vegetables

[cdm101]

Needing some help here guys. I am interested in info about what early settlers/indians grew veggie wise and how they were stored during winter. If you have any books or such that I need to read let me know.
Many Thanks
Obie

 

[Swampman]

The 3 Sisters
http://www.reneesgarden.com/articles/3sisters.html

 

[rafterob]

Yep, you will read over and over from various accounts of European's encounters with the indiginous peoples of the new world....corn, squash, beans. Corn and beans dry well and the squashes store well through the cooler winter months. Quinoa, sorghum, potatoes, tomatoes, wild rice are other crops that were cultivated in the Americas.

 

[Blizzard of '93]

turnips and rutabaga are some of if not the earliest European veggies brought to the New World.

 

[cdm101]

turnips and rutabagas-blech

 

[Many Klatch]

Turnips grow well as a first crop. They taste good raw, they cook up like a potato and they don't spoil easily. Rutabaga's or Swedes keep almost the entire winter. I think I remember reading that Rye or Barley were the first flour crop that could be planted due to the richness of the soil in fresh cleared forest land. Wheat just shot up got leggy and fell over. Corn can be dried on the husk or made into hominy if you have lye on hand. Hominy will keep a long time. I'm not sure when Jerusalem Artichokes came in, the NDN's had them and they eat like a turnip.

Nuts were gathered and stored. Chestnuts were always plentiful. You can make a sort of meal out of acorns.

I think you can find a lot of information about storing vegetables and fruits in the Foxfire books.

Many Klatch