BPSabelhaus
Well-Known Member
I'll be the odd one as usual lol
Experimental archaeology.
This is season 2 of growing Ozette potatoes. There isn't much information on the actual cultivation methods used historically, so I'm using a mix of traditional Peruvian cultivation as well as East coast first peoples methods of mounding with seaweed.
Last year I started with seaweed but quickly changed to moss and fern duff for many reasons. Lessons learned from last year plus a little collaboration with actual archaeologists, anthropologists and ethnobotanist I had several aha moments and have been gathering and sorting moss and have plans to provide mounding material for the entire season.
Hopefully lol The harder wetter mosses are being used in the soil improvement. The drier more airoid mosses are being used for mounding. This year I will be adding nettle and fireweed leaves to the mounding. Those were suggestions from collaboration with professionals. I completely blanked on those because nettles and fireweed are food and cordage. But we only really eat the fresh growth of both and the stalk as cordage. The old growth leaves are stripped off and that's that. Meanwhile the nettles are full of good nutrients that break down quickly.
So, season 2 soil has already been amended with wood ash, bone ash, shell ash, charcoal, punky wood, food waste, aquarium waste and heavy moss. Last year was just sifted soil. Last year's seed was sprouting and planted last week as per tradition during the first full moon after the last frost, offerings made etc... Up until the point of having a nude young man plant them. I'm too old for that crap and I don't want CPS called on me for having the kiddo do it lol So lines are drawn, apologies are made and ceremonial tobacco is burned so all are happy
This is sort of a physical expression of my hobby of the study of pre-settlement lifeway's related to the peopling of the Americas.
