3 sisters

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geraldine87 West Warren, MA Mar 06, 2009

Has anyone tried the '3 sisters' planting? It was used by the Indians. Plant 3 corns on mound surround with string beans that climb ( these are supposed to climb up the corn ) then plant squash on outside. The 3 plants like each other and they provide all the necessary nutrients for life. Saw this on a 'Parks' seed site!!

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feldon30 Houston, TX(Zone 9a) Mar 06, 2009

This topic comes up at least once a week. There is a lot of curiosity about it. :)

I would say if you are growing on a large scale (hundreds of plants) and don't want to mess with supporting your plants with bamboo stakes, trellises, T-posts, etc. then it probably works fairly well.

However I would imagine there is some reduced yield from the squash and beans as they compete for space and nutrients. Also, corn can have very shallow roots and be subject to flopping over in strong winds. I don't think having pole beans climbing them, adding weight to the middle and tops of the corn stalks would do any favors for this issue.

If you've got the space to experiment, I say go for it and see how it turns out.

However if you are limited on space, I would suggest something more akin to Square Foot Gardening, giving pole beans and squash their own trellises to climb and then growing corn tightly spaced (8 inch centers perhaps) so that the plants "wind break" each other. Some folks even run twine down the rows of corn and tie it tightly at each end so the corn has something to lean on depending on wind.

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feldon30 Houston, TX(Zone 9a) Mar 06, 2009

If you do a search for "three sisters", I imagine hundreds of results with comments from people who have actually tried it or familiar with the pros and cons of this technique.

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geraldine87 West Warren, MA Mar 07, 2009

Thanks, will look into more before I do it, or will just do one planting of the 3 sisters to see how it does...

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wormfood Lecanto, FL(Zone 9a) Mar 07, 2009

I've got it here somewhere. But of course I can't find it. I know that the beans help the corn in some way. And also it messes with the racoon's head. They won't climb the corn with the vines all over it. Don't know about the squash.

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LTilton Glen Ellyn, IL(Zone 5b) Mar 07, 2009

The raccoons are supposed to not like stepping on the squash leaves to get to the corn.

I haven't noticed that this stops them, but it sure makes it hard for ME to get to the corn or beans.

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RJ_Hythloday Norfolk, VA(Zone 8a) Mar 09, 2009

The beans provide nitrogen, which is beneficial in the early growth of any plant. Not sure how it affects corn once the ears start to form.

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