GOING TO SEED

Estancia’s new seed library helps people grow their own food

Along with providing food for thought, the Estancia Public Library is now offering a way for people to grow food for their bodies through a new seed library. Angela Creamer, head librarian, said the seed library works in some ways like a book loaned out from the library. Seeds are checked out and taken home to grow, but seeds from a successful crop will be returned to replenish the seed library, instead of returning the original seeds.

Like any library, a person interested signs up for a card to check out seeds. Besides giving a name, the registration asks about the location of the garden. When patrons check out seeds the first time, they will be given a handout with detailed instructions and tips for growing, such as not planting until May to avoid losing plants to frost or a late freeze. The seeds in the library come from plants grown locally and known to thrive in the area, Creamer said.

“As I gardener myself, I have

learned how hard it is to grow things here because we have such a short growing season,” she said.

The seeds at the library are not the kind found in stores. They come from The Path, an organization founded by Flordemayo Hall, a healer and ceremonialist from Central America. Hall said she was divinely guided to where she now lives on a 40-acre property near Estancia.

In addition to building temples for worship on the property, she also a has a building to store and preserve heritage seeds — seeds from plants that are not genetically modified and grown organically. One of her seed keepers, Greg Schoen, made the initial contact to the Estancia Public Library about starting up a seed library.

Just as Hall’s healing methods and ceremonies harken to indigenous beliefs, she said the seed library is a way to help people and children get in touch more with their environment and to have a better understanding of where food comes from.

“When children grow their own food, you see a total turnaround in their thinking about food,” she said.

Creamer said the seed library provides a new learning resource to children who live in an area surrounded by agriculture, but who may not have a good understanding about growing their own food. By encouraging gardening through the seed library, Creamer said she hopes it will improve their eating habits, especially after they find out how much better the heritage vegetables taste.

“What a gift it is for a child to get a seed, see it grow, pick it and eat it,” she said.

TODD DICKSON/TELEGRAPH Estancia Public Library head librarian Angela Creamer, left, accepts a donation from Flordemayo Hall for its new seed library. The Path, an organization founded by Hall, is providing the heritage seeds for the library.

The multi-colored “Legendary Beauty Way” beans, among the unique heritage plant seeds offered, are believed to have been found at an archaeological site, according to The Path.

TODD DICKSON/TELEGRAPH Angela Creamer, head librarian at Estancia Public Library, and Angela Lujan, assistant librarian, sort seeds into labeled packets.