Growing Food

Wampanoag : English Colonists

The Wampanoag Way of Growing Food

Around 1000 years ago, the elders tell us, our relative the Crow flew from the Southwest to the Wampanoag Nation, bringing us the first corn and bean seeds (weachamin gka tuppaquam wskannemuneash) as a gift from the Creator. Since that time we have learned from our grandmothers and grandfathers how to sow, tend and harvest these wonderful plants. In ancient times, Wampanoag took from the land without wasting and with great thanks for the plant life; they harvested only what they would need. For the People back then (and even today) our relationship with Mother Earth was never taken for granted.

With gratefulness, the Wampanoag took Herring as they ran up the rivers in the spring and used some of them to help fertilize worn-out planting lands. Some areas did not need the fish except every two or three years. As soon as the signs of planting time were given to us, corn seeds were put into the soft earth mounds covering the Herring. We always planted a couple of extra seeds in each mound for Crow and honored him this way, for we knew Crow loves the newly-planted corn. In our fields, we often had a corn watch, which is a platform on poles about eight feet off the ground. Women and girls sitting on that platform threw pebbles and sticks, and made noises at animals and birds coming to take the corn plants. They were especially watchful around early morning and late afternoon, as those are the feeding times of our relatives of the woodlands.

Around the time the corn plants were the height of one's hand, it was time to plant the beans and squashes around the base of the corn, including pumpkins, which are a kind of squash. Once weachimin (corn) grew taller, tuppaquamash (beans) climbed and wound around the stalks. Beans, we've discovered, add nitrogen to the ground, a very important element that the corn uses up. From this scientific fact of modern times, we clearly see how wisely our grandparents followed the Creator's instructions for growing these plants.

The Wampanoag grew sunflowers that were smaller than the ones we see today. The roots of a similar plant, now called Jerusalem Artichoke, were gathered from the wild. Later on in time, these were planted as well. Both the sunflower seeds and the artichoke roots were eaten. Melons, actually small, round versions of present-day watermelons, were part of the Wampanoag gardens and offered a sweet treat.

In late July, we would pick some of the green, not-yet-ripe corn for a special feast, as it is such a sweet corn taste at that time. As summer went by, the weeding of the corn mounds continued, but once the squash and melon leaves grew large enough, they helped to keep the weeds down and the ground moist around the mounds during the warmest weather.

Soon enough it was harvest time, when beans would be picked and eaten fresh, or dried and saved for winter food or for seeds. Corn would be picked as soon as the corn silk turns brown on each ear. All corn would be dried on the cob. Some dried kernels would be removed to parch over a fire and then were pounded into nokehig, a fine corn flour used for a travel food as well as a thickening for soups. Seeds would be saved from all the best plants for planting the following year. All squashes would be sliced and dried for later use, although some would be cooked up fresh too. Tubers from artichokes were dug out of the ground in the fall or the next spring. The small watermelons had to have been eaten up when ripe, which was a juicy job that no one minded at all!

Mother Earth always gave us wonderful and nourishing foods from her garden. For many Wampanoag, it is the same today. Our appreciation for all plant life is given to the Creator, all through the year, as we are nourished once again by these great gifts!

A Plantation is for Planting

These days, it is hard for us to understand how important planting and growing food was to people a long time ago. Today, if we are hungry, we can go to the supermarket or fast-food drive-through and get anything we want to eat. We do not have to grow it ourselves, or worry that we will starve if our harvest is poor. We do not have to work outside, in all kinds of weather, digging in the soil, planting, weeding and watering. But life was very different for the English colonists (sometimes called the “Pilgrims”) living at Plimoth Plantation in the 1600s.

The colonists at Plymouth called their town a “plantation,” a word that comes from the word “plant.” This shows you that farming was a big part of their lives. They grew crops in large open fields. They also planted vegetables and herbs in small gardens behind their houses. Many of the colonists had never farmed or gardened before coming to Plymouth.

The main crop the colonists planted was a kind of corn that they had never seen before.

They called it “Indian corn” because it was native to this country. The Wampanoag taught the colonists how to plant and care for this crop. Of course, first they had to clear the land. They had to chop down trees and pull up grass and weeds. Next, they had to dig a hole in the ground. Then they put two or three herring (a kind of fish) in the hole and covered them with dirt. The herring would rot and make the soil good to grow the corn. They planted 4 or 5 corn seeds in every mound. For one acre of land (about 43,560 square feet) a man would probably plant about 2,500 corn mounds. Remember, all of this work had to be done with hand tools—they had no tractors or automatic machines like we do today!

Indian corn was different from the sweet yellow corn that we eat today. It had all different colors on the same ear, and was not eaten fresh off the cob. Instead, Indian corn was dried and then pounded into flour and “groats” for cooking and baking. This corn was part of almost every meal in Plymouth Colony.

Along with the Indian corn, the colonists also grew some beans, pumpkins, wheat, barley, oats, and peas in their fields. In the gardens they kept near their houses, they grew many different kinds of herbs and vegetables, like basil, parsley, lettuce and carrots. The combination of the Indian corn, other field crops, and their garden plants meant that the colonists ate pretty well.

Most of what the English colonists grew, they used to feed their families. After a few years, they had started growing more than they needed to eat. The colonists traded their extra Indian corn with the Native People who lived nearby to get furs. The furs were then sent back to England to be sold. The money they made from selling the furs was used to buy all sorts of things. So farming was not just the way that they got food, but also their clothing, sugar, spices, baskets, gunpowder, and even butter.

Everything depended on having a good harvest!

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