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Garden of the World:
The Museum Garden brings together farming techniques from three continents. People from each continent brought their interests, customs, tastes, and some plants with them. They all contributed to colonial Maryland agriculture.
When many of us today go to unfamiliar lands, we bring something familiar with us. The voluntary European -- and involuntary African -- migrants to Maryland in the colonial period did the same. They brought their tastes, their agricultural techniques, and ways of preparing food.
The Museum Garden preserves some of these foodways. Some of the crops are native to the Americas. Others come from Europe, and still others hail from Africa. We grow the crops in each section differently to reflect the styles of the people who contributed them to colonial Maryland. We also preserve the seeds of each plant to maintain genetic diversity.
Native American Garden: The Piscataway Indians around present-day Accokeek grew their crops in small mounds. They also practices a technique called interplanting, growing complementary varieties together.
European Garden: Colonists from wet European climates grew their crops in raised beds in straight rows. This style allowed for better drainage and avoided compacting the plant beds in a moist environment.
Africa Garden: People in the arid regions of West African grew these crops in a circle pattern. It kept the focus together making best use of available water. It also allowed the farmer to harvest while standing in the middle of the circle, rather than washing energy moving around. Slaves in Maryland sometimes used these practices brought from Africa.
Colonial Kitchen Gardens: Farming families in colonial Maryland grew much of their own food. Wealthier planters experimented with a wide variety of plants in their gardens. Such experimentation was impractical for poor families, so their gardens had less variety.
Women tended the gardens. White members of the household ate first, with slaves eating only after them. Many slaves did not receive enough food for the amount of work they did, so many likely hunted and fished on the side. |