MARYVILLE, Tenn. – The Blount County Public Library’s seed sharing program saw an increase in usage in 2020 despite pandemic-related limitations on access. The library staff is looking for more activity this year as interest in gardening continues to rise.

“We are expecting heavy usage early on this year,” said Sheila Pennycuff, reference librarian. “Several seed companies have had to halt their seeds sales to catch up on filling orders. So, we are preparing an online request form to help us in this heavier demand. The idea of food security from growing one’s own food is growing more and more.”

The Seed Library opened March 1, 2019. The free program allows library card holders to take seeds from the library, plant them and, after harvest, return some seeds to the library for use by other patrons. Seeds are available March 1-Oct. 31. The program is a partnership with the Blount County Master Gardeners.

Last year, 2,120 seed packets were checked out, up from 1,943 in 2019, Pennycuff said. While flower seed was the single largest category both years, the percentage of packets devoted to fruits and vegetables rose last year over 2019. Radishes and beans were the most popular. Other seed offerings included tomatoes, herbs, lettuces, peas, melons and peppers. The Seed Library currently has about 120 different varieties of vegetables, flowers and herbs.

The Blount County library was closed, except for curbside pickup, from March to July of last year. To bridge the gap, the staff built an online catalog. “We used several Little Free Libraries throughout the county during the months of March and April, and would fill them with a variety of seeds in packets of five,” Pennycuff said. “The seeds were heartily snatched up each week.”

Gardening has become more popular since the Great Recession and garnered even more attention as the pandemic began, said Diane Blazek, executive director of the National Garden Bureau (NGB). The organization is the marketing arm of the industry, which includes seed retailers and breeding companies.

The United States has seen about 18-20 million new gardeners, of all ages and demographics, in the last year or so, she said. “In times of recession, people do tend to turn to seed buying. There has been a steady increase in interest in gardening since 2008. But nothing like the explosion back in March.”

At the time, seed companies had already mailed their 2020 catalogs so customers would receive them about Jan. 1, she said. By March, they were stocked with the typical amount of inventory for a normal year. Then companies started receiving three to four times the amount of orders they would normally get, Blazek said. “They had workers going down (with coronavirus). There was a labor shortage. Two storms hit at once.”

Seed companies added shifts and looked for additional seed storage areas within their operations, she said. Some had to shut down for a few hours or a few days in order to catch up. By May or June, many had caught up, Blazek added. “There’s usually a lull during the year, but last year, the lull didn’t happen,” she said.

Blazek said problems some may have had last year in finding seeds were a supply chain issue and not a seed shortage. “It’s also a labor shortage,” she noted. “All seed has to be tested (for diseases, purity, germination). The USDA had a labor shortage so there have been delays in testing. It’s been hard to get cardboard boxes and there have been delays in shipping and delivery. Seeds are being produced and are getting to the next point in the delivery chain as quickly as possible.”

Blazek cautioned against hoarding seeds, as they can become less viable over time. She also recommended buying from reputable dealers. The NGB has a “shop members” tab on its website, www.ngb.org. The site also includes blogs (under the “inspiration” tab) with information on selecting seeds and other gardening tips.

Ricky Kemery, a retired Purdue University horticulture extension educator in Allen County, Ind., said he responded to gardening questions last year from new gardeners of all ages. “They wanted to know how to set up a garden, if they should use raised beds or conventional,” he recalled. “They wanted to know the best way to get seed and other gardening supplies – do I go to a garden center or do I do delivery? There were also a lot of pesticide and disease questions.

“Generation Z and millennials want organic, earth friendly and don’t want to use pesticides. They want to turn their front yards into gardens. They added to a demand seed companies weren’t quite prepared for. There were also a lot of retirees who were stuck at home and decided to try gardening for the first time because they didn’t have much else to do.”

Kemery thinks some of the new gardeners will keep at it once the pandemic is over. “Many will continue but not all. People get on the gardening bandwagon and then see how much work it is. You have to be realistic about how much work and how much time it takes. Gardening should never be drudgery.”