Elven Agriculture

The Forest Complex

White Oak
A domesticated sweet variety of the White Oak is the staple of the Elven diet and the limiting factor on their range. This tree grows from the Great Plains eastward to the Atlantic and from around the Great Lakes to the Gulf Coast above peninsular Florida. The trees live 200-300 years, they grow 65-85 feet tall and when under management are as wide as they are tall. They are found in most habitats up to 5000ft except swamps. Large crops of acorns (6000lbs/acre/year) are produced after the 50th year with smaller crops after year they reach maturity at 20 years. The acorns can be ground into a flour or eaten raw. The elves have solved most of the unreliable acorn production that varies the volume of wild crops from year to year. Elven cities are virtually surrounded by oak forests for miles. Many acres of what a human might think of as open forest are actually Elven farms of oak trees.

Chestnut
The second most important tree to the elves is the chestnut. In natural forests is comprises as much as 1/4 hardwoods in mountainous regions. The trees grow up to 100ft tall with the first 50ft being branch free. Harvest takes place for 3 weeks in autumn. The best trees yield 220lbs of nuts/year. The carbohydrates of the nuts is comparable to wheat and they have more starch than potatoes. They are the only nuts with vitamin C. The nuts can be dried and milled to flour. The bread from that flour stays fresh as long as two weeks. Secondary uses include making sugar and beer from juice fermentation. The nuts are often used as pig fodder. The trees are confined to higher altitudes oak and trade in them is an important part of the Elven economy. The tree drops catkins in spring, spiny nut pods in fall and leaves in winter in large volumes.

Oyster Mushrooms
Fallen logs of Chestnut, Ash, basswood, beech, black cherry, hickory (pecan and hickory), sugar maple, white oak, and walnut logs are all frequently used to produce mushrooms. In late spring or winter when the logs have a high sugar content they are cut 3-4 feet long. They cut an inch thick layer from the end of the log then cover it with mushroom spawn, or drill out holes and insert inoculated plugs. They are then left to grow for 4-6 weeks. When it is time to harvest they are dunked into cool water for a day or two which initiates the fruiting process. Logs can be used repeatedly for 3-4 years. Drying the mushrooms after harvest can increase their shelf life to 6 months. Logs are covered with pine straw over winter.

Pecan, Hickory, Walnut, Butternut and other related nuts
Produced in lesser volume than chestnuts these nuts are an additional supplement to the Elven diet. Pecans store very well and are easy to open.

Muscadine and Fox Grapes
Cultivated on trellises they can produce up to 18 tons/acre. The fruit is eaten directly and can be converted to wine.

Catalpa Trees
This 40-60 ft tall tree is not planted for use directly but as habitat for the catalpa sphinx moth. The 2" long caterpillars are highly numerous and if left alone will defoliate a tree. For the elves the caterpillars are a primary food source for their native fowl.

Turkey
Like the Native Americans of Mexico the Elves have domesticated the turkey. Rendered virtually flightless they raise them along the edges of the forests. Turkeys will eat a wide variety of food, including most the nuts and berries the elves do as well as insects and seeds.

Garden Complex

Rarely in cleared areas Elves raise crops in what we would recognize as more traditional agriculture. While these areas tend to be near Elven cities they are not the main source of food, the forest complex is. These crops are more likely to be found as small garden plots around individual homesteads than in large fields.

Sunflowers, Beans and Squash

The Eastern Agricultureal Complex of North America included goosefoot, sunflower, marshelder, squash, little barley, knotweed, maygrass. Without access to corn Elves cultivate sunflowers instead and similar to real world Native Americans they plant in conjunction with squash and beans. Sunflowers and squash are planted at the same time, sunflowers in patches of 6-10on small mounds and squash in between as a ground cover. Once the sunflower reach a few inches high the beans are planted next to them and use the sunflowers as a trellis. The large hairy squash leaves keep weeds down and discourage animals from entering the fields.

Strawberries

Eastern Agricultural Complex

All of these plants are native to the Eastern part of North America and were cultivated by Native Americans before the arrival of corn. Wild or Little barley, goose-foot, lambsquarters, erect knotweed, maygrass, sumpweed.

Others Crops

Blueberries and related berries
In northern ranges produce natural blueberry barrens on sandy soils but varieties grow in the entire Elven range. Planted berries thrive in Georgia producing berries from April to the end of July. Pruned and burned every 2 years. Elderberries, huckleberries and bilberries.

Wetlands

Wild Rice
In wild rice (Z. aquatica) can be grown in flooded paddies, or found along slow moving streams. Its more common to find this being done along the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence river.

Cranberries

Sourwood: arrows, jelly from nectar. Produces acid soil.
Elderberries, cranberry, huckleberry (butterfly food), bilberries. Need acid soil
Blackberries
Pawpaw
Turkey Mink Bison Red Fox

Animals

Flat headed peccary
Unlike pigs it has downward pointing tusks and musk glands. They live in small herds and prefer caves for shelter returning to the cave each night. The Elves provide them with artificial caves along forest edges since they prefer to forage in fields.

Turkey
Like the Native Americans of Mexico the Elves have domesticated the turkey. Rendered virtually flightless they raise them along the edges of the forests. Turkeys will eat a wide variety of food, including most the nuts and berries the elves do as well as insects and seeds.

Imported species

A number of species that are commonly found now are imported from Europe and Asia in historical times. The Elven society would not be familiar the them.