Foods Grown in North America

Corn

Tomatoes

Pumpkins

Beans

Potatoes

Corn also became one of the most important crops grown by the European settlers. Native Americans in the Northeast taught the settlers how to plant corn. They used a system called hilling. They formed small hills of dirt in rows, and then they planted a corn kernel in each hill. Planting corn this way was much better than the European way. Europeans threw seeds onto the ground. Birds and other animals saw the seeds and quickly ate them. By covering seeds with dirt, crops had a better chance to grow.

Many Native Americans planted squash, beans, and corn together. They called the plants the Three Sisters. Planting the crops together took up less space in a garden, and the plants helped each other grow better. Beans twisted up the cornstalks. The squash choked weeds and kept the soil moist.