So I planted a little garden

[Leifer]

Here's a short post I put together about the garden we grew this year.

montanandakotan.blogspot.com/2013/10/the-garden.html

Last week we harvested everything, a day before things froze. Nothing elaborate. I'll use this to attempt to spark a discussion. We know that the natives would trade their vegetables, and IIRC, the native women were able to be dominant traders of vegetables. What do we know about the different tribe's agricultural practices and the main crops they grew?

Leifer

[isaac]

Nice blog. As you likely know, I love gardens and planting historic stuff especially. I am looking forward to discussion on this topic.

As for 3 sisters, although the term and "sisters" are Iroquoian, intercropping was done in your area. Here is an image of a Hidatsa field...



BTW, Much of Buffalo Bird Woman can be found here... digital.library.upenn.edu/women/buffalo/garden/garden.html


Here are some images of my gardens in the past (I have not blogged on them in quite awhile).

[Rod]

So the squash survived two bouts of hail, did it? I'm not surprised, the Mandan squash is pretty hardy. Now if you want something that'll take over the garden, cover the lawn, and head out into the street to do battle with the cars, I'll give you some Hidatsa squash seeds. That stuff is extremely aggressive---a number of years ago, hail leveled everything we had here, including my Hidatsa squash. I mean leveled, pounded into the ground, mulched, NOTHING left standing (the same hail destroyed the roofs on the houses and shop and killed trees). The Hidatsa squash popped back up from the root, flowered, and had mature squash by fall ---and the storm came halfway through the summer, so it had some making up to do. Tough stuff, that's for sure, and ideal for the northern plains.

Rod

[isaac]

here are a couple fun reads...

history.nd.gov/exhibits/gardening/objects4.html
www.uwlax.edu/mvac/research/IntroGarden.htm

[Leifer]

This image reminds me of an alaskan ulu knife. history.nd.gov/exhibits/gardening/pop_0086-0332.html I'd never considered slicing squash to dry them. We always just kept them in the proverbial "cool, dry place." The drying racks have me intrigued as I've never done that before. Pre-electric dehydrator

Leifer

[Leifer]

...and being a guy who is also in the Fort Buford 6th Infantry, this pic caught my attention as well history.nd.gov/exhibits/gardening/pop_0474-007.html

[Leifer]

One of the things I didn't realize when they were drying the squash by slicing them, spearing them on a stick and placing them on a drying rack, was that when the Hidatsa were doing this they weren't using full grown squash. They were doing this to the younger plants. They would let the best squash grow to full size for seed. Also, they used scarecrows to literally scare the crows. It would only work for a couple of days until the crows figured out that the scarecrow wasn't moving.

Leifer

[isaac]

Harvested my small plot of tobacco last night!!! WHooo!!!

IW

[Leifer]

Now that's something I'd like to try to grow as well

[isaac]

Oct 9, 2013 7:51:22 GMT -7 Leifer said:

Now that's something I'd like to try to grow as well

I know where you can get some seeds

[Chuck Burrows]

I'm not much of a gardener buy my wife is and this year we got to share with some friends and we all have been eating high off the hog so to speak....

Isaac - let me know what you want for some tobac seeds - been wanting to grow some - I'm hoping to get some punche seeds for next year - punche is the local wild tobacco that has been cultivated in this area for a long time...

BTW - If you want some rabbit brush (all dried out) for dying let me know I'll send you a big box - it makes a nice golden yellow on quills

[isaac]

Oct 9, 2013 10:01:37 GMT -7 Chuck Burrows said:

I
Isaac - let me know what you want for some tobac seeds - been wanting to grow some - I'm hoping to get some punche seeds for next year - punche is the local wild tobacco that has been cultivated in this area for a long time...

Let me know what you want... I have four types. One is N. tobacum and is an old Canadian variety from Quebec, one is a variety of N. rustic and is an old Ojibwe strain, and two are strains do N. quadravalis...a Hidatsa strain and a Crow strain (thanks Rod). I have grown all of them successful here. I is yours to have as long as you grow it.

IW

[Rod]

Oct 9, 2013 8:08:30 GMT -7 isaac said:

Oct 9, 2013 7:51:22 GMT -7 Leifer said:

Now that's something I'd like to try to grow as well

I know where you can get some seeds

I do, too. Leif, I'll have some seeds for you when you're out here at the end of the month.

Rod

[Leifer]

Many thanks Rod! I'd off you some seeds as well, but I've got a good idea you've already got the ones I have. I ran out of time to plant them this year, but I've got Arikira watermellon that I'm going to plant next year as well.

Leifer