Plant and Gardening History Timeline

Gardening and agricultre have come a long way in the past few thousand years, and new advances are always being made. People have been planting and reaping harvests since the beginning of time, and the greatest minds of each era continue to make amazing revelations and discoveries in the world of agriculture. Some of the most amazing milestones happened way before the modern era! As science and technology continue to develop, even more progress will be made in the agricultural industry.

136 Million BC- The first evidence of flowering plants is found.

8000 BC- Neolithic people in the Fertile Crescent area succeed in domesticating some legumes and cereal grains, including barley, wheat, chick-peas and lentils.

7000 BC- Corn is cultivated in Central America. Rice and Apples begin to be harvested in China.

5000 BC- Chavak, the founder of Ayuverdic medicine, claims that garlic is beneficial to the heart and blood, an insight that is still considered true today.

3500 BC- The Egyptians develop sophisticated irrigation techniques that increase the yield of crops.

3100 BC- Herbal medical remedies get their start in Mesopotamia and China, including the first medical cultivation of Cannabis.

3000 BC- Illustrations on the walls of pharaohs’ tombs from this time period depict the first known watermelon festivals. Watermelons were also commonly left in the tombs as part of the pharaoh’s food cache for the afterlife.

2000 BC- Tea and bananas are cultivated in India.

300 BC-Theophrastus, considered to be the father of Greek Botany, dispels popular mystical beliefs about over 550 plants by publishing scientific works detailing their nature and usage.

200 BC- The poet Virgil throws his botanical wisdom into the mix, advocating the spreading of manure to aid in plant growth.

550 AD- Coffee beans are domesticated and coffee-drinking becomes trendy in Arabia.

1227- The famous Botanical Gardens in Vatican City are founded.

1250- Though a rudimentary model was used in China much earlier, the “modern” wheelbarrow is perfected in medieval Europe by an unknown construction worker.

1305- In a desperate attempt to fund the expensive London Bridge building project, King Edward I taxes licorice.

1492- The voyage of Columbus sparks plant exchanges between Europe and The Americas that change botanical history.

1612- In America, tobacco begins to be cultivated, while in Europe, the people are introduced to tea.

1621- Beer-brewing is popularized in America, encouraged by a tax-withholding policy on brewing property.

1637- Dutch tulip mania reaches its peak, and contracts on bulbs are sometimes sold for ten times the yearly salary of a skilled worker.

1686- American kitchen gardens become fashionable, and are planted based on Astrology.

1701- Jethro Tull invents the seed drill and other inventions considered controversial at the time by workers fearful of losing their jobs.

1792- Robert B. Thomas publishes the premier issue of The Old Farmer’s Almanac, in which he uses a secret formula to predict the weather that is still said to be oddly accurate today.

1793- Eli Whitney invents the cotton gin, revolutionizing cotton production.

1801- Johnny Appleseed plants apple trees in the Ohio Valley.

1803- Friedrich Serturner accomplishes the first isolation of a plant alkaloid when he separates morphine from the poppy plant.

1825- Aluminum is first produced, leading to the manufacture of the modern metal shed that proves invaluable for the storage of tractors and gardening supplies.

1843- The prolific and influential Gertrude Jekyll is born. One of the most famous garden designers of the century, she goes on to create over 400 impressionist-inspired gardens in the United Kingdom, Europe and America.

1862- The Homestead Act grants settlers rights to claim open land, but only if they tend it and build a home of at least ten by twelve feet on it, leading to the cultivation of the American frontier and the popularization of the log cabins.

1865- Gregor Mendel publishes works on his famous genetic experiments with pea plants.

1876- The Burpee Seed Company is founded in the United States.

1892- John Froelich invents the tractor in Clayton County, Iowa.

1901- James Dole founds his famous pineapple plantation near Oahu, Hawaii. “The Pineapple King” markets his product by creating recipes and offering them to women’s magazines.

1914- George Washington Carver’s peanut research is distributed.

1939- Paul Muller develops DDT.

1962- The public is alerted to the negative effects of chemicals used in farming when Rachel Carlson publishes Silent Spring.

1990- The Organic Food Production Act outlines standards for organic food production.

1996- Genetically engineered soybeans, corn and cotton are commercially grown for the first time. The crops are designed to be herbicide-tolerant.

2007- Joe Jutras breaks the world record for growing the largest pumpkin. It weighs in at 1,689 pounds.

2009- MIt is developing a new robot based on the Roomba vacuum that will be able to plant, till and harvest a garden.