Gardening

Gardening. . Corn was the most important crop for the people living in Chucalissa. As the skill of growing corn migrated from Central America, Native people adjusted their diets and lifestyles to reflect this new food. As people ate more corn, they traveled less often to hunt and gather plants. By staying in a single place longer, Native people were able to build bigger houses and towns to live in. This stable food source also allowed people to devote more time to politics, religion and art. , Gardening requires many tools and many hours of labor. The people who lived at Chucalissa created gardening tools out of wood, stone, bone and shell. People used tools to till the soil, dig holes for seeds, and process plants to store and eat. , Does your family have a garden? What do you grow? Why do we garden when supermarkets have the same foods?, (aside:), Corn, Beans and Squash were the "three sisters" of the Native diet. The three plants work together to provide better growing conditions for the others. The corn stalk provides a pole for the bean vines to climb on. These two plants then provide shade for the sensitive squash. The squash's big leaves provide ground cover to conserve moisture during the hot, dry summer months. Corn plants require a great amount of nitrogen to grow well and beans are one of the ... that can ... nitrogen in the soil.