Beeton Seed Library
FROM OUR LIBRARY TO YOUR GARDEN
NTPL Seedy Saturday 2026
Seedy Saturday
Saturday, March 28
10:00 am – 3:00 pm
DA Jones Branch, Beeton
Mark your calendars for Beeton’s annual celebration of seeds! In partnership with the Beeton Horticultural Society and the Beeton Tottenham Business Improvement Association, NTPL Seedy Saturday Event plans include: seed exchange; seed starter kits; speaker sessions; vendors; children’s activity; refreshments and door prizes. All welcome to drop-in! Registration required for speaker sessions.
Seedy Saturday Vendor Market
Join us for our Seedy Saturday Vendor Market!
Vendors include:
- Beeton Horticultural Society – bake sale
- NTPL Seed Catalogue – free seeds
- Roots and Raven – medicine garden care self-products
- Our Little Wormery – worm mix and worm casting products
- Ballantyne Blooms and Bees – dahlia tubers and honey
- Lora’s Lovables – seeds, amigurumi plants and animals
- Porch and Patio – outdoor decor
- Julia Ruhl – dahlia tubers
- Seeds of Diversity – free seeds
Seedy Saturday 2026 Speaker Sessions:
10:30 Remembering the Medicine
Join us as we gather with community to talk about remembering and reconnecting to the medicines that once grew here, and the important role we can all play in supporting Indigenous peoples as we help restore relationships to land, plants, and traditional knowledge through connection, respect and responsibility.
Tanya Gluvakov is a mixed Mohawk woman with family and “roots” from 6 Nations of the Grand River in Oshweken, Ontario. She grew up in Toronto and is now spearheading projects that bring the resurgence of medicines and accessibility to urban communities. She is teaching several workshops about medicines from the land and how connecting with them helps us find our way. She is an herbalist, a mom, a teacher, an auntie and the founder of Roots and Raven. She grows and harvests many of the medicines from her own medicine garden and some honorably collected from the Land. “Our hope is for our community members to remember that they are never alone – we are all connected to each other and to the natural world.”
Maximum 20 registrants, drop-ins welcome space allowing. Ideal for ages 16+.
11:30 Heirloom Tomatoes
Join us for a presentation on heirloom tomatoes, discussing and troubleshooting common garden mistakes when growing tomatoes.
Krysten Zarivnij, The Tottenham Plant Girl, will guide us.
Maximum 20 registrants, drop-ins welcome space allowing.
Ideal for ages 16+.
1:00 pm Backyard Beekeeping: The Joys and the Struggles
Drawn from his own experience of starting with a single hive in a townhome backyard, to mentoring new beekeepers (while managing over a hundred hives), Robert will share about the joys and struggles of keeping bees. There are few things in nature as awe inspiring as standing in the midst of a swarm of bees. Alternatively, there are few things as discouraging as opening a hive with high yield expectations, only to find your bees lifeless on the bottom board. What can new or aspiring beekeepers expect in their first few years? Robert will share stories and insights from his own beekeeping journey.
Jevan Robert Ballantyne is a beekeeper, flower farmer and contractor based out of Mono, Ontario. He enjoys time spent outdoors with his wife Anna, their three children, and their dog. Gardening, fishing, hunting, hiking or boiling fresh maple sap are a few of his favorite things.
Follow along at https://www.youtube.com/@abeeforallseasons
Maximum 20 registrants, drop-ins welcome space allowing.
Ideal for ages 16+.
2:00 From Scraps to Soil: Vermicomposting Made Simple
This session is perfect for sustainability-minded gardeners ready to harness the power of worms! You will discover the fundamentals of vermicomposting and its powerful benefits for soil health and garden productivity. Participants will get hands-on guidance for creating and maintaining a simple worm bin — turning everyday kitchen scraps into nutrient-rich “garden gold”, a valuable, closed loops garden resource.
The People Behind the Worms My name is Callie. I am first a mother, second a nurse, and—somewhat unintentionally—have become a worm enthusiast. Our journey began five years ago with 500 “squirmy wormies” living in a bin in our kitchen. What started as a simple introduction to vermicomposting in pursuit of sustainability quickly grew into an abundance of worms, lots of worm poop (castings), and two curious young minds (children, not worms) with a deep appreciation for small but mighty creatures and the environment they call home. What began as a small-scale learning experiment has since evolved into a thriving vermicomposting practice and a desire to share this knowledge with our community. Through hands-on education and accessible workshops, I now help people of all ages discover the environmental, soil, and garden benefits of vermicomposting—and how even small actions can create meaningful change… and wonder. From our kitchen to your garden, this is about learning, sustainability, and letting worms do what they do best while we reap the many benefits.
Maximum 20 registrants, drop-ins welcome space allowing.
Ideal for ages 16+.
3:00: Interactive Plant Workshop
Join us for an Interactive Plant Workshop with a take-away. Nancy from Alliston Botanix will guide us!
Details to follow; space is limited, so reserve your spot now!
Registration required, maximum 15 registrants.
Ideal for ages 16+.
When you participate in the Beeton Seed Library, you help create a culture of sharing and abundance within the community. The more seeds in the library, the more members of our community can experience the pleasures of growing their own food. Thank you for your support!
How Does a Seed Library Work?
Come to the Beeton Seed Library and borrow seeds for free! How can you “borrow” seeds? The basic idea is that you plant the seeds, let some go to seed, then return some of these next generation seeds for others to borrow.
The Beeton Seed Library is a non-profit seed-lending library located in the D.A. Jones Branch Library. We’re open whenever the public library is open. You do not need to have a New Tecumseth Public Library card to use the seed library. We will be providing workshops on seed saving and gardening, and of course, you can also borrow books from the public library on these topics. We encourage all members to learn basic seed-saving techniques. We encourage that beginning seed savers grow out and return seeds from lettuce, tomato, bean or pea plants the first year.
Our Mission
To contribute to and support community gardening, foster self-reliance and promote healthy eating while educating the community about sustainable gardening and seed-sharing. The Beeton Seed Library celebrates biodiversity through the time-honoured tradition of seed saving, nurtures locally-adapted plant varieties, and fosters a culture of sharing by being an accessible and free source of plant seeds, supplied and cultivated by and for community residents.
How to Borrow Seeds
- 2026 Seeds are available through the following methods:
- Self-Serve: visit the Beeton Seed Library (D. A. Jones Branch).
- Order: place an order at any branch or contacting us by phone/email and your seeds will be delivered to the branch pickup location of your choice.
- Additional seeds/varieties can be accessed through self-service by visiting the Beeton Seed Library and browsing the collection. These seeds may include previous inventory and/or seeds obtained through return/donation.
HOW TO RETURN/DONATE HARVESTED SEEDS:
NOTE: We accept harvested seeds at any time of year & have FREE seed-saving envelopes available from the Beeton Seed Library!
- Drop your (fully dried) seeds off at the Beeton Seed Library and/or any NTPL branch and our staff will be happy to package them!
- Please include the following information with your donation:
- Your name
- Seed name & variety
- Location of harvest (town)
- Year harvested
- Planting season: spring | summer | fall | winter (indoor start)
- Sun requirements: full sun | part sun | part shade | full shade
- Any other information you feel would help a fellow gardener (height, flower colour, etc.)
HOW TO DONATE NON-HARVESTED SEEDS:
We welcome seed donations of all kinds. We prioritize seeds that are GMO-free, organic, heirloom, and/or open-pollinated.
To donate non-harvested seeds, please follow the same instructions for harvested seeds (see above).
Beeton Seed Library is located at the D.A. Jones Branch
WE HAVE
2026 SEEDS
Flowers:
- Asclepias (Common Milkweed)
- Coneflower (Echinae) Pink and Purple OR White and Purple**
- Holly Blue Sea**
- Hollyhock – White or Yellow**
- Marigold**
- Milkweed**
- Sunflowers
- Sunflowers – Yellow Tall**
- White Clover**
- Wild Senna Yellow**
- Wildflowers
Herbs & Bushes:
- Basil – 3 Varieties
- Bush, Button**
- Chives
- Chives – Herb or Onion**
- Dill – 3 Varieties
- Oregano
- Ornamental Orchard Grass**
- Parsley – 3 Varieties
- Sage**
Vegetables:
- Asian Greens
- Beans – 12 Varieties
- Beets – 4 Varieties
- Broccoli – 2 Varieties
- Cantaloupe
- Carrots – 12 Varieties
- Chard
- Corn (Popcorn Mix)
- Cucumber – 11 Varieties
- Eggplant
- Kale – 3 Varieties
- Kohlrabi
- Lettuce – 14 Varieties
- Lettuce – Butterbib or Buttercrunch**
- Melon – 2 Varieties
- Peas – 6 Varieties
- Peas – Alaska or Arrow or Little Marvel**
- Pencil Pod Beans**
- Peppers – 8 Varieties
- Pumpkin –3 Varieties
- Radish – 5 Varieties
- Squash – 8 Varieties
- Squash – Honeybaby/Honey baby Hybrid/Honey Hybrid**
- Sweet Corn**
- Tomatoes – 4 Varieties
- Turnip
- Watermelon – 2 Varieties
Seeds with ** are a limited supply.
For a complete list of available seeds please visit us in branch OR email [email protected].