early American agriculture Archives

The Founding Farmer: James Madison’s Post-Presidential Passion

This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. October 7, 1817 On this day, James Madison, America’s fourth President, was elected to serve as the President of his local Agricultural Society. James had just retired from his presidential duties and quickly…

The American Farmer: America’s First Successful Agricultural Journal of 1819

The First Successful Agricultural Journal 1819 Today the first successful agricultural journal, American Farmer, was published in Baltimore. This post was featured onThe Daily Gardener podcast: helping gardeners find their roots, one story at a time The American Farmer, 1867

Christopher Columbus and the Gourds of the New World

A portrait of a man said to be Christopher Columbus, painted by Sebastiano del Piombo in 1519.

Squash to Spoon On this day in 1492, Christopher Columbus noted in his diary: “I climbed a mountain and came to level ground, which was sown with many different crops and with gourds.” The gourds Columbus was referring to were squashes that were used for more than food. After the skin had been cleaned and…