Companion Plants and The Three Sisters

Companion Plants and The Three Sisters

The Three Sisters is a method of companion planting - specifically the practice of planting corn, squash and beans together. This practice is believed to have originated with the Haudenosaunee or "People of the Longhouse." These companion plants grow well together for several reasons. The corn stalks support the bean vines, and the squash vines shade out weeds and help to keep the soil moist. As well, the bean roots capture nitrogen from the air, which is then released into the soil to nourish the nitrogen-hungry corn. I did some reading, and a bit of research, and decided on one of the several different ways I found to grow this combination. http://www.haudenosauneeconfederacy.com/foodandfarming.html

We divided the garden into 1 yard x 1 yard squares - 3 squares wide and 5 squares long, to fill the garden area. We used old straw from the previous year to mark out the pathways between the squares. And we made each square into a bit of a hill.

At the very end of May we started to plant the garden. In a checker board pattern, we planted the corn in every other square. Using the "square foot gardener" calculation we decided to plant 25 kernels of corn in each of the designated squares. Planting and watering done, we waited a week before we planted our squash seeds in the alternating squares. Again, with the "square foot gardener" calculations, we decided that there could be 3 to 4 squash plants in each designated hill. We planted a few extra seeds, so that we could use the the healthiest plants for our garden. We then waited for the corn to be 6" high before planting our beans. The beans were soaked overnight, so that they would have a good start. There was one bean planted next to each corn on the outside perimeter of the squares of corn.

The rest of the summer was spent watering the garden plot when necessary and checking for weeds and pests. We did suffer one pest attack. It was a pest that I have not personally seen before, so by the time I realized the plants were under attack, it was a bit late for them. But now I know what to look for.

Without claiming to be scientifically correct, I think it was a squash vine borer . They bored holes in the stems of the squash plants about 6" above the base of the plants. In the picture at right you see the Squash vine borer and the brown chewed up part of the inside of the stem. This is what I saw after I noticed a hole in a stem, and opened it up for further investigation. The main indication of a problem was that the once healthy vines suddenly started to wilt.

Two of our hills of squash suffered from this.

The corn grew very well and each stalk had several ears of corn on it. The beans were impressive as well, and we had a good harvest of them.