South Whidbey Tilth, a sustainable agriculture chapter group located on Whidbey Island in central Puget Sound, has proposed a project that will look at the possibility of cultivating and marketing heirloom vegetable crops. According to Mike Seraphinoff, the project leader, there has been a loss of crop genetic diversity due to the decline in the use of open-pollinated heirloom and older traditional crop varieties. South Whidbey Tilth hopes to increase interest in new vegetable varieties by establishing a demonstration farm site next to their farmers' market.

Heirloom crops on South Whidbey Tilth's demonstration farm

For the first year of the project, they will grow an assortment of heirloom, open-pollinated seeds of many vegetable varieties as recommended by the Abundant Life Seed Foundation. These crops will be grown close together to minimize soil and microclimate variation. They will also grow some popular hybrid varieties of the same crops next to the heirloom crops for comparison. Next to the farmers' market, they will construct raised beds with samples of all the varieties along with signs about the project. They will observe the heirloom and hybrid crops and record their germination rates, maturation dates, diseases or other problems, size, and productivity.

The success of these heirloom crops will be measured by quantity of yield, quality of fruit, planting dates, and diseases. South Whidbey Tilth will share their findings with producers and vendors who come to the farmers' market, through their monthly bulletin, and through their annual gardening classes.