Brown County Seed Library kicks off 2026 gardening season with launch party

The Brown County Seed Library will kick off the 2026 gardening season with their fourth annual Seed Library Launch Party on Saturday, March 7, from 12-2:30 pm, at the Brown County Library’s Central Branch.

Starting at noon, this free public event will provide the first opportunity for gardeners to obtain seeds from the Seed Library’s 2026 Core Collection of vegetable, herb, fruit and some native pollinator-friendly plants, all selected for this growing region.

Adults and kids can enjoy activities such as seed art, guessing games, seed saving, interactive stories, microscope fun, and launching paper helicopter seeds.

These activities as well as educational information will be presented by the partner organizations that operate the Seed Library: Brown County Community Gardens Program; Brown County Library; Green Bay Botanical Garden; New Leaf Foods, Inc.; Northeastern Wisconsin Master Gardeners; UW-Green Bay; and UW Extension Brown County.

Additional organizations providing activities and resources at the event include Brown County 4-H, City of Green Bay Conservation Corp, Greener Bay Compost, Seymour Park Food Forest, Northeast Wisconsin Unit of the Herb Society of America, and Wild Ones, Inc.

Guest speakers will present mini workshops on diverse topics related to food and gardening.

At 12:15 pm, Brittany Arnold, from the De Pere Unified School District Nutrition Department, will demonstrate “Starting Seeds with Seed Snails,” a method for sprouting more seeds in small spaces.

At 1 pm, “Fresh Ideas for Salads & Dressings” will be presented by Grounded Cafe Chef Brittany Benson and Nutrition Program Specialist Abby Ledvina, Aging & Disability Resource Center (ADRC) of Brown County.

At 1:45 pm, “Growing and Showing Blue-Ribbon Produce & Flowers” will be presented by Eileen Rueden, Brown County Fair exhibit superintendent, and Patrick Nehring, educator with UW-Madison Extension Brown County.