George Washington Carver

This passage is about George Washington Carver, a famous agricultural scientist.

Lexile Level: 680L

Categories: People & Places Science & Technology

As a child, he was called the "plant doctor." As an adult, George Washington Carver became one of America's most famous agricultural scientists. Carver worked at Tuskegee Institute in Alabama. During this time, farmers were frustrated. Each year, it was harder to grow cotton. Carver knew certain plants, like cotton, used up soil nutrients. Planting cotton every year was hard on the soil. Carver also knew certain plants, like peanuts, put nutrients back into the soil. Carver came up with a plan to keep soil rich with nutrients. He told farmers to rotate their crops. He told them to plant cotton one year and peanuts the following year. This way the land wouldn't get "worn out." The land would get replenished with nutrients. Multi-crop farming became popular. Carver also helped make multi-crop farming profitable. He came up with creative ways for how to use different crops.