Background

According to CT Data Haven, New Haven residents, and especially my neighbors in the Hill experience high blood pressure of upwards of 35%, which is 7 points higher than the national average. High stress has been shown to be a large factor in increased high blood pressure, and Hill North residents report high levels of stress. In fact, over one-half of residents have some level of tension, stress or pressure.

How does the Seedling Library help?

Gardening can be a meditative and healing process. Research has even suggested that simply making contact with the earth can lead to benefits like reduced stress and improved sleep. The idea of creating a seedling library first came to me in the summer of 2020. The outbreak of Covid-19 inspired an explosion of first-time gardeners and created a seed shortage that lasted several months. After hearing about this, I decided to donate some of the seedlings that I had already grown to my local library. The response was so overwhelmingly positive that I soon began dreaming of creating a “seedling” library. 

Why “seedlings” and not just seeds? 

Starting plants from seed can be somewhat tricky. Your success depends on the germination rate of your seeds, the quality of your soil and light conditions, regular but not excessive watering, and your ability to manage things like root rot, algae growth, fungus gnats, dampening off, etc.  After figuring out all that, you then have to harden off your plants before planting them because the cooler temperatures, the wind, and even direct exposure to the sun are all things that your tender seedling hasn’t experienced yet, and can potentially shock and stunt its growth. In short, growing things from seed can sometimes be a frustrating and finicky endeavor. I believe that by giving people a curated kit of hardly seedlings, they can get the head start & guidance they need to sustain their interest in gardening throughout the growing season. My hope is also to curate a collection of plants that include heirloom varieties and herbs that are not normally found in big box stores. The added benefit of using heirloom seeds is that people will able to harvest their own seeds from what they grow, and those seeds will grow true to the parent plant.  This is a small way of sustaining the life of the project from one growing season to the next!