FARMING
The most important agricultural product of Powhatan Indians was corn.
The corn was grown with bean plants which creeped up the corn stalks. Corn draws nitrogen from the soil and the beans would fix nitrogen in the soil.. this combination produced a longer yield in a particular location.
Also the Indians would move their fields around every few years to allow the soil to replenish itself. They had established sustainable agricultural system .
The problem with corn as a staple was drought, which is a problem up until this very day in the area.
At the time the English first arrived in Jamestown, the region was experiencing a serious drought ( recently proven, would you believe, by tree ring dating ) .
In John Smith's True Relation , a manuscript of approximately 35 pages, he uses the word "Corne" 31 times. He describes his ongoing efforts to get corn from the Indians, who had very little. This activity along with many other things the English did, resulted in very hostile relations with the Indians up until the capture of Pocohantos.
The corn was farmed throughout the entire area, especially on the Eastern Shore and in North Carolina.
Below is a painting of corn fields in Secotan, a village on Roanoke Island in North Carolina.
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Their rype corne
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| Their green corne |
Corne newly
sprong
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