“We are always happy to get vegetables from the gardens, which we pickle and preserve as well as cook,” said Frank Clark, master of the Historic Foodways trade. Eve Otmar, a historic gardener, says radishes were found in Williamsburg in the 18th century. Some were red-rooted and known as “Spanish” or “turnip” radishes. A smaller variety developed in Italy could also be found here.
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Cowpeas, shown here shelled and in their native state, were brought to North America through the slave trade, says Ed Schultz, a journeyman historic farmer. Commonly known as black-eyed peas, this drought-resistant variety is called Iron Clay. It develops vines that, when planted in cornfields, can snake around the stalks.