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 Preparing the Land |
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The Crops
The first task in cultivating a crop area is to clear away trees and other plant growth. The natural tool for doing this was fire. First a fire was made around the foot of every tree to be cleared. Trees are killed very easy this way. The fire burns until the bark is burnt through and then the tree is felled. When the ground is cleared, the soil is broken up in each particular spot for planting with a hoe.
In indigenous communities, work parties as a team broke up the fields in the spirit of good will to each other.
Planting fields would also be fertilized with fish remains, like herring or shade. After fertilizing, it was necessary to protect the fields nightly from animals. This would take about two weeks while the fish rotted.
The major crops were corn, beans, and squash. Also grown were melons and sunflowers. Tobacco, which was grown by the men, would have been grown apart from the food crops. The corn plots were spaced in rows about six feet apart. Prior to planting, the corn kernels were soaked overnight in warm water. The best ears of corn from a previous yield would have been saved for planting.
With a hoe or spade, a 3 to 4 inch hole was made in the ground. Three to five kernels of corn are then dropped in making sure that they do not touch. When the corn has grown about three inches, three or four beans are planted with it. The bean vines will grow supported by the cornstalks.
Squashes and pumpkins are planted so that they grow in between the cornstalks. Melons can be planted among the corn or in different plots like sunflowers.
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