Spring is just around the corner! Time to plan the balcony/garden season and get the first plants ready. All FH members can now borrow seeds again from the library at the Max-Ophüls-Platz location. There is a selection of different varieties of tomatoes, lettuce, peas, beans and garden melilot (an old crop similar to spinach).
The seed bags can be taken from the service counter on presentation of an FHCard or ID card. Over the course of the season, borrowers can harvest new seeds as well as delicious vegetables, which they can then repack and return to the library in the fall/winter. Of course, there is no fixed loan period or even reminder fees for seeds, but if the seeds cannot be harvested - for example due to snail damage or unfavorable weather conditions - the library asks for feedback by email. The more seeds are returned, the more can be offered for lending again next year. Information on growing and harvesting seeds can be found on the flyers, which can be taken at the lending desk.
In 2025, the seed library at Fachhochschule Dortmund started its first season. The seeds initially purchased come from the gardens of various members of the Verein zur Erhaltung der Nutzpflanzenvielfalt e. V. (Association for the Conservation of Crop Diversity), which provides sets of seeds, extra bags for returning them and information to libraries. After initial funding from the "Querbeet" project of the City of Dortmund's Office for Urban Renewal, the reordering of seeds for the new season was financed by the Fachhochschule Dortmund's climate protection management(Opens in a new tab) . Of course, the seeds returned by last year's borrowers are also lent out - it's a cycle.
All information about the seed library can be found here: