Three Sisters Gardening
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Three hundred years ago, American colonists, in an attempt to feed their families and survive, began studying the growing patterns found in Native American gardens. They learned a thing or two, and they called it Three Sisters Gardening.
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What they found was “a unique companion planting plan” of corn, pole beans, and pumpkins or squash grown together in a plot. This differed greatly from the neat plowed rows and fields of Europe.
The American Farm Bureau says, “According to Native American legend, these 3 crops are inseparable sisters who can only grow and thrive together. When European settlers arrived in America in the early 1600s, and by the time the first Thanksgiving was celebrated, the Iroquois had been growing the Three Sisters for over 3 centuries!”
For a treat, you can also enjoy our delicious three sisters’ stew recipe, which is a healthy and hearty dish for Thanksgiving or any chilly day!
Cleared lands were hard to find in colonial days. Native American tribes that grew Three Sisters Gardens’ success amounted to a minor agricultural revolution. With cleared land at a premium, this method provided a way to grow nutritious, easy-to-store crops in smaller spaces.
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Three Sisters Gardening in Small Spaces
As the late winter rains prepare the soil for spring planting, gardeners and those who want to be are cropping up as advice from gardening gurus proliferates. The difference between this generation and those of once or twice removed may be that by and large, most of us are not living with backyards the size of our grandparents or even parents. So, space is at a premium, and it seems problematic if we want to try gardening and perhaps even grow some of our own food.
When one considers early American history and the customs and habits of Native Americans, especially the lack of space, crop growing areas, and gardening in our vernacular, this does not usually come to mind. However, we can credit the Native Americans for introducing the “Three Sisters” gardening concept, a plan to increase yield and conserve space.
What is a Three Sisters Garden?
A Three Sisters garden is simply one in which corn, beans, and squash are planted, shoulder to shoulder. The nitrogen-rich climbing beans use the height and structure of the corn stalks, while ground-hugging squash reduces soil evaporation and smothers weeds. The result? “Three interdependent and eminently edible crops produced from the same ground,” says Dean Fosdick of the Associated Press.
Employing these space-saving methods, the process could then be adapted to containers, hillsides, patios, and even fire escapes.
While the potential savings are attractive, the most alluring aspect of home gardening is the freshness of the produce, the beauty of the garden, the fulfillment of nurturing a seed to harvest, and the unquestionable nutritional benefits to our families of providing hormone—and pesticide-free whole foods from our garden to their plate in mere minutes.
What the Farmers’ Almanac Says
Only the Farmers’ Alamanac could say it like this…
Each sister contributes something to the planting. Together, the sisters provide a balanced diet from a single planting.
- As older sisters often do, the corn offers the beans needed support.
- The beans, the giving sister, pull nitrogen from the air and bring it to the soil to benefit all three.
- As the beans grow through the tangle of squash vines and wind their way up the cornstalks into the sunlight, they hold the sisters close together.
- The large leaves of the sprawling squash protect the threesome by creating living mulch that shades the soil, keeping it cool and moist and preventing weeds.
- The prickly squash leaves also keep away raccoons and other pests, which don’t like to step on them.
Together, the three sisters provide both sustainable soil fertility and a healthy diet. Perfection!
Heirloom Varieties of Corn, Beans and Squash:
I love to use heirloom seeds with historic provenance in my Three Sisters Garden when possible. Here are a few resources and ideas I’ve found along the way.
Corn: Flint Corn
Otto File Flint Corn from the Hudson Valley Seed Co. produces delicious gold to orange cobs. It’s also known as Eight Row Flint Corn originated in New England and was cultivated by northeastern Native American tribes for hundreds of years.
Beans: Runner Beans
Runner beans were among the first crops identified by Samuel de Champlain during his voyage along the Cape Cod coast in 1605. They were also crops that early colonists sought advice from Native people.
The University of Wisconsin says three varieties of beans were planted in addition to runner beans: Cherokee Trail of Tears, Hidatsa Shield, and True Red Cranberry.
Squash: Pumpkin
The third sister in a Three Sisters Garden is typically squash. Pumpkins are a type of winter squash native to North America.
“Pumpkins were one of the first crops identified by European traders in the 17th century, and by 1630 were a favored crop of the first Plymouth Colony settlers. So loved was the pumpkin by the first English settlers that, in 1636, a law was passed in Cambridge to levy hefty fines on the owners of any chicken, hen, or turkey that damaged a pumpkin plant in the town.”
Old Colony History Museum
Many varieties of squash, however, were grown by Native Americans, including acorn, zucchini, pumpkins and gourds. “They were used long before the development of pottery as containers. Native Americans ate squash fresh and dried and stored it.”
How to Plan and Plant a Three Sisters Garden
- To try them in your garden, in spring, prepare the soil by adding fish scraps or wood ash to increase fertility if desired.
- Make a mound of soil about a foot high and four feet wide.
- When the danger of frost has passed (see local frost dates), plant the corn in the mound. Sow six kernels of corn an inch deep and about ten inches apart in a circle of about 2 feet in diameter.
- When the corn is about 5 inches tall, plant four bean seeds, evenly spaced, around each stalk. About a week later, plant six evenly spaced squash seeds around the mound’s perimeter.
For more detailed information on these recommended methods, as well as suggested vegetable varieties for small plot gardening, this article is a must-read. Click here for the article.
While the rain drips from the eaves of my house today, my mind is full of sunshine and tender growing plants. I hope you consider growing a garden this summer and enjoy the fruits of your labor.
