Three Sisters Garden

[aidenbaby]

I am wanting to create a three sisters garden (corn, pole beans, squash). Actually, it'll probably be more like 4 or more of them. I didn't get any squash seeds though so I'm planning on improvising with watermelon, cantalope, pumpkin and cucumber. I hope it'll turn out. This is my first time trying this technique.

 

[Purple Strawberry]

I have heard great thing about this method. Please keep us up to date with how it is growing/going.

 

[farmerlor]

The mistake most people make with three sisters is to plant the corn in rows instead of hills. If you plant the corn in hills and wait for it to get big enough to support the beans before planting them and keep those melons or cukes in the valleys between the hills you'll have a great crop. A little straw or newspaper mulch will help keep you weed free and moist until the melons and cukes get big enough to take over the job.

 

[vfem]

I am creating this same situation in one raised one. I have created a hill for my corn... and then I will plant my beans at the mid section of the hill to grow up the corn.

I am planning on a pumpkin plant or 2 at the base of the hill in the raised bed. So far I have a handful of 6" corn stalks... so I have a little while still before I can plant the beans... and I'll plant the pumpkin at the same time.

My cukes, eggplant and melons are set up on trellis's in another bed. I'm thinking sunflower might be a good addition!

Good luck, I've heard wonderful things about this technique.

 

[Rio_Lindo_AZ]

I'm also trying to create a three sisters garden. I just finished planting my squash to give it a head-start. In a couple of days I'll plant the corn, and in a couple of weeks I'll plant the beans. Since my soil is very poor, I'm hoping this technique will allow me to grow heavy feeders.

 

[big brown horse]

When you say hill, please explain how big. It is hard to imagine with my pea brain. I have never even heard about this method and I am interested of course!

 

[aidenbaby]

From what I've read, it is suggested to be about 12 inches in height and mounded in the middle. If you live in a dryer climate, like here in Colorado,it is suggested to flatten the top of the mound so that the ground can contain the moisture easier. I'm not entirely sure what the purpose of the mound is though. I suspect that it is to prevent overwatering the corn and beans and funneling that water to the squash.

 

[Rio_Lindo_AZ]

 

[Texan]

From what I've read, it is suggested to be about 12 inches in height and mounded in the middle. If you live in a dryer climate, like here in Colorado,it is suggested to flatten the top of the mound so that the ground can contain the moisture easier. I'm not entirely sure what the purpose of the mound is though. I suspect that it is to prevent overwatering the corn and beans and funneling that water to the squash.

What happens is water settles in the valleys, wont that put the squash or melons at risk for mold/rot/etc

 

[digitS']

I have very little experience with these vegetables as companions but I believe that FarmerLor has it right, corn plants in single file have trouble competing with the vines. At least, that was my experience.

And, what is a hill? Oddly enuf ( ), I once researched the meaning of the word as it applies to gardens. Everyone thinks that "a hill is a hill." Perhaps the Iroquois gardeners did gather soil together in a mound to sow their seed. But, of course, the word is English . . . or is it?

The gardening term comes from the Dutch and, altho' it has a meaning nearly the same, it doesn't quite mean a "mound of earth" - instead, it means, more-or-less, a "mound of plants."

If we think about a flood plain (like along the Rhine River in The Netherlands), we know that it is flat, flat, flat. Okay, there may be dikes and canals . . . but taller plants will be noticeable and, apparently, identified as something different than the rest of the landscape. There are other words for "mounds of earth" in the Dutch language.

At least, that's how I remember it but I no longer remember where I got this information.

Starting with a mound of earth or not, allowing the corn plants to stand together helps with their growth and, no doubt, pollination. Seems to me . . .

Steve