“Standing about four feet high in a small garden plot at the South Whidbey Tilth Market on Thompson Road, a dozen rows of corn have started to grow ears.Walking between two of the rows, gardener Anna Petersons is clearly visible from almost waist up. Were she standing in corn field at a commercial farm, she might not be able to reach the tassels atop a mature corn plant. Something is not quite right about this picture.The difference is in the type of corn Tilth has planted in this experimental plot. Called Mandan Red Parching Corn and widely known as Indian corn, these corn plants are part of one of the oldest corn varieties in the United States. The plants are not hybrid — not much anyway — and they’re not genetically engineered. They look much like the corn plants ancient Asian immigrants must have stumbled across when they began colonizing the Americas thousands of years ago.In fact, the carrots, beans, pumpkins, beets and tomatoes that share the Tilth garden with the corn look more like the vegetables our ancestors ate a century ago than those that show up in our refrigerators and microwaves today. With the backing of a $4,300 grant from the United States Department of Agriculture, Tilth is raising this garden full of heritage crops to preserve the almost-forgotten genetic forebears of today’s mass-produced farm crops.They’re tough little plants, Anna Petersons says. Hired as an intern by Tilth to care for the garden, Petersons said she has long been fascinated with the hardiness and variety of heritage crops.And these make more interesting salad greens, Petersons said, pulling a purple leaf off a Bull’s Blood beet plant.Tilth member Michael Seraphinoff said he hopes the project will slow the decline in heirloom and older, traditional crop varieties, at least locally. This loss is well-documented, he said. Citing statistics provided by the Rural Advancement Fund International, he said losses in U.S. vegetable varieties between 1903 and 1983 may be greater than 90 percent for many crops. This decline in genetic diversity increases the risk of broadscale crop failures due to disease or other problems, he said. Today’s crops have been crossed hundreds or thousands of times, producing plants that have specific characteristics and immunities — some that would surprise even the most critical veggie lover.Most grocery store veggies are bred for shipping, Seraphinoff said.The biodiversity problem among food crops is compounded by the widespread use of a few popular hybrid and patented, genetically-engineered crops produced by companies such as Monsanto, Cargill and Northrup King. These hybrids and patented seeds decrease the independence of farmers, Seraphinoff said, because they no longer can save seed from their own or their neighbors’ harvests for future plantings. There are no patents on heirloom seeds, making them ideal for subsistence farming and vegetable gardens.To produce legitimate heirloom seed, the crops Tilth is raising must be allowed to open pollinate — that is, pollinate on the open breezes blowing across the garden. It is possible that the prevailing breezes will blow in pollen from other hybrids, which could result in less-venerable heritage seeds. Although they would prefer to have no crossing between species, Seraphinoff and Petersons agree there are worse things than hybridization.Hybridization happens in nature all the time. Genetic engineering only happens in a lab, Petersons said.Other crops growing in the Tilth garden include Imperator and Topweight Carrots, Detroit Dark Red Beets, Bolivian Amaranth, and Stupice, Slava,and Black Krim Tomatoes. Others will be added as time and energy permit. The USDA grant requires Petersons and Seraphinoff to record growth statistics for their heritage crops, and record information about the health, appearance, and taste of the vegetables grown. Petersons and Seraphinoff are also growing certain popular hybrid vegetables in the Tilth test plot to compare them with the heirlooms. At the end of the growing season, the two gardeners will write up this information and will make a report that will be made available to growers and consumers in our region.Where to get heritage seedsMichael Seraphinoff said Tilth hopes to offer heritage seeds at its market at some point in the future. It will sell the seeds it grows in its heritage test garden this summer to the Abundant Life Seed Company in Port Townsend, which will probably supply the market with its brand of seeds for sale.At present, Seraphinoff recommends that gardeners interested in growing heritage crops call Abundant Life at 360.385.7192.”