Seed Saving, Sharing, and Starting
UC Marin Master Gardeners educate Marin residents on how to save, share, and start seeds. Through this program, residents gain access to a diverse selection of seeds while learning how to grow and preserve them.
Since its founding in 2023, the Seed Saving, Sharing, and Starting team has helped establish and support seven seed libraries in Marin. These libraries, along with three pre-existing ones, encourage seed saving and propagation by providing free seeds and educational materials. The goal is for participants to grow plants, save seeds, and return a portion to share with the community. The team hosts hands-on workshops, seed swaps, and propagation demonstrations.
Why is seed saving important?
Seed saving offers numerous benefits to gardeners, the community, the environment, and our food system. Learn more.
Saving seed helps:
- Preserve heirloom varieties. Seed savers can enjoy seeds that have been grown for generations, many of which have a story.
- Maintain biodiversity. By saving seeds you can select for plants with different traits, such as early ripening, size, disease resistance, yield or taste. You can select for the traits that are important to you.
- Increase the variety of plants available to the gardener. The gardener’s choice of what to plant is not limited by what can be purchased.
- Adapt plant varieties to the local environment. Seeds that you save are adapted to the soil and climate where they are grown.
- Reduce gardening costs. Saved seeds are less expensive than seedlings or commercial seed packets.
- Strengthen community connections. Seed savers can come together to share seeds and gardening experiences.
Saving seeds
We strive to build a community of seed savers and sharers for edibles, herbs, and ornamentals of both California native and non-native plants. At our events, we provide guidance and demonstrations on harvesting and preserving seeds.
Learn more about how to select, collect, and store seeds.
Label your seeds with the following information:
- Botanical name
- Common name
- Whether the seeds come from a cross-pollinated plant
- Growing location
- Grower’s name
- Year
Obtaining seeds
UC Marin Master Gardeners source seeds from various contributors, including open pollinated seeds donated at seed swap events. Open pollinated seeds are a variety that, when allowed to cross-pollinate only with other members of the same population, produce plants that are identical to the parent. Our seed sources include:
- Local businesses
- Local seed companies
- Individual UC Marin Master Gardeners
- Community members
Sharing seeds
Most seeds from our stock are distributed through Marin’s seed libraries. They are also available seasonally at local farmers markets and other locations in Marin. Residents are welcome to take free seeds and donate seeds at the following locations:
- Novato – 1720 Novato Blvd
- South Novato – 931 C Street
- San Anselmo – 110 Tunstead Avenue
- Larkspur – 400 Magnolia Avenue
- Civic Center – 3501 Civic Center Drive, San Rafael
- Belvedere-Tiburon – 1501 Tiburon Blvd.
- Mill Valley – 375 Throckmorton Avenue
- Fairfax – 2097 Sir Francis Drake Blvd.
- Pt. Reyes Station – 1143 CA-1
- Marin City – 164 Donahue Street (Opening March 1, 2025)
Propagating seeds
We offer resources and workshops to help residents successfully start seeds using different methods depending upon the plant variety:
- Direct sowing
- Indoor sowing
- Scarification
- Stratification
Learn more about propagating by seed.