On a sunny mid-September morning in the suburbs of Los Angeles, the great and good of the world of gourds descended on the Ventura County Fairgrounds, ready for the National Heirloom Exposition to begin. Marking the first time the fair had been held outside of its usual locale in Sonoma County, visitors were greeted by a towering pyramid of cucurbits of all shapes, colors, and sizes—a kaleidoscope of yellows and oranges announcing the arrival of fall in all its glory.
But of course, the eclectic audience gathered to swap notes on the weird and wonderful secrets of the vegetable kingdom weren’t there just to admire, but also to learn.
First, they flocked to the heirloom poultry festival, showcasing America’s rarest and most fabulous birds: judging took place on day one, while the full lineup remained available for viewing throughout the entire event, naturally. Next, the undisputed highlight among attendees was the seed swap, pioneered by the author and herbalist Bevin Cohen of Small House Farm in Michigan and his wife Heather, and held every day between 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. Where some arrived early and calmly arranged their pre-packaged and carefully labeled packets across the table, it didn’t take long for it to become a delightful kind of chaos, with many scrambling to grab as many of the varieties—some which had been cultivated in the attendees’ families for generations—as possible. The only non-seed in the mix? A bucket full of pineapple sage clippings to propagate, which happened to have been brought by a local.
Elsewhere, exhibitors lined the halls of the convention center providing insights into the latest developments in everything from organic gardening to sustainable agriculture to community development, while vendors offered everything from vegan skincare to heirloom pasta to local honey. And for those feeling a little more curious, talks throughout the week spanned everything from heirlooms of the African diaspora, to holistic gardening, to discovering new paths to wellness via gardening for nutrition.
But the largest crowds gathered for John Kohler of Growing Your Greens—something of a seed-lebrity, it turned out, thanks to his wildly popular organic gardening series on YouTube. Another talk came courtesy of Helen Juarez, a professor at the University of Guadalajara, who spoke of her work with prison inmates and youth in drug rehabilitation programs, and how she’s witnessed firsthand the power of gardening and nurturing plants when it comes to improving mental health. Meanwhile, Joseph Lofthouse—a Mormon who took a vow of poverty to become a farmer—expounded on the benefits of landrace gardening, a form of plant breeding and cross-pollinating that any amateur gardener can try their hand at.