The Three Sisters

If you have never heard of the three sisters, you are not alone! Someone told me about them a few years ago, but this is the first year I am going to try them in my vegetable garden.

Native Americans practiced companion planting before it was popular. They had three staple crops, maize (corn), beans and squash. Early on, they determined that these plants complemented each other. The corn provided a stalk on which twining beans could climb. Squash interspersed with the plants provided a microclime to comserve moisture and retard weed growth. The beans returned the corn's favor by providing nitrogen for the soil. Three happy companion plants!

I have heard that the native people planted after the first rain. Here, in Borrego, I don't think that would work. in fact, my planting calendar says it is time to plant corn NOW! I have devised a different method than the natives used... They created low mounds of earth about a foot high by about two feet wide. Corn was planted in the center of the mound. After it grew to about six inches, beans were planted near the stalk and squash followed. Often a fish was placed under the mound for fertilizer. ( Here, the coyotes would love that!)

I am going to create my mounds with Glenda's organic potting soil. A drip circle will be installed around each planting site. I still have last year's corn and bean seeds, so, here goes! I swore I would never again plant corn...never have had luck. This time, I'm hoping the three sisters will help me! ( Corn seed available at Ace Hardeware. Seedlings available at Bob Williams Nursery, 760-347-6397. )