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A Rogers Park Seed Library? Advocates Hope to Collect Hundreds for Archive

 The plant seeds would be available to an aspiring urban farmer, organizers said.
The plant seeds would be available to an aspiring urban farmer, organizers said.
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LETS GO Chicago

ROGERS PARK — Advocates of urban gardening in the neighborhood plan to open a seed library to archive hundreds of plant seeds aspiring gardeners can borrow for free, organizers said.

"It’s an ancient practice," said Molly Costello, a leader of LETS GO Chicago, of seed-saving practices.

She said her organization was awarded an $800 grant to get the library off the ground.

The idea is to create an archive of seeds of edible plants, such as kale, tomato and carrot, that can be "checked out" by gardeners, who then replenish what they've used after the plants show their seeds later in the growing season.

Another organizer, Kendra Keyes, said they hope to launch the seed library within the lobby of the Rogers Park Library on Clark Street.

LETS GO Chicago helps maintain seven gardens throughout the neighborhood and has already started collecting seeds for the archive.

"We have a couple different varieties that we’ve saved," Keyes said. "We have a lot of kale seeds — It’s growing."

A public meeting to gather support for the library is planned for 6 p.m. Wednesday at the United Church of Rogers Park, 1545 W. Morse Ave.

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