Planning a garden? Check out our Spring Vegetable Gardening Series this March and April! Presented in partnership with the Illinois Extension, the free classes at our Watts-Midtown Branch help you learn what you need to know to produce a bumper crop of vegetables for harvest.
- March 10: Seed and Plant Choices, Soils & Fertilizers
- March 24: Cool Season Vegetables
- April 7: Warm Season Vegetables
- April 21: Insects and diseases
Each class is offered from 11 am to 12:30 pm. For more details, and free registration, check our events calendar.
Once you've planned your garden, check out our 2025 Seed Library, which opens Monday, March 17! Browse the full selection at our Downtown Library anytime during library hours. To ensure everyone gets a chance to browse the collection, please limit your selection to 5 packets per family per month.
Pre-selected themed Seed Bundles will be available at our Southwest and Watts-Midtown Branches. Each bundle already contains 5 seed packets. Please limit yourself to one seed bundle per family per month.
New this year - more native seed varieties. Look for the leaf symbol. To find specific growing information for any seed, scan the QR code on each envelope. Browse the full Illinois Growing Guide near the Downtown Seed Library display, or view it online via the Seed Library page.
The Seed Library is a free service to our community. There is no cost to pull seeds for your personal garden, and no residency or library card requirements. In 2024, we distributed 4,363 seed packets, twice as many compared to our 2023 season!
While you're welcome to save and return seeds for next year's library, it's not required. Donations of seeds for the 2025 growing season are accepted all year at our Downtown Library Information and Reference Desk.
For questions about Seed Library donations, please see our Seed Library page.
The Davenport and East Moline Public Libraries also offer Seed Libraries.