Potential Productivity of Midwestern Native American Gardens

Datos Bibliográficos

ID9217669
AutoresWendy Munson-Scullin, Michael Scullin
Año2005
Volumen50
Número193
Páginas9-21
Fecha de publicación2005-02-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessNo
TipoARTICLE
RevistaPlains Anthropologist (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 0032-0447 • E-ISSN: 2052-546X
EditorialInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1179/pan.2005.004
OpenAlexW2330020734
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas5
Referencias citadas9

Experimental garden plots were maintained for three growing seasons on a sandy river terrace in southern Minnesota. Commonly cited yield figures for corn in Midwestern Native American gardens were tested using heirloom Northern Flint seed cultivated in a manner approximating pre-Contact horticulture. Yield was about 40 bushels/acre in the first year, declining over the next two years. Yields were considerably higher every year than historically reported averages. The test plots consisted of combinations of monocropped corn, monocropped beans, and intercropped corn and beans to determine whether there is any benefit to growing corn, beans, and squash together. No advantage in yield was found with intercropped corn, beans, and squash when planted as described in historical accounts and under the conditions of the test location. Corn was also grown both in hills and in ridges to test various hypotheses regarding the practical application of this horticultural technology.Keywords: cornmaizeproductivityhorticultureyield

Acre · Agroforestry · Agronomy · Archaeology · Biology · Bushel · Geography · Growing season · Productivity · Squash · Terrace (agriculture) · Yield (engineering) · Agronomic Practices and Intercropping Systems · Botany, Ecology, and Taxonomy Studies · Environmental Science · Forestry · Growth and nutrition in plants · Horticulture