Many people have heard references to planting a Three Sisters Garden, but are unsure of what this entails. Here’s a little trivia and information based on what I know.
The crops of corn, beans, and squash are known as the Three Sisters. For centuries, these three crops have been the center of Native American agriculture and culinary traditions. It is for good reason as these three crops complement each other in the garden, as well as nutritionally. Corn should be the first crop planted in this sister mix. The corn needs to get a head start on the other two crops so it can always be taller than the other sisters. The next sister to go in the ground is a pole bean (green bean usually). The beans run up the corn stalk, using it for a natural trellis. The beans provide nitrogen to the soil, a nutrient needed by the corn for a healthy crop. The beans also act as a stabilizer for the tall corn stalks during summer storms with heavy winds. The last sister to be planted is squash. Usually of the yellow crookneck or straight neck variety, squash grow rapidly and shade the roots of the sisters during the heat of summer. This shading helps prevent weed growth and increases moisture retainment in the soil during higher summer temperatures or in drought-like environments. The Three Sisters are still a popular gardening method used today. In some modern gardens, sunflowers are exchanged for corn as a sister. The sunflowers benefit just as the corn does, having the height to trellis the beans and repeating the benefit of shaded roots from the squash.
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