All the Dirt on Gardening

  After the pilgrims arrived on Plymouth Rock in 1620, a drought year was followed by a good harvest. Guests were invited to share a meal where they could thank God for the squash, beans and corn that the Wampanoag Indians taught them to grow. Chief Squanto spoke English so his help had saved the Pilgrims from starvation. The tribe also taught them plant-based medicine and how to identify poisonous plants. On the day, General William Bradford’s men hunted wild duck and the Wampanoags brought deer. Without electricity or running water, four women cooked dinner for 150 guests at the three-day feast. It is likely that the meal was spit-roasted meat, boiled fowl, lobster, fish, cornbread, sweetened stewed fruit and water. Bradford’s records include corn meal bread, fish, chestnuts, hickory nuts, onions, squash, beans, honey and maple syrup. Since the Pilgrims came from England and Europe, Thanksgiving was partly based on English and European Harvest Home holidays. Ancient...

The first pilgrims arrived in the new world in 1620 with little to prepare them for the winter they faced. The next year, the drought of 1621, led them to pray and fast and ask God for a bountiful harvest to keep them from starving. The crops were saved that year and the pilgrims held a communal celebration feast in the autumn. The tale is folklore, and, though we accept it, nothing was written to confirm the story. Despite that, Thanksgiving was declared an American national holiday in 1941. The symbols of Thanksgiving focus on fall harvest and giving thanks. In addition, many would add football, skiing, church and walks in the woods. Decorations for Thanksgiving include fall leaves, gourds, pumpkins and cornstalks. Early Europeans made a type of wicker scarecrow that they filled with fall harvest fruits, and that evolved into the scarecrows used today. Cobs of colorful corn have been a popular decoration for decades and across cultures. Native Americans were growing corn when the pil...