George Washington may well be the first environmentalist in our country. All planters knew that the tobacco crop depleted the soil. Others just bought more land, George looked into ways to replenish the soil. His research lead him to move away from tobacco as the main crop of Mount Vernon.
He researched the issue then switched from tobacco to wheat and hemp to preserve soil, also crop rotation was implemented. Other crops were planted, but these were the main production crops of the plantation.
Washington also experimented with composts, testing each mixture with real plants, until he got the mixture correct. He then implemented the composted to enrich soil, he continued to experiment thoroughly to get the best results from the compost.
As a farmer he cherished the land and wanted to make sure that land would be preserved for future generations.