Get growing with help from your local library

For the Love of Libraries

This week’s column was written by Dallas Husar, Invermere Public Library assistant. Visit their website or call 250-342-6416 for more information.

The snow has melted, the birds are singing, and the plants are starting to emerge from their winter slumber. Many of us are starting to feel the itch to get out into our gardens and start planting.

There is an old wives tale in the valley that says you should wait until the avalanche slope on Mount Goldie (the one that looks like a set of deer antlers) is clear of snow before you begin to plant. But the truth is, some of us simply don’t want to wait that long. Our palms are itchy, the seed packages are calling us, and the smell of wet dirt is irresistible.

Luckily the Invermere library can help to calm some of those cravings while we wait for the gardening season to be in full swing.

If you are looking to plant some veggies and the occasional flower from seed, come and check out our Seed Library. This is a constantly changing collection of seeds available for everyone. The idea is to help promote food sustainability in the valley while also helping to keep planting affordable to all. Packages of seeds are available for folks to come and grab, take home and plant. Come fall, or whenever your plants seed out, we encourage folks to let a few plants go to seed, collect the seeds and bring some of them back to the Seed Library so others can plant them next year. And your seed collecting is not limited to seeds you borrowed in the spring. 

We would love to expand the collection so all plants, provided they are not invasive species, are welcome. And while some of the seeds we have on offer may require a bit more time before heading straight outside, there are a few that can be started indoors so they have a jump-start on the season.

New to gardening and not even sure where to begin? Or perhaps you want to increase your knowledge or improve your techniques. We have a wealth of printed materials you can borrow to help you get the most of your garden this season, both for vegetables and flowers.

You may even be wanting to take your yard to the next step and carry out a landscaping project you have been dreaming of. Or maybe you have been thinking of stepping into homesteading and tending chickens or pigs. We have you covered! Come on in and we can help you find the books you need to achieve success.