OKEECHOBEE – The Okeechobee County Public Library offers more than books. The library has a wide variety of programs from craft sessions for children to a voter registration drive for adults.  Some patrons visit the library to use the computers – or just the free Wi-Fi access. Others prize the cool quiet of the library as a refuge from the summer heat.

The latest addition to the library services: Garden tool lending.

Want to start a garden, but don’t have the supplies? Stop by the Okeechobee County Public Library to pick up seeds, plant pods and soil. You can even borrow gardening tools such as spades, shovels and rakes for two weeks.

The seed library, based in a re-purposed old-fashioned library card catalog, has vegetable, herb and flower seeds. Helpful flyers from the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Services (UF/IFAS) provide tips on what to plant each month for the best results in Central and South Florida. Okeechobee County is on the line separating Central and South zones, the map indicates.  August is a good time to plant pineapples in both zones. Eggplant, peppers, sugarcane, tomatoes, tropical spinaches and okra area also recommended for planting this month in both Central and South Florida zones.

After the produce is harvested, library patrons are encouraged to share the bounty by donating some seeds back to the library for other patrons to plant.

There’s a limit of 5 packs of seeds per family. Tools may be checked out for two weeks.