The Three Sisters- a gardening experiment

This spring I am going to employ this Haudenosaunee method of gardening. The three sisters are corn, beans and squash, three vital plants for this eastern North American group of people. In combination they provide a complete protein as well as carbohydrates and a whole array of other nutrients. My thoughts started when Bowker Acres suggested corn to me for a particularly troublesome garden issue so I think I will take it a step further.

Here is a great description from Wikipedia as to the logic of this planting method.

The three crops benefit from each other. The maize provides a structure for the beans to climb, eliminating the need for poles. The beans provide the nitrogen to the soil that the other plants utilize, and the squash spreads along the ground, blocking the sunlight, helping prevent establishment of weeds. The squash leaves also act as a "living mulch", creating a microclimate to retain moisture in the soil, and the prickly hairs of the vine deter pests. Maize lacks the amino acids lysine and tryptophan, which the human body needs to make proteins and niacin, but beans contain both and therefore maize and beans together provide a balanced diet.

I am looking forward to see how this works out!

*Bonus information* Did you know the Haudenosaunee are credited with the first Democratic government in North America, hundreds of years before the Europeans set up shop here?

You will have to post pics and let us know how it turns out. With the amount of snow and cold we have been getting I don't know if I will ever get a garden planted....and that is the least of my worries!

I have thought about trying that too sue, but haven't yet. As for your bonus information, yes I knew that, though I am surprised after how poorly I just did on my indigenous studies final today! Are you going to use heirloom seeds for you experiment?

Susan wrote:I have thought about trying that too sue, but haven't yet. As for your bonus information, yes I knew that, though I am surprised after how poorly I just did on my indigenous studies final today! Are you going to use heirloom seeds for you experiment?

I will take pictures. B.A., I hope beans will not counteract my plan too badly to remove nitrogen!

Susan, I have seeds for soft corn, not the hard grindable stuff. I am allergic to hard beens but I am wondering if waxed beans will work in this application. As for the squash, I think I will chose a variety. Probably not heritage though. I am getting the earliest maturing of everything I want. I plan to beat winter this year!

I saw a show on tv a few months ago, showing how to do that. Looks so interesting. The beans climb up the corn.
They made a big mound of dirt, then planted. Would be fun to try, but at the rate the weather is going,

I'm not sure I'll ever get anything in.

I read up on this a number of years thinking I would do it, but never did. I have to try and remember to do it and see how it works, but I am thinking it will have to wait till the ice age is over.

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I tried this last year, but I must have done something wrong. The Squash stifled out the corn and the beans didn't produce

I am going to start the corn inside first, then just before I plant outside I will pop a bean or two into each pot. After the beans come up I will plant them and interplant squash between each bean and corn plant

Awile back i tried it .I started (or actually my mom did and i planted them ) the corn and squash in the house and planted them later outside, at that point i planted the beans.It worked ok and saved a ton of room.

As for this "Ice age" I think the plants will be grown inside this year

I've tried it before. It works very well. Have to let the corn get started before you plant the beans.

What do you start the corn in? I tried to pre-start the corn 2 years in a row, it would germinate quicky (3 days) and then die within a week. I tried short pots and deep pots and skinny and fat pots. I tried peat, I tried potting soil, a mix of those two, with and without organic fertilizer.

ExperimentalSue... sorry if this is hijacking, I'm curious about this!

I think that this sounds very interesting, but not really sure how well it would work. Going to take this to word format and then copy and paste, I think I am going to be a'ramblin'....

It might work and it might not. Fowler, you said that you had good success. Sweetened you said that the beans did not produce and the squash stifled.

There are problems I can see with this method. My thoughts here. All these three crops are heavy feeders, if they are not nourished enough, they will rob each other of nutrients that they all need. HEAVY feeders!!

I would never plant squash plants in the corn patch because...really? How would you gather the corn without stepping on the valuable leaves of the squash plants. The leaves are tender and critical to proper growth of the plant. If one planted beans in the corn patch, you would HAVE to step on or be ever so careful when harvesting beans, if you get a good whack of beans anyways, I think the squash blossoms and stems and leaves would be damaged, probably annulling crop of squash.

Squash plants love sunshine. The corn would prevent sunshine from going full on the squash plants.

Second. Beans need lots of sunshine too, for the blossoms to mature and make beans. I don’t think that the beans growing in the shade of the corn would make at all for a good sunny place. I don’t think beans would be that great, yes, they would provide beans, but a much larger crop if they were grown on the trellis (I presume we are talking pole beans here).

I know that beans need lots of sunshine, many plants will do with some less sunshine, but beans are sun and heat goddess. They love heat.

I will cite an experience growing pole beans that I bore witness to here. Well, actually two instances. I have a spot where I like to grow the pole beans. It is the border of the property next door, where the alfalfa field is. It has a wooden fence, made with slats that allow for some air to push through because they are falling off, shock, smile....This is where I grow my bean trellis......A picture will follow. The year before last the entire area infront of the bean trellis was corn. The beans grew most beautifully, lots of foliage, nice, lovely, decent amount of flowers. But when it came time to harvest, I was surprised at the meager amount of beans that I actually got. Some, a good many, but certainly what I know the Blue Lake pole bean should provide....just did not. Wondered why. Then I thought a thought. Perhaps it was because for most of the pole bean growing season, that afternoon sun was blocked by the tall stand of corn. Pretty sure, that it just did not receive enough sunlight and/or light, call it what you will. (are beans self-pollinating? I wondered about that too. I don’t know if they self-pollinate or require insects, maybe the tall corn stalks hid the scent of the flowers for nectar and/or pollen gathering. I don’t know. I just know that the beans did OK, but not as the prolific monsters that I know they are.

Still on about beans. Last year¸planted the beans in the same spot. Sometimes I do not crop rotate certain things, and beans are one. So yes, planted the beans again, same time, same place, same variety. The corn was moved to a different area. That is one crop that I definitely rotate areas. The bean yields last year were enough to knock my socks off!! I picked and picked and picked, preserved and preserved and preserved and we are still eating frozen beans that taste just like the day they were picked. Copious, huge, massive yields of beans. I totally and 100% believe it was because those beans growing on that trellis had full sunshine, from about 10:00 am til the very last moment that sun shone her pretty head. I would not ever plant beans again where there is a shadey spot. The difference in the yields of the two years was so unimaginable, I am converted to how to grow beans. This year I am planting bush and pole. I need more beans, cause I am going to make more pickled beans than I did last year and I like how the bush come in kind of a shorter gathering time. Although I did choose some heritage bush beans that evidently bear all summer. I figure earlier beans for the dinner tables with the bush beans as well. The pole beans will be the preserving staple. Boy, told ya this was a rambler...

This is the bean trellis in relation to the garden growing area and the fence that kept the garden from blowing down, smiling.....

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You can see part of the corn patch that grew in front of the bean trellis.

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Perhaps for some people planting squash, beans and corn all together would work. I just do not have faith it would work for this girl.

Gardening topics are all very interesting. Have a wonderful day, CynthiaM.

Those are amazing pictures Cynthia, umm I'm so Jealous. I can only hope that I get that kind of return.

So with them being HEAVY feeders, would that make sense why Tara said the natives put a fish in the earth before they planted? For the nutriants? It almost makes sense to me.

I just planted the corn outside. Just have to let it get around 4 or 5 inches tall before you plant the beans (at least, I think it was 4 or 5). Beans start fast and would outgrow the corn if you don't give the corn a head start.

Haven't had much luck starting things like corn or squash and then planting them out. I know people want to give them an edge but the plants can really make up for the time when the warm weather comes.

Squash have big leaves so that they can tolerate some shading. I have heard from a number of people that they seem to deter things like deer and raccoons. I don't know why, maybe they don't like the way the leaves and vines catch.

Fowler wrote:

Squash have big leaves so that they can tolerate some shading. I have heard from a number of people that they seem to deter things like deer and raccoons. I don't know why, maybe they don't like the way the leaves and vines catch.

I would like to meet those deer All ours seem to have very healthy tastesbuds and eat all their veggies at dinner [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

Fish fertilizer is one of the best fertilizers for many gardens plants. Personally I don't like to use it. It stinks. And I would not plant fish in the garden either, that is just asking for the 8 dogs that live here to do a little diggin' in the garden. There are just so many other good fertilizers that don't have the wretched scent of fish. I know the fish fertilizer is diluted with water, but I still can't stand that strange smell.

When I plant my corn, I always like to have the supersweet (sh2) variety. It has larger kernels and cobs than most of the sugary enhanced, which are just incredible on their own, so sweet. I like the sugary enhanced for fresh eating though. But the supersweets are my favourite for preserving. The sugars convert to starch much more slowly than the sugary enhanced varieties, so hold longer on and off stalk. But...downside, they do require a very warm soil to germinate, which entails planting them later in the season. I could see that germinating the seed then planting would have good effect on getting a head start. I have found in the past 3 gardening seasons here that even though corn not planted until about June 1, will still develop good and ready by about the middle of August. Going into early September. Lots of time to harvest. Back on the coast, supersweet corn planted beginning of June would not mature until mid September. Such a difference in climates from there to here. the nights here don't cool down as much as the coastal nights and the dryer climate also seems to keep the soil more warm. Interesting. Have a wonderful day, CynthiaM.

Ruffledfeathers wrote:

Fowler wrote:

Squash have big leaves so that they can tolerate some shading. I have heard from a number of people that they seem to deter things like deer and raccoons. I don't know why, maybe they don't like the way the leaves and vines catch.

I would like to meet those deer All ours seem to have very healthy tastesbuds and eat all their veggies at dinner [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

I've only read the account for deer so I cannot verify.

But my Grandmother said all their neighbours uzed to ask her father how come the raccoons didn't bother his corn where they had such trouble with them. He didn't know. But he did grow his pumpkins in the corn field.

But people will do whatever works for them.

Still musing over the squash growing in the corn field. If the squash was growing in the corn area, we know that the weeds would probably be mostly covered. In reality, there would be no reason to enter the corn growing area until it is harvest time. By that time the squashes would probably be mature enough to be readily seen and not stepped on. I can totally see that the squash leaves and tendrils and such would provide shade for the soil below. Hence keeping moisture in the ground and nutrient too, which would not be washed away from moisture from above. Sounds like a good idea. But then, thinking more about it, would there be enough sunlight to mature squashes well enough, because of tall corn. I liked it when I heard, Fowler, that your Grandparent grew the pumpkins in the corn patch. I believe that the old timers knew how to work things very well to their abundance, to get the best usage of things. He probably knew he was onto something for surely. Take advice, listen, than as said, wonder if it would be good for our own use or not. I am thinking more along the line of growing one variety of squash in the corn patch. That would be the butternut. The other squashes can just grow their merry heart out separately. The others will be grown on the hill.....way out back.

Prairiedog sent me some seeds for a melon plant that is going to be a wonderful addition. He totally indicated to grow it far away from the other cucurbit plants. I have some 4 foot tall cylinder type wooden planters beside our home and this is going to be where I will plant these. I can look after them individually because of location and they are up against a container wall, so will have heat galore. I can't wait, evidently so tender one can even eat the skin. I am stoked, and he said that his kids love it, so I am sure that this kid will love them too. Can't wait, hurry summer and the bounty harvest. Have an awesome day, CynthiaM.

Sue, did you ever get your 2 sisters planted? Was in Edmonton for the football game yesterday and was thinking of you. If hubby would have given me some notice about his plans, I would have called.

Checking up on me, eh?  

I only ended up planting one sister, corn, and it was late. It is just forming ears now. But we are having a hot fall with plenty of rain and I an still holding out hope!

I am still pulling stubborn weeds around the corn. That clover is pretty insistent. I think by next year all those root systems will be gone and I can have a normal garden with other veggies too.

Sorry I missed you!