During the mid-1980s, museum staff launched an initiative to preserve the purity of heirloom seeds, which were grown and harvested on Pennsylvania German homesteads and small farms prior to 1940. As of 2019, three production plots, six display gardens, and two hoop houses are being used to save and replant select seeds from year to year, ensuring that these strains of vegetables and other plants remain free from the impacts of modern hybridization. The museum also maintains records which document where each seed originated, and makes select varieties of seed available for sale each year to the general public at the museum's Herb & Garden Faire.Day, Gloria. "Landis Valley Village & Farm Museum preserves Pennsylvania German culture through its Heirloom Seed Project." Reading, Pennsylvania: Reading Eagle, May 8, 2019."The Heirloom Seed Project." Lancaster, Pennsylvania: Landis Valley Farm Museum, retrieved online September 6, 2019.
