Farmers and Gatherers Planting
Plant according to the season – Here’s a guide for which crops to plant depending on when you will be at Metni / Fort Ross. These are good staples to choose from.
Fall: Late cabbage varieties, nahavita / blue dicks*, lettuce, peas, spinach, beets, turnips, carrots, potatoes, radishes, onions, garlic, flower bulbs
Winter: Garlic, lettuce, onion transplants, spinach, radishes
Spring: Beans, peas, cherry tomatoes, cabbage, lemon cucumbers, yerba buena*, coyote mint*, chia sage*, dill, cilantro, peppers, lettuce, onion seed, potatoes, squash, flower seeds and bulbs
* native species that are edible or medicinal - More info here & in California Indians and Their Environment by Ken Lightfoot & Otis Parrish
Equipment Available for Farmers & Gatherers:
- Rakes
- Shovels, spades
- Wheelbarrow
- Yokes for carrying water buckets
- Water buckets
- Straw bales for mulch (when available)
Historical Planting Information
Food was abundant at Settlement Ross. Below is a list of foods known to have been either grown by Ross residents, introduced to the settler’s diet by the Alaska Native or Kashia cultures, or brought to the settlement through trade. All but the foods known to the Kashia people were, of course, introduced to the region’s ecology. Seeds and plants were brought from all over the world. Radishes, for example, came from China. The Spanish introduced the peppers grown at the Settlement from South America. This list is not intended to be a complete inventory, and research is ongoing.
Foods Kashia Gathered - these were mostly new to Russians and Alaskan Natives:
- Purslane
- Miner’s lettuce
- Mustard greens
- Wild onion
- Bay laurel
- Acorns
- Hazelnuts
- Wild grains
- Roots of cattail
- Shellfish
- Dill
- Fennel
- Wild carrot
- Blackberries
- Huckleberries
- Thimbleberries
Foods Introduced to Settlement Ross
Fruits:
- Peaches
- Apples
- Pears
- Apricots
- Cherries
- Quince
- Plums
- Grapes
- Melons — such as casabas, watermelons, and cantaloupes
Vegetables & Herbs:
- Winter squashes
- Pumpkins
- Cabbage — served both fresh and as sauerkraut
- Beets
- Turnips
- Carrots
- Potatoes
- Onions
- Garlic
- Radishes
- Horseradish
- Peas
- Beans
- Lettuce
- Parsley
- Mints
Grains:
- Millet
- Wheat
- Barley
- Buckwheat (kasha)
Flowers Grown at Settlement Ross:
- Roses
- Calendula
Gathered at Settlement Ross:
- Mushrooms, foraged
Historical Agricultural Tools at Settlement Ross
Agriculture (crop and livestock farming) was expanded at Fort Ross under Manager Karl Schmidt from 1821 to 1825. Agricultural implements made under his direction were equal to the best European standards. The Russians were better supplied with farm implements than were their Spanish neighbors. Their plows surpassed those used elsewhere in Alta California for many years. The Spanish in California were impressed by the windmills.
1841 Inventory:
- 1 steel machine for clearing wheat
- 26 horse-drawn plows
- 19 ox-drawn plows
- 1 rake with steel teeth
- 10 rakes with wooden teeth
- 5 carts with 4 wheels
- 10 carts with 2 wheels
- Wooden threshing floors