Amon Easley — the library's chef, educator and kitchen program coordinator — sift through a repurposed library card catalog. But today, they aren't looking for library cards.
“So that has been repurposed. This is the FPL seed library, and it's through a partnership with the NWA Food Bank. They have provided seeds for us to distribute to the community. They've all been sorted and they all have their labels. There are flowers, and then there are both cold and warm climate crops. It's just a resource for the community. It's replenished daily Monday through Saturday until the stock is completely done. We had about 20,000, so we're hoping that lasts us about a month, maybe longer. And it's donation-based — we're currently not accepting donations from the public. It's through the NWA Food Bank and they get the seeds from Baker Creek Seeds. We're exploring other potential donation opportunities, but for now that's the setup.”
“I just wanted to add about the Baker Creek Seed Company — they are some of the best seeds you can get. They hosted the National Heirloom Exposition that I used to attend in Sonoma County, California when I lived there, and it was amazing. They had mountain music, representation of Ozark folklore, and this incredible seed company. And even though the seed packets are just a little bit expired — hence the donation — I have always found that they germinate beautifully.”
Caruth: What can somebody find here? What are you most excited about in this seed bank?
“One thing I personally love about Baker Creek seeds is that they have a lot of unusual varietals of fruits and vegetables — crazy winged beans and things you've never heard of before. They were the first place I ever heard of a Razorback cowpea. And this is where I discovered a vegetable called tatsoi, which grew right through the snow. It's a relative of bok choy but it has a more delicate texture and almost a creamy, really lovely flavor, both cooked and raw. It's just a great place to learn about new varieties of fruits, vegetables and flowers.”
Caruth: Say somebody's a novice gardener. Is there a barrier to entry? Is there anything they need to know?
“No, they can just come to the third floor here in the library. It's over by the juvenile DVDs. You'll see this old card catalog divided into flowers, fruit, beans, cucumber, corn. It's a first-come, first-served situation. You get the seeds you're interested in growing, whether because it's something you've done in the past or you want to experiment with something new.”
Caruth: Why is this something FPL wants to do? What's the mission of this?
“It goes right along with our overall mission to have free, accessible knowledge available to the public, where you can come and explore and learn something you might not have been aware of before.”
“As a library, we're always looking for opportunities to reduce financial barriers. Allowing people to just come and pick up seeds for free is great. And the fact that there are some food options — it really encourages being able to grow your own food. It ties in with our mission.”
Caruth: Have you planted anything yourself?
“I am not a green-thumb haver.”
“I do have something — it's the Jing Orange okra. It's this beautiful plant that makes gorgeous red okra and the flowers are like hibiscus. The pods themselves are tender for much longer than the okra I've grown in the past. And if anybody is a little okra-curious or an okra skeptic, I recommend grilling them. That will take away the slimy factor. You can stack them on a couple of skewers like rungs on a ladder, brush them with oil, season them how you like and grill them over the summer. It's fabulous.”
That was Samantha Herrera, marketing and communications manager, and Amon Easley, chef, educator and kitchen program coordinator for the Fayetteville Public Library, speaking with Ozarks at Large's Daniel Caruth about the public seed library last week.
Ozarks at Large transcripts are created on a rush deadline and edited for length and clarity. Copy editors utilize AI tools to review work. KUAF does not publish content created by AI. Please reach out to kuafinfo@uark.edu to report an issue. The audio version is the authoritative record of KUAF programming.
