NEWS
Honoring George Washington Carver: The Great Agricultural Scientist
Sierra Leeper | February 11, 2025
CARVER'S LEGACY
Gardening and agriculture is not a solitary science. As food growers, we are only as good as those who came before us. Gardening and farming have long been disciplines rooted in the knowledge of the generations who came before. From the indigenous people who first cultivated the crops we use thousands of years ago, to our own personal traditions of gardening and growing our own plants, we only have the knowledge we do because of the trial and error and hundreds of years of work put in by the people who came before us.
This Black History Month, we wanted to take a moment to honor the great agricultural scientist George Washington Carver, whose commitment to service and research, as well as botany and American farming, completely transformed United States culture and the way we grow our food. As an organization whose heartbeat is teaching people how to grow food, Carver's commitment to education and empowering local farmers inspires us every day.
Photo courtesy of the Tuskegee University.
CARVER'S LIFE
George Washington Carver was born into slavery in Missouri when it was still legal in the United States. When slavery became illegal in the United States in 1865, Carver was a young boy and dedicated himself to learning to write and read and receiving an education. Through his perserverance and dedication, he became one of the most important inventors and scientists in American history, even though he was treated unfairly throughout his life. He worked hard and went to many different schools to receive an education, eventually becoming a professor and a teacher.
For many years, cotton was the main crop grown on many farms in the South. However, certain plants use more of certain nutrients than other plants. So, when farmers plant the same plants in the same spots over and over, the soil can lose some of its nutrients and the plants will stop growing. George Washington Carver found that if people planted peanuts one year instead of cotton, the peanuts would replenish some of the nutrients back into the soil so cotton could grow better in the next season. He helped many local Southern farmers implement crop rotation to replenish their soil and have a more successful and sustainable form of farming.
Carver became the Director of Agriculture of the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama in 1897 where he began doing research with plants. He was also an inventor, and he created many ways to use peanuts, like in medicines, in peanut brittle, and even in soaps and shampoo! He continued his research and developing new uses for peanuts until 1923, eventually inventing over 300 ways to use peanuts and over 100 ways to use sweet potatoes! He is now known as “The Peanut Man” or “The Father of the Peanut Industry” for this reason.
HONORING GEORGE WASHINGTON CARVER
He is not a brilliant and notable man simply because of how he overcame obstacles. He is a brilliant and notable man because of his service and what he did for agriculture and the farming communities of the American South. To learn more about Carver's life, legacy, and contributions to American society, read about his story from the Tuskegee University where he worked and taught for over 25 years: https://www.tuskegee.edu/support-tu/george-washington-carver.
We thank you for your hard work and contributions to American agriculture, Mr. Carver.
