sisters

The indians planted corn, beans and squash together.

My friend who lived in Africa for some years says the Africans plant a bean between every corn plant.

So, this year I gave it shot. I tried it last year, but the corn was too close together and the beans and squash got crowded out.

The idea is simple. The corn is tall, supporting the pole beans and the squash is hidden by the big leaves. The beans give the corn added nitrogen, and the corn provides support. The squash just revel in the shade!

How is it working?

The beans are climbers. They will be harvested as dry beans. There are several varieties of the squash.

The pop corn is fairly short. The beans are growing taller than the corn, but the corn will crop, I am sure. All three of those sisters will harvest at the same time this fall.

The flour corn grows 8 or 9 feet high, and can support all sorts of bean vines, and they harvest all at once this fall.

But the sweet corn is a bit more complex. The stalks are about 6’ high, the beans are about as high, and the squash are knee high, and I am going to need to get to that corn about next week!

I’ll make a few changes next year, but I think the three sisters are here to stay.

Maybe it is part of being a smart (and lazy) gardner.