Join the Seed Library at the Round Valley Public Library for One Seed, One Community, a community-wide seed initiative bringing us together through the annual celebration and preservation of one unique food crop in our beautiful, remote valley.
One Seed, One Community is a way for us to come together by growing, enjoying, and sharing a simple, loved food: the bean. Beans are easy to grow, easy to save seeds from, and loved by many.
This project helps our community grow strong by sharing knowledge, working together, and saving seeds. It also helps us build a local collection of seeds in our Seed Library. Growing your own food is a step toward food security—and nothing tastes better than that!
To keep your bean seeds true to type, grow them 10 feet away from other kinds of beans. Let some of your best plants grow until the pods are dry and tan. You can pick the pods by hand, or cut the whole plant and hang it indoors to dry. Once dry, open the pods and take out the seeds.
After harvest, please bring a small portion of your bean seeds back to the Seed Library. That way, more gardeners can grow beans next season.
You can choose pole beans or bush beans; snap beans or dry beans—or even beans that work for both. Grow what you love!
Sow…what do you need to know?
As beans are mostly self-pollinating, they’re perfect for beginning seed savers!
Grab
The Seed Library is open during regular library hours.
If you haven’t already, complete a Seed Library Membership Form.
Find a packet of beans in the seed catalog.
Log the item in the “Borrowed Seeds” column on the back of the Membership Form and turn in your form at the circulation desk.
Sign up for One Seed , One Community email reminders throughout this growing season so you can be invited to our “weigh-in” celebration in November!
Grow
Since you are saving seed, you want to plant your crop early enough for the beans to mature to the dry bean stage before frost returns, so plant your seeds mid-May to early June. (If you are growing bush beans, don’t plant them all out at once, you’ll want to plant every couple of weeks through June or early-July to have a long harvest period.) Designate at least a couple of your early-sown, most vigorous plants as plants you will save seed from and don’t pick green bean pods from them. This way you will be sure to have at least a handful of beans to return to the Seed Library!
Common beans are self-pollinating annuals and varieties don’t readily cross. But insect-pollination can occur, so when growing beans for seed keep different bean varieties separated from each other by at least 10-20 feet; this should help maintain varietal purity.
Sow the seeds 1 inch deep in heavy soil or 1½ inches deep in light soil after the danger of frost has passed and the soil has warmed to 65°F.
Plant 4 inches (for pole beans) or 6 inches (for bush beans) apart in rows separated by 2 to 2½ feet.
Harvest
As the pods begin to turn tan and dry out, stop watering.
Pods should be left on the vine until they are brown and crisp.
Pick the pods from the plant when the seeds inside are hard.
Split the pods by hand, or fill a pillowcase with seedpods, tie the opening shut, and carefully walk in place on top of it to free the seeds.
Winnowing can be used to separate seed from chaff. Pour the seed/chaff from one basket to another, letting the wind blow away the chaff.
Dry the seeds on a screen until they can pass the “shatter test.” Put a seed on a hard surface and strike it with a hammer. If it shatters rather than squishes, it is ready to store.
Share
At harvest time, set a small amount of your beans aside and bring them to the Round Valley Public Library to be combined with the harvests of others. (Try to attend the “Weigh-in” in early November!)
Be sure to add your returned beans to the “Donation” column on the back of your Membership Form.
Community
The real beauty of One Seed, One Community is the opportunity it creates for us to come together as a community, putting seed to soil to honor and learn more about the food that sustains us.
Plan on taking part in the “Great Weigh-In” at our seed returns celebration in November, when we celebrate our community’s participation in the project. Be sure to sign up for email notifications here so you don’t miss this event!
Thank you for taking part in One Seed, One Community.
The One Seed, One Community program was created in 2014 by Hillie Salo of Silicon Valley Grows and has since spread around the world.
One Seed, One Community
One Seed, One Community is a way for us to come together by growing, enjoying, and sharing a simple, loved food: the bean. Beans are easy to grow, easy to save seeds from, and loved by many.
This project helps our community grow strong by sharing knowledge, working together, and saving seeds. It also helps us build a local collection of seeds in our Seed Library. Growing your own food is a step toward food security—and nothing tastes better than that!
To keep your bean seeds true to type, grow them 10 feet away from other kinds of beans. Let some of your best plants grow until the pods are dry and tan. You can pick the pods by hand, or cut the whole plant and hang it indoors to dry. Once dry, open the pods and take out the seeds.
After harvest, please bring a small portion of your bean seeds back to the Seed Library. That way, more gardeners can grow beans next season.
You can choose pole beans or bush beans; snap beans or dry beans—or even beans that work for both. Grow what you love!
Sow…what do you need to know?
As beans are mostly self-pollinating, they’re perfect for beginning seed savers!
Grab
Grow
Harvest
Share
Community
The real beauty of One Seed, One Community is the opportunity it creates for us to come together as a community, putting seed to soil to honor and learn more about the food that sustains us.
Plan on taking part in the “Great Weigh-In” at our seed returns celebration in November, when we celebrate our community’s participation in the project. Be sure to sign up for email notifications here so you don’t miss this event!
Thank you for taking part in One Seed, One Community.
The One Seed, One Community program was created in 2014 by Hillie Salo of Silicon Valley Grows and has since spread around the world.