Seed Library helps local gardeners
On the last Tuesday of each month, a small group gathers at the Georgetown Library with seed envelopes, notebooks, labels and a lot to say about plants. There's no agenda to speak of, and nobody is in a hurry.
"We come in here, there's no time limit until they run us out, and we're normally just in here talking plants, gardening," said Tim Chatman, who co-organizes the library's Seed Savers group with Gaye Williams.
The group keeps the seed library stocked. Housed in an old card catalog cabinet, the seed library is a free collection of seed packets that anyone can take home and plant. But the point isn't simply to hand out seeds. It's to help residents grow food and flowers that do well in local conditions, planted at the right time of year, with neighbors around to answer questions.
The seed library got its start with a grant written by Sheila Sullivan, who retired in late 2024 after 50 years with the Georgetown County Library system. Before she left, Chatman said, she asked him and Williams to carry the project forward.
"She said, look guys, I need y'all to keep this thing going," Chatman said. "So we said yes, we will do it."
The right seed at the right time
One of the first lessons the group shares is that not every seed is worth planting.
"You can save seeds, but you just can't plant any seed," Chatman said.
That's why the seed library rotates with the seasons. Volunteers research planting windows, leaning on the Clemson Extension as a resource, and put seeds into the catalog only when it's time to sow them. Seeds that come in early are bundled by variety and held until their season arrives.
"We want to encourage folks to garden," Chatman said. "And we want them to have some success."
Much of the work happens at the monthly meetings. Members spoon seeds into small envelopes, and label them with planting information stickers designed in Canva, an idea Williams picked up from the seed library at the Conway library in Horry County. Unlike that library-run program, Georgetown's is community-driven, kept going by volunteers.
Seeds come from members' own gardens and from seed companies around the country, which often donate their current-year stock to community and children's gardening projects once the selling season ends. The group asks for those donations.
Sometimes a single contribution travels a long way. Last year, a member who doesn't attend meetings sent the group butternut squash seeds. Volunteers packaged them, every envelope was claimed, and that squash has since been grown across the county.
Learning from each other
The group averages eight or nine people a month; its largest meeting drew 12. Members bring a mix of experience.
Chatman's background is in growing fruits and vegetables. Williams has loved plants since an eighth-grade science project comparing how nutrients affected plant growth, and she focuses mostly on edibles.
"I try to grow things that you can eat because I think it's important," she said.
Her citrus trees are a perk for the group. "She's got oranges," Chatman said. "So I get to eat a lot of oranges."
New members bring new knowledge, too. At the group's most recent meeting, Deb, a newcomer from the South Island community, shared seeds from a candlestick plant and talked about the pink grapefruit growing on her property. The group is already hoping to taste the fruit when it ripens later this fall.
Lately, Chatman and Williams have been experimenting with air layering, a propagation method in which a branch is encouraged to root while still attached to the parent plant. When it works, the branch can be cut free and planted as a well-established tree instead of a seedling. They've tried it on Williams' orange tree and plan to try it on camellias next.
That technique connects the group to another local tradition. One Seed Savers member also belongs to a camellia society whose members visit historic district properties, air layer the old camellias there and share the new plants among themselves, helping preserve varieties that have grown in Georgetown for generations.
How to get involved
The Seed Savers meet the last Tuesday of each month at the Georgetown Library, though dates occasionally shift. Meetings are informal, and newcomers are welcome.
Upcoming dates are listed on the library's activity calendar at gtcountysc.gov. Members also keep in touch through a group text, which Williams uses to share updates and schedule changes.
Residents don't have to attend a meeting to use the seed library. Seed packets are available to take home and plant, with timing and growing information on the label. "We're just sharing our knowledge," Chatman said.
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