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<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Corbel","sans-serif";
color:#1F497D'>FYI …<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Corbel","sans-serif";
color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'>From:</span></b><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'> Kerr Center for
Sustainable Agriculture, Inc. [mailto:mailbox@kerrcenter.com] <br>
<b>Sent:</b> Thursday, March 18, 2010 2:00 PM<br>
<br>
</span></p>
<h2><a name="OLE_LINK1"><b><span style='font-size:16.0pt;text-decoration:none'>PRESS
RELEASE March 17, 2010</span></b></a><b><span
style='font-size:16.0pt;text-decoration:none'><o:p></o:p></span></b></h2>
<p class=MsoNormal>Kerr Center, PO Box 588, Poteau, OK 74953 918.647.9123 <span
style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><i>Kerr Center is a non-profit educational foundation.<o:p></o:p></i></p>
<p class=MsoNormal>Contact: <a href="mailto:oklsa@pldi.net"><span
style='color:windowtext;text-decoration:none'> Maura McDermott,
918.474.3584 or </span> mauramcdermot.kerrcenter@ecewb.com</a> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b>FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE USE UNTIL May 31<o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p class=MsoBodyText><b><span style='text-decoration:none'>ATTENTION: GARDEN
EDITOR or AGRICULTURE/ BUSINESS EDITOR<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoBodyText><o:p><span style='text-decoration:none'> </span></o:p></p>
<h3>Saving Seeds: New Reports Out for OK Gardeners and Farmers <o:p></o:p></h3>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal>Some people put their family heirlooms in the attic.
Others keep them out in the garden – heirloom crop varieties, that is.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal>Older “heirloom” crop varieties are beginning to
make a comeback. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal>Two new reports detail the performance of heirloom squash
and tomatoes at the Kerr Center for Sustainable Agriculture, a nonprofit
educational foundation in Poteau.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoBodyText><span style='text-decoration:none'>During the 2009 growing
season, the Kerr Center tested 14 heirloom varieties of squash, and 16 of
tomatoes.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoBodyText><span style='text-decoration:none'>The squash trial rated
varieties for yield and date of first harvest, and the report details several
other characteristics. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal>One can easily be overwhelmed with summer squash,”
wrote George Kuepper, who directed the trials. “Total yield may not
be nearly as important as taste, marketability, or other
characteristics.”<u><o:p></o:p></u></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal>Results reported from the tomato trial include yield, date
of first harvest, and marketability, along with comments on best use and other
aspects.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoBodyText><span style='text-decoration:none'>“From a
commercial perspective, the best performing varieties were not only those with
high yields, but also those with high marketing percentages (reduced cracking
and insect damage),” Kuepper observed.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><u><o:p><span style='text-decoration:none'> </span></o:p></u></p>
<p class=MsoNormal>“Historical value and novelty are not the only reasons
to take an interest in heirloom varieties,” says George Kuepper of the
Kerr Center.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal>The rich genetic heritage of heirloom varieties preserves traits
that let them flourish in an age before widespread fertilizer, pesticides, and
irrigation. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoBodyText><span style='text-decoration:none'>Another plus: since
they are neither hybridized nor genetically engineered, anyone can save their
seed to plant again in the next season.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal>The reports are available free from the Kerr Center website,
<a href="http://www.kerrcenter.com/">www.kerrcenter.com</a>, along with others
on the 2008 trials of heirloom okra and sorghum, and a general report on the
importance of heirloom variety preservation. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal>Further heirloom variety trials are underway for 2010.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal>For more information call the Kerr Center at 918.647.9123 or
visit <a href="http://www.kerrcenter.com/">www.kerrcenter.com</a>. The site
offers free downloads of these and many other publications on various topics in
sustainable agriculture.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
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