Colonial Kitchen Garden: Directions for the Year from 1799

The Kitchen Garden in Colonial times was tended to by the ladies of the house. In the garden were grown vegetables, greens, and herbs. Most of what was grown in the kitchen garden was used to feed the family and was not sold for a profit. Many herbs were grown by the family for use as flavorings and medicines.

The ladies of the house would also be responsible for the cooking or preserving of everything in the kitchen garden. The common methods of preserving were drying, smoking, salting, pickling, or jellying. Canning had not been invented yet. Following is an excerpt from The Laboratory, written in 1799, at the end of the Colonial era. It is very interesting to see that there was always something to be doing on a colonial farm, even in December. I am very interested that they would still be growing things in the winter.       

Civil War Era Knit-Along Update

Sorry this is late, I was stuck at the binding off part. I have decided to make the wings as is stated in the Piecework Magazine, to ensure that they are long enough. Even though the back is about 12 inches long, it still doesn't look long enough to reach my natural waist. I think it might reach after I put the trim on.



I hope I have enough yarn. With the alterations at the beginning, I might have to order more. Overall I am excited that I have even gotten this far in it. Binding off one side and working on part of it seemed like the hard part to me.

Bartram's Gardens: Historic Botanical Garden and Arboretum

Today, a few friends and myself visited Bartram's Gardens in West Philadelphia. The gardens were started in the 1700s by John Bartram and his son, William Bartram.

They were well known botanists during their lives and traveled all over the country to collect samples for their collection. They learned to care for and propagate many unique New World plants. Many New World plants and seeds were sold to the wealthy in Britain.    

During the 18th century, traveling was difficult. John and William rode on horseback and traveled by small boats as far away from Pennsylvania as Florida and the Mississippi River to gather specimen.  They were widely acknowledged as being adventurers, according to a personal account, they claimed to have beaten an alligator to death with a club, to save on bullets.

The Continental Congress took a day trip to the Bartram's home to see the gardens in 1784. George Washington visited the gardens in 1787 and thought the wild, hodgepodge of plants was distasteful. 

During a trip to Georgia, they discovered a tree with brilliant blossoms. They named it Franklinia after John's best friend, Benjamin Frankin. By 1803, wild Franklinia trees became extinct. All current Franklinia trees are descended from the one that the Bartrams collected. 

It is very cool to see the variety of plants that are native to the U.S. Our group was more interested in the "Kitchen Garden" as we all love to cook 1700s style. Many plants that we think of as weeds were eaten as vegetables or used as herbs. Purslane, dandelion and sorrel were common in cooking.

One of the neatest things to see was a period cider press carved out of stone, right along the Schuylkill River. The juice dripped out of a small hole into a large stone carved basin. The amount of cider made must have been astronomical!   

The gardens run right along the river and even include a modern day picnic area complete with a baseball field. We had a lovely picnic together talking about colonial recipes and the gardens.

It was a very picturesque area you would never know that you were in the city. Visiting the gardens is free, tours of the buildings are a few dollars. Our tour guide was very nice, he even let us taste a fig off one of the trees. They taste a lot different than the dehydrated kind! It was nice of them to give us a tour, they only offer them on the weekends. It is amazing that the gardens are still being kept up after hundreds of years. Bartram's is the oldest botanical garden in North America. You can find more information at Bartram's Garden.

1850s Street Etiquette

When I am at reenactments, my shoe comes untied about a thousand times. Each and every time, my significant other, Andy, always ties it for me. It is a life saver because in a corset and with all of that fabric, I can't reach my feet and would look silly and perhaps show more than I wished if I attempted to tie it myself. 

People laugh at us but it was actually very proper for a gentleman to tie a lady's shoe. It was also his duty to help her on with her shawl and any other assistance she might have needed-- ladies' clothing was very frivolous as many of us have realized as we try to adapt to it. It is very sad for us if we drop anything on the ground.     

Behavior in the Street.  

"-When you meet a gentleman with whom you are acquainted, you bow, raising your hat slightly, with your left hand, which leaves your hand at liberty to shake hands if you stop. If the gentleman is ungloved, you must take off yours, not otherwise.

-Meeting a lady, the rule is that she should make the first salute, or at least, indicate by her manner, that she recognises you. Your bow must be lower, and your hat carried further from your head; but you never offer to shake hands; that is her privilege.

-The right, being the post of honor, is given to superiors and ladies, except in the street, when they take the wall, as farthest from danger from passing carriages, in walking with or meeting them.

-In walking with a lady you are not bound to recognise gentlemen with whom she is not acquainted, nor have they in such a case, any right to salute, much less to speak to you.

-Should her shoe become unlaced, or her dress in any manner disordered, fail not to apprise her of it respectfully, and offer your assistance. A gentleman may hook a dress, or lace a shoe, with perfect propriety, and should be able to do so gracefully.

-Whether with a lady or gentleman, a street talk should be a short one; and in either case, when you have passed the customary compliments, if you wish to continue the conversation you must say, “Permit me to accompany you."

-Don't sing, hum, whistle, or talk to yourself in walking. Endeavor, besides being well-dressed, to have a calm, good natural countenance. A scowl always begets wrinkles. It is best not to smoke at all in public, but none but a ruffian will inflict upon society the odor of a bad cigar, or that of any kind, on ladies.

-Ladies are not allowed upon ordinary occasions to take the arm of any one but a relative, or an accepted lover, in the street, and in the day time; in the evening—in the fields, or in a crowd, wherever she may need protection, she should not refuse it. She should pass her hand over the gentleman's arm, merely, but should not walk at arm's length apart, as country girls sometimes do. In walking with a gentleman, the step of the lady must be lengthened, and his shortened, to prevent the hobbling appearance of not keeping step. Of course, the conversation of a stranger, beyond asking a necessary question, must be considered as a gross insult, and repelled with proper spirit."

From the Ladies' Indispensable Assistant, (1850) Pg. 123

Civil War Knit-Along Update

I'm almost at the "scary" part of the pattern! The last time I tried to knit a sontag, the "wings" turned out to be much too tiny. I plan on making the additions that Mrs. Formby suggests on the Ragged Soldier pattern. It is starting to feel cozy on my lap, I'm sure it is going to be really warm.

I was going to switch to my really long needles for the photo so you could see it stretched to the fullest but I couldn't find them.  The photo doesn't really show how big it is.I hope it fits, I will be incredibly disappointed if it doesn't. It looks a little small but the border will add a little bit of length.

I believe I forgot to mention that we need a button for one of the wings for fastening it. I am thinking of getting a pretty mother-of-pearl button for it.

I would like to put a fancy crocheted border on it, but I can't crochet. If I figure out how to crochet one, I will, if not I'll just have to knit the one in the original Godey's pattern.  I can't wait for these to be finished! They look so pretty.