Patchogue-Medford Library is now the home to the area’s first seed library. Photo Credit: Michael Sorrentino

Are you looking into starting a garden this spring? Or are you a gardener with extra seeds to spare? With today’s grand opening of the Seed Lending Library, Patchogue-Medford Library can be your one-stop place to expand your garden and share seeds with other patrons.

The library is kicking off with a Seed Swap, taking place today at 1 p.m.-2:30 p.m. in Patchogue-Medford Library’s main building. The library has been working with the Long Island Regional Seed Consortium in order to kick off this initiative, making it one of the first public seed libraries in the area.

With the library now in full swing, patrons are free to donate preserved seeds into the collection for others to borrow. And for those looking to bring a new type of seed to their home garden, patrons can take up to three seed packets per month. When gardening season is wrapping up, all patrons that made use of seeds from the library are encouraged to give back the extra seeds they obtain from crops to the collection for other patrons.

The grand opening of the Seed Lending Library is Saturday.

Anyone with further questions about the seed library should contact librarian Laura Accardi with questions by calling 631-654-4700.

And for those that want to dive even deeper into seeds, the documentary “Seed: The Untold Story” is coming early next month to the Plaza Cinema and Media Arts Center at 20 Terry St. in Patchogue, just across Terry Street from Patchogue-Medford Library.

The film follows a group of seed keepers that work to stop varieties of seeds from disappearing, while also fighting against companies to protect the future development of food sources. The movie theater will show the film on Saturday, March 4th at 10:30 a.m. and on Thursday, March 9th at 7:30 p.m. Guest speakers from the Long Island Regional Seed Consortium will be part of discussions on the film after both screenings.