PRESS RELEASE	March 17, 2010
Kerr Center, PO Box 588, Poteau, OK 74953 918.647.9123 
Kerr Center is a non-profit educational foundation.
Contact:  Maura McDermott, 918.474.3584 or  mauramcdermot.kerrcenter@ecewb.com 
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE   USE UNTIL May 31
ATTENTION: GARDEN EDITOR or AGRICULTURE/ BUSINESS EDITOR

Saving Seeds: New Reports Out for OK Gardeners and Farmers 

Some people put their family heirlooms in the attic.  Others keep them out in the garden – heirloom crop varieties, that is.

Older “heirloom” crop varieties are beginning to make a comeback.  

Two new reports detail the performance of heirloom squash and tomatoes at the Kerr Center for Sustainable Agriculture, a nonprofit educational foundation with a farm and ranch near Poteau.

During the 2009 growing season, Kerr Center tested 14 heirloom varieties of squash, and 16 of tomatoes.

The trials rated varieties for yield and date of first harvest, and the reports detail several other characteristics.  

“Total yield may not be nearly as important as taste, marketability, or other characteristics,” wrote George Kuepper, who directed the trials.

“Historical value and novelty are not the only reasons to take an interest in heirloom varieties,” says Kuepper.

The rich genetic heritage of heirloom varieties preserves traits that let them flourish in an age before widespread fertilizer, pesticides, and irrigation.  

Another plus: since they are neither hybridized nor genetically engineered, anyone can save their seed to plant again in the next season.

The reports are available free from the Kerr Center website, www.kerrcenter.com, along with others on the 2008 trials of heirloom okra and sorghum, and a general report on the importance of heirloom variety preservation.  

Further heirloom variety trials are underway for 2010.

For more information call the Kerr Center at 918.647.9123 or visit www.kerrcenter.com. The site offers free downloads of these and many other publications on various topics in sustainable agriculture.