George Washington Carver Persimmon and an edible garden

George Washington Carver:

George Washington Carver pioneered a concept of crop rotation to return needed nutrient to the soil depleted by decades of cotton and tobacco. In the agrarian South following the Civil War, this method of crop rotation drastically increased farm production. Carver also developed industrial applications for the new crops being grown, including over 300 uses for the peanut and extracting pigment from soybeans to replace European textile dyes. Carver was one of the leading African American scientists of his day and served as Agriculture Director at the Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute for Negroes which was founded by Booker T Washington.

The Persimmon:
The persimmon (Diospyros) has many species and is cultivated around the world. The persimmon fruit is anywhere from pale yellow-orange to a deep red in color and fruits may be tomato, acorn, or even pumpkin-like in shape. Persimmon fruits are actually a true berry and depending upon the species can be eaten when freshly ripe or may need additional drying time before they are ready to consume. Pies, cookies, puddings and other desserts made from persimmon fruit have a sweet and unique taste. The George Washington Carver Persimmon at MOSI is a seedling from a persimmon tree originally grown by George Washington Carver.

A Garden of Eatin':
In honor of George Washington Carver and his agricultural advances, we chose to plant a garden of vegetables and edible plants. The edible plants have been planted into "socks" made of a plastic outer mesh and filled with compost. The "socks" as well as the mulch and compost used for all of these gardens were donated by a great local humus farm Mother's Organics. Mother's Organics also set us up with drip tape irrigation for the medicinal herb and edible gardens. What a great local Tampa company!

Tasty treats:

Tomatoes: We planted two varieties of tomato plants in the garden. The fruits were picked and enjoyed by passers by and the leaves were enjoyed by tomato horn worms.

Potatoes: Sweet potato vines in green and purple ramble over the garden while their tubers develop inside the socks

Peppers: Several varieties of pepper from green bell to bright purple ornamental were used. The bell peppers were just gorgeous.

Peanut: As a ground cover, perennial peanut plants were planted toward the front of the garden.