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My Three Sisters
Corn, beans, and squash have a unique
symbiotic relationship in a Native American garden. Corn
offers a structure for the beans to climb. The beans, in
turn, help to replenish the soil with nutrients. And the
large leaves of squash and pumpkin vines provide living
mulch that conserves water and provides weed control. This
ancient style of companion planting has played a key role
in the survival of all people in North America. Grown together
these crops are able to thrive and provide high-yield, high-quality
crops with a minimal environmental impact.
Mardi Dodson - ATTRA
Started me to thinking about the place of Three Sisters Plantings
in non-native gardens, which of course led me to exploring
them in my kitchen garden. After two growing seasons, this
exploration has yielded some answers and even more questions.
My interest was in adapting the concept to my intensely organic,
drip irrigated garden and integrating it into my own practice
of inter-planting and rotation. The basic question is how
could I adapt a native gardening practice to fit my own garden
in a way that puts the food I like on the table?
So far my search of the “Three Sisters”
literature has yielded little direct information about how,
what, when and in what configuration to plant a “Modern
Three Sisters” garden, except for some educational websites
geared to classrooms, learning and teaching gardens and some
research on inter-cropping those three varieties at the farm
level. The ATTRA publication “Companion Planting: Basic
Concepts and Resources” has a rather thorough description
of the approaches to three sisters plantings developed by
Native Americans in response to moisture, climate, soils and
length of season. “The Wampanoag garden style works
well east of the Mississippi. Hidatsa gardens were developed
to thrive in the climate of the northern Plains, while the
Zuni waffle garden was designed to conserve water in the arid
Southwestern climate”. Not surprisingly, the three methods
provide many clues, but none adapt directly to my garden configuration
or gardening practices.
My Three Sisters Experiences
In 2004 I planted a combination of Bloody Butcher
Corn, Little White Ice Beans and
Hopi Pumpkin (used as a summer squash) in a north/south oriented
bed, 4’ x 16’ with drip irrigation. I planted
the corn in four clusters down the center of the bed with
the beans planted in between the corn clusters and the squash
planted on the west side of the bed. Worked great for the
corn – ten feet tall, excellent pollination, good ear
development. Did not work for the beans – too much shade
from the corn. The squash grew fine, but produced less fruit
than when grown as a stand-alone plant. The drip system of
buried soaker lines could not deliver enough water during
June and July, so I bermed up the edge of the bed and flooded
it with a hose – fixed that problem.
In 2005, I planted a different north/south oriented
bed, 4’ x 16’ using drip irrigation with four
clusters of 10 corn plants down the center of the bed (worked
before) only this year I used Chipolte Pinole Maiz (one of
the four ancient corn lines). I planted Anazasi Beans down
the east side of the bed and Minnie’s Apache Hubbard
Squash (winter squash) on the west side of the bed.
The corn grew extremely well and produced one to two ears
per plant as expected. The beans grew fairly well, but were
not very productive. The squash was most surprising. I harvested
only four mature fruits from several plants, even though all
the vines grew vigorously and produced a profusion of male
blossoms. Turns out that winter squash is intelligent, producing
only what fruit it can support to maturity - the goal is to
make seeds, not to feed me. I’m sure this squash was
responding to root crowding, since vine growth showed no signs
of nutrient or water stress.
Next Seasons Three Sisters Plan
Next season the Three Sisters will look similar but be much
more productive. First, note that I have rotated the bed 90
degrees to make better use of sun orientation. The Hopi Pink
Corn (a short, drought tolerant variety) will move toward
the front of the bed with Tarahumara Purple Beans planted
on the south side and Hopi Pumpkin on the north side of the
bed. When the beans are tall enough, I will pull the Hopi
Pumpkin vines through the corn and let them sprawl over the
bean bed and pathway.
The bean bed to the north of the Three Sisters
is actually functioning as part of the combination. I will
plant Christmas Limas – a pole variety against the trellis
and Dixie Speckled Butter Peas – a bush variety in the
bed below them, which leaves a narrow and very shaded pathway
between the two beds.
This Three Sisters companion planting plan will
yield flour corn (Hopi Pink), both green and dried beans of
excellent quality (Tarahumara Purples) and a delicious summer
squash (Hopi Pumpkin) along with some winter squashes from
the oversized fruits that hide out in a profusion of squash
vines.
Some Questions
Can Three Sisters plantings be done with sweet
corn? With sweet corn and dry beans? With sweet corn, dry
beans and a non-vining squash? Is there some combination of
corn and tepary beans that would work in a Three Sisters garden?
Could the Three Sisters be dry-gardened here during the monsoon
season? Are the Three Sisters . . . . . . . ?
There is so much to explore, so much to know,
perhaps that’s the greatest gift from the garden.
Further explorations
“Companion
Planting: Basic Concepts and Resources”
“Four
Sacred Plants” a web exploration by RETA –
NMSU
“Three
Sisters Garden” - Bird Clan of East Central Alabama
Printable file of this page - .pdf
Darrol Shillingburg
Master Gardener
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