Researching and Promoting Appropriate Practices Utilizing Ecological Knowledge for Growing Food Crops.

Commodities

Practices

This project is designed to research and promote appropriate practices of sustainably growing crops. Wabanaki (people of the dawn) known individually as Penobscot, Mi'kmaq, Maliseet, Passamaquoddy and Odanak/Wolianak Abenaki, are the original peoples in the eastern woodlands territory. All Nations have been systematically removed and restricted from their traditional homelands and whole food systems. The objective of this project is to reconnect people back to these practices through Traditional Ecological Knowledge, the way the ancestors understood the land. This hands-on learning experience at a Wabanaki owned farm in Penobscot ancestral territory will provide beginning gardens/farmers the tools to becoming food sovereign. Some of the key components of this project is to teach Wabanaki citizens how to start their own home gardens using traditional methods of native plant cover cropping, companion planting, traditional soil amendments (alewives, ash, composted food waste etc.) and cultivation techniques to revive and enhance life in the soil. Participants will receive take home materials in which to refer back to as they continue their journey of growing their own food. Results of the project will be assessed by the number of new gardeners participating in the project, the number of home gardens started and the feedback from the participants whether they feel they have gained the right tools to continue growing their own food and whether this project helped to change any challenges they had before starting the project.

The research objective of this project is to identify and trail native plants grown in this area that enhance the health of the soil as well as provide useful integrated pest management in a traditional food garden. The research will include speaking with other Traditional Ecological Knowledge keepers about plants and relationships that have been handed down from generation to generation. The promoting and educating objective of this project is to provide Wabanaki citizens with hands-on experience at a Wabanaki farm to learn how to grow their own food. They will learn Indigenous Agriculture practices of balancing care of the ecological system and working with the land versus the more extractive ways, such as over tillage, stripping the land, mono-cropping and exerting control over the land that we see in the current western agriculture practices. Together we will identify where the best spot is to locate the new traditional garden beds, why adding new loam, compost, adding traditional amendments, and soil testing are all necessary for gardens. How to do soil testing and how to read the results of those tests. Participants will learn what are traditional crops, cover crops, and companion planting with native varieties and why it is an important part of the whole system. They will learn when to direct sow seeds, how to start seedlings, what is better to be started indoors as seedlings and when and how to transplant seedlings. We will also demonstrate how to put together a cold frame box to extend the growing season.

This project will have two separate (one each year) groups of 6 participants each year. The goal is to have each participant receive hands-on experience at the farm and be able to apply that knowledge in starting their own garden at home. Each participant will receive a binder for note taking and handouts describing the current gardening activities we are working on along with tips of the trade from other experienced farmers and Traditional Ecological Knowledge to carry with them. The participants will also be provided with a few essential starting tools and materials to alleviate some barriers such as seed starting kits, potting soil, hand tools for gardening and cold frame kits. Gas cards will be provided to each participant for every in person visit to the farm workshop to help with the cost of traveling to the farm. Each participant will receive an incentive gift card for their time at the end of the group's year. There will be a final site visit to their home garden by one of the co-lead farmers to offer any assistance they may need and evaluate their progress. The results of this project will be that there are 12 new gardeners/farmers in Wabanakik.

The activity schedule is outlined below for one group per year for 2 years, with 6 people per group. There will be 13 in person workshops per year with the first and second groups overlapping in the spring of 2026. A couple of the workshops will be field trips to gather traditional soil amendments such as seaweed and alewives that are used in Indigenous Agriculture. There will be 3 virtual planning workshops during the winter months where we talk about winter sowing and plans for the upcoming season.

Summer 2025 June

• Co-leads will begin researching
  • Native plants
  • Native companion plants
  • Native cover crops
  • Traditional ways of planting

Summer 2025 June-August

Group 1

• 6 hands on trainings- two each month
  • Locate spot for garden
  • develop plan
  • soil evaluation
  • soil testing
  • add amendments
  • plant cover crop
  • plant perennial companion plants
  • start cool season seedlings
  • plant cool season cover crop
  • plants cool season seedlings

• Research traditional native plants for this territory
• Speak with other Traditional Knowledge Keepers about traditional plants
• Develop flyer about the program with dates of the workshop

Fall 2025 September -November

• 3 hands on trainings- one each month
  • Add more compost
  • Plant cool season crops
  • plant more perennial
  • companion plants
  • cold frame demonstration
  • Harvest
  • storage/preserving/seed saving

Winter 2026 January-March

• 2 virtual trainings
• 1 hands on
  • planning for the coming season
  • winter sowing
  • seed start cool season seedlings indoors

Spring 2026 April-May

Group 1 and 2

• 2 virtual trainings
• 2 hands on trainings
  • add compost
  • plant seedlings
  • direct sow

Summer 2026 June-August

Group 2

• 6 hands on trainings- two each month
  • Locate spot for garden
  • develop plan
  • soil evaluation
  • soil testing
  • add amendments
  • plant cover crop
  • plant perennial companion plants
  • start cool season seedlings
  • plant cool season cover crop
  • plant cool season seedlings

Fall 2026 September -November

• 3 hands on trainings- one each month
  • Add more compost
  • Plant cool season crops
  • plant more perennial companion plants
  • cold frame demonstration
  • Harvest
  • storage/preserving/seed saving

Winter 2027 January-March

• 2 virtual trainings
• 1 hands on
  • planning for the coming season
  • winter sowing
  • seed start cool season seedlings

Spring 2027 April-May

• 1 virtual trainings
• 1 hands on trainings
  • add compost
  • transplant seedlings
  • direct sow