George Washington Carver - Teacher Created Materials

Unit 4: Plants
George Washington Carver: Agriculture Pioneer
Rotating Crops
George Washington Carver discovered that farmers were depleting or using up all the soil
nutrients when they continued to plant cotton year after year. He taught farmers how to rotate
their crops so that the soil could remake the nutrients plants need to grow. Peanuts were one
crop that was rotated with cotton on some plantations.
Early farmers used to plant their crops on two fields. They let one field lay unused (called fallow)
while they planted on the second field. The next year they would switch the crop to the other
field. Now farmers can plant in one field two years in a row before letting it rest for one year.
Farmers keep three fields of crops to let this happen. This illustration shows a crop rotation over
a period of three years.
Field 1 Field 2 Field 3
Year 1 Kale X (Fallow) Watermelon
Year 2 Peanuts Carrots X (Fallow)
Year 3 X (Fallow) Squash Soy beans
No two plants from the same “family” should be planted in the same field two years in a row.
Directions: Use the clues to determine which fields had which family of vegetables. Write the
color in the correct field.
1. Color in the nine boxes with green, yellow, blue, or red. Each color signifies a different crop
family. Field 1 had no red or blue crops over three years. Field 2 had crops the first and
second years. Field 3 had one green crop. Field 1 lay fallow its second year. A red crop was
only planted in Year 1. Year 2 had a green and blue crop. A green crop was planted each
year. Year 3 only had one green crop. At least two crops were planted each year, none the
same color.
Field 1 Field 2 Field 3
Year 1
Year 2
Year 3
2. Use the color chart below to write the name of a crop in each of the colored boxes.
Green = cucumbers, pumpkins, squash, or watermelon
Yellow = carrots, parsley, celery, or dill
Blue = kale, mustard greens, cabbage, or broccoli
Red = peanuts, lima beans, soy beans, or peas
3. Create your own crop rotation plan with four fields. Peanuts should be one of the crops
grown each year. Plants in the same family should not be planted in the same field for any
two consecutive years. Each field should lay fallow for one year after being used for two
years.
Field 1 Field 2 Field 3 Field 4
Year 1
Year 2
Year 3
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