Indian women cultivated several fields each year, staggering the planting across a three-month period so that crops could be harvested over many weeks. Men did the work of clearing new fields, and when the fields became far enough away from the existing village, the women and children who cultivated them would abandon the old family houses and build new houses nearby.

Since iron tools were not available, fields had to be prepared by killing the trees rather than cutting them down. The lower bark was removed with a stone axe around the entire tree in an area near its base. After the trees died, the intended field area would be burned. Fire not only consumed leaves, fallen limbs and small plants, but the resulting ashes were rich in nutrients that aided the crops.

Farming was particularly important at Accowmack. Game was limited on the Lower Eastern Shore so most of their food came from fishing and farming. Also, the relative seclusion of the village meant less fighting for the men and more time for them to help with the farming.