Thump! As they slowly opened their eyes, the friends were no longer in Jacob’s Chapel.

“Hey, we’re at Johnson’s Farm across from Lenape High School, and I think that’s my mom over there!” Alyssa shouted.

In the distance they could hear someone calling, “Alyssa, Ryan, Nina!”

“Look, it is my mom!”

“What are you doing here?” Alyssa’s mom asked.

“We’ve been on quite an adventure!” said Ryan.

Then, the children told her everything that happened. She was absolutely shocked.

“You sure found out a lot about Burlington County. But, guess what, so did I. Here’s Mrs. Johnson, the owner of this farm. She has been telling me all about our county’s natural resources,” said Mom.

“Hi kids! I heard you were doing a report on Burlington County. Let’s see if I can help,” Mrs. Johnson suggested.

“Wait a minute! We already know the Lenni Lenape showed the Europeans how to grow vegetables,” Ryan said.

“Very good, Ryan! Burlington County is an incredible place for farming. It has the perfect soil and climate for growing fruits and vegetables. But in other parts, the soil is sandy which is good for growing tomatoes, blueberries and cranberries. The farmers here are so lucky. Not only do they have about 44 to 48 inches of rain each year; but also, they have 180 days of growing season. Fortunately, the numerous underground streams and water systems provide irrigation for their crops.

See this berry. It is what the Lenape used to call ibimi, which means bitter berry. We call them cranberries. In 1835, Ben Thomas planted cranberry vines in a bog near Burr’s Mills. These berries became very popular, and cranberry farming became a huge business.
In 1910, Elizabeth C. White, developed blueberry plants from swamp huckleberry plants that grew wild in the Pine Barrens. In 1916, the first blueberries were marketed, and ever since then Burlington County has been known for its blueberry farming.

Burlington County is one of the leading agricultural counties in the state! Unfortunately, much of our farm land is being developed due to a population boom and the construction of homes and businesses,” Mrs. Johnson explained.

“That’s really interesting, but all this talk of food is making me hungry! Let’s go home and eat. I’m starved!” Ryan said.

“We are too! We have plenty of information for our project!”