With emancipation of the enslaved, the economics of crop production changed, and so did the plant materials selected to fill the fields. Cotton and tobacco had destroyed the topsoil, and other crops became more popular, including legumes such as peas, beans, and especially peanuts. These plants can survive, and even thrive, in poor soils left behind by less land-friendly plants. Peanuts are a cheap source of protein and are easy to grow without much fertilizer because, like other legumes, they use symbiotic bacteria to absorb nitrogen from the air itself. Peaches are another example of a crop that grows in poor, topsoil-depleted land which became popular with technological advancements that made this soft fruit easier to ship. Samuel Rumph developed the ‘Elberta’ peach, a very hard to bruise peach which he named after his wife, as well as a refrigerated rail car which enabled long-distance shipping of fruit.
Plants in this section may include:
Asparagus
Asparagus officinalis
Asparagus is native to the Mediterranean and was first brought to North America in the mid 17th century, but did not become a particularly popular crop in the Carolinas until after the Civil War. Asparagus production increased dramatically because of a decrease in cotton profitability after the Civil war. This was related to the end of slavery as well as to the boll weevil which first became a major cotton pest in the late 19th century. In the early 20th century a farmer could make about four times as much from an acre of asparagus as an acre of cotton ($180). South Carolina was one of the top five asparagus producers in the early 1900s. Today asparagus is still grown in the Carolinas, but is not nearly as popular as it once was.
Asparagus is known as a plant that has an extremely high tolerance for salt and so is a great choice for growing in coastal areas. The part of the plant that is eaten is the stem, which is usually served in a variety of ways including grilling, boiling, and even raw. Those eating asparagus ingest asparagusic acid which is broken down by the body into sulfur containing compounds that give the urine of asparagus eaters a distinctive odor.
Peaches
Prunus persica
Although peaches are native to China, they are an important crop in the United States’ botanical history. The first peaches were brought to Florida in the 1550’s by French and Spanish explorers. After the northeast enjoyed a time as the center of peach production in the early 1900’s, peaches quickly naturalized across the warmer climate of the Southeast.
Unlike other fruit trees like the apple and pear, peach trees are self-fertile. They do not rely on neighboring trees for pollination. A single tree is capable of pollinating itself with the help of pollinator insects. The Prunus genus are stone fruits and include apples, pears, almonds, nectarines, and cherries, among others. Prunus fruits, like peaches are often eaten as-is, but are also popular processed into jams and used in a variety of desserts. Currently, peaches are categorized by how easily the flesh is separated from the stone. Freestones release the pit easily and are the popular variety for eating as-is. Clingstones are generally smaller and sweeter and are usually found only in farmer’s markets and orchards. This variety is more often used to make jellies. In fact, all commercial peach jelly uses the clingstone.
While peaches are usually thought to be a “southern” crop—think Georgia, “The Peach State”—California is the #1 producer in the United States. South Carolina and Georgia are second and third, respectively. Because most original varieties of peaches did not travel well in unrefrigerated environments, mass production was difficult. But by 1875, a young plantation owner and horticulturist put Georgia on the peach map. Samuel Rumph developed the Elberta variety (Prunus persica ‘Elberta’), a new firmer breed of peach that seemed to withstand travelling a distance. His discovery changed the industry in many ways. Not only was the fruit hardier, the trees easily adapted to a variety of soil and climates across the continent and were eventually prevalent everywhere peaches were grown. He also contributed to the success of the industry by inventing a way to pack the peaches on ice in crates. This led to the development of the first refrigerated rail cars, which of course is crucial to food transportation.
Soybean
Glycine max
The Chinese soybean was introduced to the North American continent when Samuel Bowen brought seeds from China to his home in the Colony of Georgia in 1765. He cultivated the crop and is credited with obtaining the first American patent for soy sauce.
Within the next century, wider cultivation of the soybean began to take root across the United States. While the plants were grown in many areas of the country, they grew best in the hot, humid conditions of the South. As a legume the soybean is a very valuable crop because it houses bacteria which collect nitrogen from the air to create fertilizer which the plant can use.
By the turn of the 20th century, the U.S. Department of Agriculture had begun to study and test the crops for their use as animal feed and encouraged farmers to adopt the practice as a nutritious, cost-effective form of sustenance, which has continued into modern times. During this time, George Washington Carver is credited with the discovery that soybeans are a good source of protein and valuable as a rotation crop (because it collects nitrogen from the air) that encouraged a more productive cotton yield when rotated in the same fields. The expansion of uses for soybeans also meant that the crop helped reduce dependency on “King Cotton” as a primary source of income for the agriculture industry.
By the middle of the 20th century, soybean uses expanded broadly, with the invention of soy-based plastics and lubricants. It is documented that by 1935, Henry Ford used a bushel of soybeans for each car the Ford Motor Co. produced.
Today, soybeans have an even broader application, broken down into two components: meal and oil. Ninety-eight percent of meal is used in animal feed, while eighty-eight percent of oil is used for human consumption.
Tomato, Love Apple
Solanum lycopersicum
Tomatoes are native to South America where its evolutionary predecessor, the pimp, still lives. This plant is in the nightshade family (Solanaceae) along with a host of other edible plants including potato, eggplant, and pepper. Besides these edible plants, the nightshade family also include the toxic plants deadly nightshade and jimson weed. In fact, many of the edible plants in the nightshade family have certain parts that are somewhat toxic. For example, tomato leaves contain tomatine which is mildly toxic to humans and potato leaves contain solanine in their leaves, and can even have this toxin in the potatoes themselves if they are exposed to sunlight while growing.
No one knows exactly how the first tomatoes came to North America, but various theories have the Spanish, French or English delivering this plant to our shores. The first European reference to tomatoes in North America was in 1710 when the botanist Dr. William Salmon referred to the growing of “love apples” in South Carolina. Generally speaking, tomatoes were not a very popular crop until the mid-1800s because of their reputation among various groups as potentially toxic. Tomato production took off in the early 1900s and today both North and South Carolina are among the top ten tomato producing states.
There are many types of tomatoes from the tiny cherry tomatoes on up to some huge heirloom tomatoes that can weigh over a pound. Different colors and shapes are also available depending on what a grower is looking for. Commercial growers and those growing tomatoes at home usually pick different types of tomatoes to grow. Growers prefer “determinate” varieties which have all of their fruit ripen at once making them easier to harvest. Home gardeners prefer “indeterminate” varieties which allow ripe fruit to be harvested over a longer period of time.
Tomatoes prefer a warm climate and don’t really start to grow aggressively until soil temperatures are around 70 degrees Fahrenheit. Gardeners in the Carolinas usually wait until early May to plant. Tomatoes are very susceptible to late frosts. Tomatoes do not need to cross pollinate, so a single plant can fertilize itself and produce a decent yield.
Tomatoes can be eaten in a variety of ways. Fresh tomatoes are certainly one of life’s great pleasures, but they can also be stewed, sautéed, fried (another of life’s great pleasures!) and even made into pies.
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