7 Mistakes I Made With The 3 Sisters
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- Опубліковано 24 лип 2024
- The 3 Sisters is a really interesting example of companion planting or intercropping, combining maize, squash and beans in one integrated planting, which was developed and used by some indigenous peoples of North America. I didn’t think it would grow well in the climate like Ireland, but this past season I tried growing this combination both in one of the polytunnels, and in an outside area, and I think there are 7 key issues I would want to address before growing the 3 Sisters again.
0:00 A famous companion planting
1:07 What is the 3 sisters?
3:00 Sweetcorn lacked enough structure
4:37 Beans were too weak and too strong
6:01 Needed appropriate squash varieties
7:24 Too many plants for the space
8:55 Too much fertility and not enough
10:00 Pollination an issue inside and outside
11:27 Yield was too low
12:43 Try again?
14:49 Having spare capacity
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The 3 sisters method is sacred knowledge passed down generations of indigenous peoples and later to settlers, and has sustained our ancestors through many rough years. You have named your video '7 issues with 3 sisters' but all I see is how the right methodology or seed was not used. I think you should rename this to '7 mistakes you could avoid while growing 3 sisters'.
Yeah, that is probably a better title. I have changed it, and will try to change the thumbnail later. Thanks for your comment.
I am from the US and have done quite a bit of research on the 3 sisters because I found it fascinating. The biggest thing I learned was that there was no set implementation. Each geographic area and sometimes different tribes in an area implemented it differently. The growing areas and their needs context over time developed what worked best for each group. Some even planted the crops separately. I know it is called three sisters today, but often sunflowers were also added to the mix. In the end I found there is no wrong way, just what works best for you. The method you used works best for the groups that planted in the spring then left to their hunting grounds for the summer and then returned in the fall for their winter camp, so no attention was given during the growing season.
That is all really interesting, thanks!
one thing I found when looking into the 3 sisters: Our local tribes here in New England planted a type of Landrace Flint Corn. I never knew it before looking into it. They Wampanoag tribes used the corn for milled meal, rather than specifically for eating the ears.
@@gregbluefinstudios4658 I truly doubt Native Americans ate much if any 'corn-on-the cob'!
yeah, @@industrialathlete6096 But until I looked into it, I never knew
That is interesting as Helianthus , in particular Sunflowers are allelopathic and their compounds reduce the growth of other plants around them🤔🤔🤔
I have successfully cultivated the Three Sisters gardening technique for nearly a decade in the chilly region of Sweden. Here's my method:
Preparation: The planting cycle begins with the Three Sisters approach, starting by applying a substantial layer (20-40cm) of nearly fresh manure.
Corn: Opt for a flour corn variety, ideal for making bread after undergoing nixtamalization. I use my own seeds, but the original were 'Painted Mountain' and 'Wade’s Giant Indian Flint Corn' varieties.
Beans: While still in search of the perfect bean, I've observed success with various types. Surprisingly, low-growing beans works well also, benefiting from wind protection provided by neighboring plants and a touch of sunlight.
Squash: I primarily utilize winter squash/pumpkins with a longer shelf life through the winter. My family has grown weary of the surplus of pumpkin and squash dishes so I need to be able to secretly mix it in over a longer period.
Bonus: In the preceding year, the plots are dedicated to potatoes. Any overlooked potatoes tend to yield substantial crops when grown alongside the Three Sisters.
Layout: I employ three south-facing beds simultaneously, situating more corn towards the back and increasing squash towards the south. Beans are strategically placed near corn, ensuring access to sunlight during their early growth.
Planting Density: Plant corn densely, maintaining an approximate ratio of 5:3:1 for corn, beans, and squash, respectively.
Post-Harvest: After harvesting, repurpose leftover plant material as mulch. The subsequent year benefits from a combination of manure and mulch, creates exceptionally fertile soil for other nutrient-hungry plants.
Wow, that's for all that detail! It is really interesting to know that you have been successful with this type of planting.
Awesome information! I haven't tried this but where I live, Wisconsin USA, all of these plants grow well and many native Americans lived here. In thinking about how this combination of plants might work I considered that deer love corn and beans but not so much squash. Perhaps the squash planted around the perimeter would deter the deer.
In your video I noticed that your corn leaves were curled. We see that here when they don't get enough water. Also you can hand pollinate your corn to increase the number of kernels by taking some mature tassels and brushing them on the corn silk peaking out of the cobs. Thanks for an interesting discussion!
20-40cm of nearly fresh manure? Which kind of manure are you using, and aren't you afraid omits gonna be too hot?
@@earth.agario It has never been a problem with heat, but then again my context is cold climate. I use cow manure, mixed with the bedding (straw or sawdust usually), from a neighboring farm. I use 75cm wide beds (~30 inches) and woodchips around them. I also put the compost on the beds a few months before planting into them... so far I had success for the first decade through wet, dry, cold and hot summers. Some years the corn, some years the squash and some years the beans perform better.
Very good. I'm doing a new bed using some permaculture planting techniques paying attention to wind and light. but, yes, on the manure. I have horses and plenty of last winter's manure in the barn. It's aged enough to put in the soil for fruiting vegetables and corn is heavy feeder.
I have found a pumpkin whose seed I love to eat and I saved lots of seed to plant. Pumpkin and squash are excellent food for dogs and chickens and many others. Growing food for my animals as important as feeding my soil.
I am a volunteer at an Indigenous community garden in Utah. The beans used in the three sisters are Cherokee Trail of Tears, Hidatsa Shield, and True Red Cranberry. The beans are planted after the corn stalks are at least three feet tall. We only plant yellow crook neck squash in the garden, which is planted well after the corn is established. As for corn, we used the glass gem popcorn that was given to us by an indigenous family. I'm in Utah, so it has a different climate, but our three-sisters garden did very well. .
Thanks for sharing the details of your plantings!
It is difficult to wait until corn is 3 ft tall here in Europe because of the shorter growing season. Having moved from indiana to germany, I have noticed that the corn gets a much slower start early in the summer due to cooler conditions. That makes it difficult to time the beans. Thats why we have to start our beans earlier when the corn is shorter, which leads to the trouble of beans pulling down the corn. It's not an insurmountable problem, but it is a challenge that we deal with in this climate.
Which part of Utah? The State of Utah covers several different microclimates which will change when and which varieties of plants are used. We have the same problem here in New Mexico, Colorado, and Arizona.
Bruce, if you're interested I can highly recommend a flint corn variety called "Floriani". It was actually bred in northern Italy specifically for the production of polenta. Being from cooler climes, it does great here in western Oregon. I grow a big patch every few years and enjoy the best polenta I've ever eaten. It doesn't get too big, 2-2.5 meters, and matures very quickly. Also, as a student of history, I can tell you that the vast majority of Native Americans didn't use mixed plantings. Early vistors over eastern North America, where corn was a staple, found enormous monoculture fields of corn, some reported to be more than a kilometer across. Another interesting fact about their agriculture is most of the squash wasn't allowed to ripen, it was picked green and dried / smoked to preserve it for the winter and used to thicken soups, much like we'd use a grain.
Thanks for the recommendation, and all the interesting historical details.
Thanks!
Hmm. Scarlet Runner beans! I got tons of green ones this year. Also mix of summer and winter squash.
To add to the confusion, my old relatives in Iowa say, plant corn when the apple blossoms fall. Corn needs full sun all day. Corn shades the pumpkins. Beans can be planted later when the corn is big enough to support the vines. Corn should be knee high on the fourth of July
That is interesting. In our relatively short and cool growing season, we need to grow all these crops at the same time.
IF you want running beans, you really need to get the corn in first. There are short season varieties which make staggered plantings easier.@@REDGardens
As soon as I heard Ireland, I immediately thought he wouldn't have enough Sun energy to really prosper for corn
With my GMOs, we're now chest high by the 4th of July here in Iowa. 😂
I learned recently that when colonists landed in the Americas, a lot of what they thought were wild forests were often very carefully managed "food forests". It's interesting to think of how stories and practices that incorporated different worldviews were instrumental in shaping interactions with nature
Yes, it is really interesting to think of the landscape as managed food forests.
Three sisters is probably made up baloney and so is Indian food forests. Citation needed, as they say.
I think that 3 sisters relies a lot on the timing and environmental cues that normally happen in the tropics, like the switch from rainy to dry season. For instance, the beans I have been experimenting with don't care at all about what season you plant them in, they will only start flowering once the rainy season stops. From a book that documents indigenous knowledge in my area, the planting dates for corn are at the beginning of the rainy season (may) and in august after the small break in the rains that happens in july. Makes sense because corn is such a thirsty crop in my experience. I have been told that you're not expected to plant beans at the same time as the corn, you're supposed to have finished harvesting the corn and the stalks are starting to dry up and you use them as trellises. Beans can be super vigorous in the tropics as well as the corn, so I don't see how they would be able to crop at the same time, too much competition. Also the squash, in my experience, wants to go into the ground and have a lot of rain (best to plant in may), but I have planted in april and got an insane harvest because I made sure to water before the rains came.
In summary, I think 3 sisters is best interpreted as a method of staggered planting instead of a interplanting method for growing the 3 at the same time.
In any case, do continue experimenting because I can see how using different varieties of the 3 crops would yield different results. It's just that the varieties that we grow here in Costa Rica seem to be hardwired to respond to the change between seasons and I can't make them or need them behave differently.
I've heard about old varieties of beans from Brad Landcaster that will grow better without water from the Hopi Indians in Arizona. Sounds like those would be the ones that follow the corn and squash. Plant them on the tail end of the wet season and let them have some shelter from the dried up corn and squash. Such a dry climate there harvesting in the winter wouldn't be an issue for drying
That is really cool, thanks. So many things I didn't know! Given our climate, and the short and cool growing season, all these plants need to be grown at the same time.
My understanding of how three sisters plantings were managed in the north American "corn belt", was by more closely staggered plantings. Corn planted first in clusters as soil begins to warm in May, about 2-3 weeks later the first weeding of the corn seedlings is performed & climbing beans are planted next to the corn seedlings. About 20 days later, it's time for a second weeding after the beans have emerged, and squash is planted between the "hills" of freshly weeded corn & beans. By this time it's summer solstice - July 1, corn is entering period of rapid growth & it's ideal time for planting pumpkins or squash even today.
A suggestion for your corn stalks. I stake my three sisters mounds generally with three 2m stakes, attached like a teepee. They support the corn stalks, and the beans grow up them as well as the stalks. It works well. The beans can grow heavily and help to protect the cobs from little critters. The stakes not only prevent the corn from falling, but also, if animals come to munch on the corn, they don't cause the whole plant to fall, so the plant can still put out more cobs (as animals will only eat the upripe ones, so the corn stalks will still put energy into new cobs). Of course, I minimize animal grazing by giving enough space and light to my squash plants. Good healthy, thickly growing squash plants will discourage not only the little critters, but the big ones too, as the vines are prickly.
That sounds like a useful thing to try. Thanks.
My pleasure. I forgot to mention, the beans growing up the stakes also surround the corn stalks, to they secure the corn stalks to the stakes as well, making them standing even more firm. @@REDGardens
This is a really good suggestion
Thank you!@@vijaynazari9246
I would recommend growing way more corn instead of, or in addition to fewer beans and squash. Growing corn on a small scale requires a dense planting of corn in order to achieve good pollination. Also, overshadowing the squash somewhat will reduce their vigor a little which will help with the overall balance of growth between the three crops, and as a trailing vine, the squash will simply spread outside the footprint of the overall plot in search of additional light so reduced yield should be minimal. Finally, three sisters is best as a “set it and forget it” style of growing where long season storage varieties, ie. Field or flint corn and dried beans accompany winter squash to be planted in an out of the way corner of the acreage for harvesting together at the end of the growing season as winter storage staple foods. The regular, mid season harvesting required for sweet corn and green beans is greatly hindered by the wild, jungle like condition of the three sisters plot, and are better grown in separate, controlled conditions. The three sisters garden is a great system, but this isn’t really the context where it can truly shine.
I think you are right. More corn, with a few plants of the beans and squash around, might work well.
Found this interesting thank you. I live in Arizona, USA and people talk about this alot. It answered some of the concerns ive had, mainly corn not being big enough to support the beans. We've altered our crops a lot over the years and it would take a lot of trial and error to figure out what works best.
So glad you addressed this topic. I'm a long time gardener and I could never get the 3 Sisters companion planting to work for me. I have had tremendous success with asparagus and strawberries together in the same raised bed for four years now. Bumper crops in both cases every year.
How do you space? I'm wanting to try this.
Really cool about the asparagus and strawberries!
Yay you’ve answered the question I had in my head this morning! Thanks I was wondering if I could successfully plant asparagus and strawberries 🍓 together ✅
Do you think the polytunnel corn stalks were weaker due to no wind blowing across them to cause them to be more robust? Thank you for your videos. Cheers from British Columbia. 👍🏼
Just one guys opinion here but I have never noticed a difference in stalk density or size between indoor vs outdoor plants of same species
I was wondering that, but didn't grow the same variety inside and outside, so couldn't check.
Along with stalk strength, corn is wind pollinated, so I was wondering if the same thing could be replicated by large fans inside the tunnel.
One year I grew an "Indian style" plot utilizing heirloom varieties such as Six Shooter corn, runner beans, pole green beans, sunflowers, sun chokes and various squashes and pumpkins. The corn was planted first, in a mound about 3 ' in diameter and about 9 " high. Beans were planted around each corn stalk. Squashes later on. Also, each mond had a decent sized carp buried under in for added nutrients. It all worked beautifully. Southern Wisconsin on deep, rich soil and a great summmer climate. One of the best plots ever.I think the key was the Six Shooter corn; tall, sturdy stalks, multiple ears, a great old time variety.
There should be more than three sisters. Sunflowers 🌻 is another you can add for pollinators. Also they was planted on mounds. The beans corn and sunflowers was on top every other plant. The squash covered the slopes of the mounds. They need more room to grow than that little tunnel. You need twice as wide and twice as tall! Check out hill culture if you haven’t before. When the squash grows there is no more ROWS. There for squash isn’t grown in the same row as the other three. Oh one more you need bees as well! You can get the honey too!
Yes, I want to grow sunflowers. There are beehives right beside the polytunnel, but they don't seem to be interested in the flowers in the vegetable garden. Most of the time it is the native bumblebees doing the essential pollination.
European honey bees didn't exist in the Americas at the height of the 3 Sisters cropping. It wasn't until Europeans introduced Apis mellifera that the crops would have been pollinated by them. Up til then, they did fine with native bees and other pollinators.
Ive been doing research on the combo "large headed sunflowers, pile or runner beans, and carrots" and ive had moderate success due to the predators the sunflowers bring in keeping the grasshoppers at bay! There was a 4-7% increase in yield from the sunflowers not just in weight, but in count as well, and the beans had a 8-13% increase in count, but only a 5-7% increase in weight, while the carrots had a 1-2% increase in weight and a 3-5% increase in sugar! While small, the results have been consistent over several generations with a sample size of over 3,000!
Location?
@@willbass2869 central nebraska, North Iowa, East Tennessee! I'm assuming you were asking for the location that the tests took place?
Great video! There is more to this mythic plant combination than just sowing seeds. Wonderful process to show different options and plant selection.
🙂
As always, a very interesting video , thanks.
I love your honesty ,which in my opinion,is critical to learning.
Thanks. Glad you appreciate the approach I take to all of this.
One aspect of squash type plants in this 'rotation' acts as a deterrent to animal predation .Raccoons and deer do not like the 'prickly' stems and leaves of squash type plants.
Very informative presentation.
I have tried this in zone 5 in the Midwest(USA) and even with a longer and warmer season there are challenges you very well explained!
The deer where you live are effete snobs. The redneck deer where I live have no problem mowing down squash or any other thing.
That is interesting. Thankfully we don't have deer or raccoons around here!
@@REDGardens Ireland, Scotland and England eliminated 'pests' a LONG time ago. Is it good or not? You be the judge!
We have both here in N Germany (yes we have raccoons, but not on my land thankfully). Also ridiculous huge flocks of starlings and crows. I got no sunflower seeds from my sunflowers, so didn't bother this year. The prickly squash trick is worth thinking about!
@@kirstypollock6811 Just about any place that you grow sunflowers, you'll need to put bags over the heads before the seeds start to ripen, or the birds will get all of them.
We tried 3 sisters this year but with a twist.
We are on the southcoast of England and we used sunflowers for support, berloti beans growing up them, courgette green and yellow at the base. We then grew sweetcorn separately as a wind break. This I think saved us a lot of issues with the high winds we experienced during the growing season.
Really informative to see how you got in with poly tunnel growing and I think had we tried to grow up our sweetcorn we would have suffered the same issues, they just were not strong enough.
Using sweetcorn has a windbreak would be an interesting option to explore.
Your assessment is bang on in my opinion. Multi-crop systems are very complex. Even in simpler systems, climatic variability impacts replication. Timing, type, fertility, density, huge number of variables to work with. Super interesting to think about how to optimize production.
Yeah, they definitely are significantly more complex than mono-crops.
I live in Massachusetts and I tried the 3 sisters method. I even chose beans and squash that were supposedly grown by native Americans. Like your results, my corn was weighted down by the beans. I found that the method made everything more difficult and my yield was lower for everything. My preferred method is to grow squash and beans on a trellis. Everything is then easier to pick and airflow is greater. In my area, powdery mildew is a constant challenge, so airflow is a big deal.
Very interesting video, as always. I think you hit the nail right on the head at the start saying theres so many ideas and not much experience. 3 Sisters often comes up when talking about companion planting, and many are quick to suggest it, but ive yet to see an effective implementation of it in the UK. Id imagine its highly dependant on using varieties bred specifically for the purpose in specific climates. Maybe a very long term breeding project for someone?
Interestingly enough, ive heard about some farms experimenting with intercropping successfully in the UK in the past couple of years, such as fava beans and grain, using very specific breeds, so it is possible. I think ive also read somewhere that it was done in the past (maybe tudor period). If both crops are being harvested dry and then threshed the labour wouldnt be much different from a mono-crop
I would love to see a successful version of the 3 sisters in this climate, though I am not sure I am the person to do it. Companion planting defiantly seems to have a lot of potential, but it does seem to require fairly refined approaches and varieties.
Have you tried growing Jumbo Pink Banana? It grew well for me in the UK, very good yield, tasty and keeps well over winter. Also Primavera Spaghetti Squash, gives good large yield and tasty too. I love your Squash trials and agree it is about experimenting with different varieties for your own environment. You channel is fantastic, I've learned so much about how much varieties matter for growing all vegetables.
I haven't, but sounds interesting. Thanks!
Thank you for making sure throughout this video that you mention your specific context. It is so important and something that many people who put out content miss when talking about things that work or don't work.
One of the more traditional ways that three sisters has been planted is in the mound context. The mound (circular in shape) is made and then 4 corn seeds are planted in a well at the top of the mound with little to no spacing. The beans are then planted around the mound on 4 to 6 inch spacing and the squash are planted 24" out from the center of the mound. Vines are trained out and away from the corn as as they grow. I think this planting method does a few different things. 1. Dryland corn is planted this way in deserts and it might help with pollination to have the plants really tight together. 2. The beans can go either way, up the corn or wrapping around the squash vines. Either way it's a chore to find the pods. 3. Training the squash means less problems with the vines climbing up the corn stalks. You are correct in thinking that this method isn't great for intensive planting, it was more for the benefit of getting harvestable staple crops in a small area with little care. I also wonder if older/native varieties do better in this set up than plants with modern breeding.
Yeah, context is so important! One of the reasons I wanted to do this trial, to show how hard it is to adapt the three sisters concept to a different context.
This has been super helpful and interesting. Thank you!
Watching you is always a treat
🙂
Thank you❤ I am thinking of planting "three sister" this year, your video is very helpfull❤❤❤❤❤
I am watching and learning from germany.
I think the corn would have been much stronger if sown in the ground, rather than transplant. Another thing to note is that this method comes from areas where people would have needed to irrigate by carrying water to the plants. It's much easier to irrigate when you pack everything together than if spaced far apart. North America was also in an old growth state back then, which would have made cultivating land without steel tools and horses very difficult.
That is interesting about transplanting vs direct sowing, something to explore.
If you plant the corn seedlings quite deep, that helps. They will grow extra roots along the buried portion of the stem, which will make them stronger and facilitate greater nutrient and water uptake.
I've done three sisters only twice, and I think it worked because all three crops were harvested after the corn and beans dried. For me, it didn't work with beans picked young, or corn picked young. I live in Southern California.
Well done experiments.
I think that in your situation substituting the squash for a less aggressive ground cover crop would alleviate a lot of your issues.
I think rhubarb might be great, it won't encroach on the corn like the squash, and it is harvested so early that the beans won't have strangled it at that point, then you let your rhubarb bolt, and the beans in turn 'go to town'.
Rhubarb might not be your smoking gun, it won't suppress weeds as well as the squash, but I hope it's a good example of how one could fiddle with the recipe to suit a northern climate.
Your comments section is awesome by the way. Really knowledgeable and helpful people. 👍
Maize, beans, squash or pumpkins, along with a few dozen other plants. This was very common throughout the Americas. when possible, fields were put along streams or rivers. Water flooded in spring and deposited silt and plant matter. Corn used in bean fields are special, ancient varieties. Use northern European plants, cabbage, carrots, parsnips, scarlet runner beans, favas. Leather britches, dried green beans, were harvested at the end of the season.
I love your videos and your style of presenting. Thank you!
Thank you so much!
Thank you, Bruce! Much appreciated😊
🙂
Your analysis of the situation seems thorough and accurate.
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There's three (3) layout patterns to the Three Sisters; mound, field, and succession.
Level beds, such as your polytunnel, need the field layout or the succession planting.
You used the mound layout planting on a level bed. And the over crowding is the result.
I use mound method exclusively to avoid over crowding.
One mound is four corn plants tight together, four pole beans outside the corn cluster, and two pumpkin/squash plants.
I also leave the stalks in place - my corn just keeps producing ears - so winter legumes have a support.
Try unpopped popcorn kernels instead of sweet corn. Starchy corn instead of sweet corn.
I love your scientific approach!
Good job! Especially analyzing the pluses and minuses. I rarely grow pole beans and grow between 12-20 varieties of green and dry beans (including yellow wax and purple). Between 6-12 corn varieties. Sweet corn and popcorn. I find dry sweet corn to be fine for grinding. 1 Moschata squash, 1 Maxima squash and several Pepo varieties. These are all my own landraces, developed over 27 years. Spacing is critical for squash to keep seedlines pure, although I encourage some mixing. I plant in rows outside, with a bean block on one side of a corn block and squash on the other side. I never used poly tunnels and I have a couple of 2x3 meter greenhouses for tomatoes. Beans don't add as much nitrogen as you think, which is why favas are integral to my rotation. I am going to introduce cowpeas this year. I am a retired market gardener from a maritime climate in the US Pacific Northwest but am now retired in southern France. I still do about half an acre each year plus an orchard. Still doing landrace research. Good luck to you.
That sounds like an amazing collection!
谢谢你做了三姐妹视频，给了我们宝贵的信息。
I live in southern Mexico and this is how all my friends do it, however I think the varieties are different as well as the spacing. Recently I asked my friends why they plant 3 corn stalks together. They looked at me like I was crazy and said, "that's just how it's done."
Many thanks for sharing your experience on the three sisters.
With respect to corn within the tunnel folding. It might be affected by not being exposed to wind, thus not needing to develop strong support structures. And when the beans grabbed the corn, it was too late for them to improve the stems significantly.
This is a really interesting take. Jacques in the Garden had trouble with his three sisters planting too.
I’ve done this successfully in the upper Midwest with flint corn many years. I’ve never seen someone transplant corn vs direct seeding. Fascinating. Just sharing a datapoint, I direct seed my pumpkins, beans, and corn.
The transplanting is a common thing around here, as the season is so cool and short, the plants need all the help, and supplemental warmth, they can get. It would be interesting to see how different things would grow if we did push things to be able to direct seed.
Nagyon jó, jövőre kipróbálom. 👍
I’m from India and looking to do something interesting with intercropping. Very valuable lessons shared thanks and will definitely inquire more about the plants and Varity Charectorastics before planting them together
We have zimbabwean people on our allptment and they grow 2 swweetcorn plants together at planting to support each otger. Their plants are enormous at over 215-20' tall and smaller beans grow up a few but generally they plant their maize cor very closely like a field they call my sweetcorn the englush corn.
Cool
I don't even know why we plant 2 corn per hole. The 3 sisters planting in like a traditional way of planting for us and yes the corn is always the tall variety. People prefer the white over the yellow corn and broad variety pumpkins or butternut for squash. The beans is almost always borlotti beans. Our climate is Savannah grasslands, lots of sun and good rainfall too
Your plants loo, very healthy , you are an Excellent Gardener ........
I have never been a fan of companion planting. With the exception of adding peas or bush beans in open spots. I've found that the extra competition makes for lackluster results in all of the plants in that bed.
My advice to you for corn is to cut off a few tassels and manually dust the silks to make sure you will get full ears. Gardens just don't have enough room to grow enough plants to get a good fertilization with corn.
I seem to remember that 3 sisters mounds are spaced far apart, like 5 or 6 paces between mounds.
If you have 3 sisters, I'm sure that you'd have more than just 7 issues with them! 😄
Competition is a big factor.
And yes I do have 3 sisters!
I came to a similar conclusion that there were a lot of geographic differences. I had the best luck in the Southeast US with sunflowers, watermelons, and beans, and sometimes a late planting of tomatoes. But overall it wasn't that good compared to my normal garden and I won't be experimenting with the 3 sisters anymore. It also seems like the traditional combination was often meant to be a drying garden, where the crops were harvested dry and then stored and cooked to be eaten.
Yeah, even in good climates for these crops, a lot of people seem to have better success growing them separately.
It was a method of field growing a quantity of crops for a tribal village, perhaps not as applicable to a garden setting.
I tried the 3 sisters this year and it worked really well. 35 corn incredible F1 in a block with blue lake french beans growing around 3 sides and 3 squash growing along the other side to grow through to smother weeds, the squash were sweet potato squash x1 butternut x1 and a honey nut squash, the sweet potato squash did the best but didn't vine.. I had an amazing crop of everything. Timing is everything, and plenty of compost in full sun in an English allotment. The corn was planted first then the squash and then the beans and the beans only caught up with 3 corn which was over 6ft tall. 🤠👍
Awesome! Great you had a good crop!
Aha, great ideas there and glad to hear of success. I'm a bit further north but do get usually good sun.
Well Done, One of the things we do wrong today is trying to plant modern varieties compared to the ancient varieties used by the originators of this method.
another great video!
I know several people that have tried the Three Sisters, mainly because it's fashionable to be indigenous now. But none of them ever have success. The varieties are just not ever right for each other. Everyone is trying to grow sweet corn but it has such high water and nutrient requirements that I really doubt it wants to share the ground with beans. Plants that the native peoples of North America probably worked together in the sense that they would be broadcast seeded and nature brought each up as it was opportune for the plants development. So much of those plant genetics have been lost to time. I keep clicking Three Sisters videos though because I would like to see someone crack the code. Even if it just works for one person in one place, that would be a major win for food production
Yeah, most of what we grow has been bred to be quite demanding of nutrients and water.
The whole story was probably just made up.
I'm not convinced the nitrogen from the beans is available until it decompose but you had fertile soil so maybe next year is the one to judge. or salad greens if you want to actually make money.
Yes, I think it's very worth exploring the nitrogen fixing and finding out how much is actually given in one season. Not much, I suspect. As Bruce says, the vast majority ends up in the bean pods.
I think in poor soil, in in contexts where importing nitrogen is difficult or expensive (such a larger scale organic farms), then nitrogen fixing from beans and clover can really help improve things, but I am not convinced it translates to smaller, more intensive growing spaces, where fertility I easier to source.
Depending on the water table of your area, you could try recessing the floor to effectively increase the height of your tunnel. In my area the soil never freezes below 18" so by digging out the floor of my greenhouse I have been able to grow many tropical plants while also adding to the overall height.
That is an interesting idea. I would want to remove the topsoil, dig out the subsoil layer and replace the topsoil.
As a lifelong gardener in the mid-Atlantic area of the US with a fascination with Native American ag, I have been familiar with the 3 sisters concept since the 1970's. I'm convinced that the way it is recommended (what you followed, and I tried too) is a modern interpretation of what was actually practiced. See the watercolors of John White (Roanoke colony) and the book titled Buffalo Bird Woman's Garden plus other drawings done by the Spanish in Florida. They show the varieties of crops, but they were never planted in the same beds, but were planted in the same gardens. From a practical approach, trying to harvest anything from a tangled mess is nearly impossible. The Native women kept their gardens free of weeds, they didn't depend on squash to do it. They planted in hills not rows, but they kept them separate. Best regards.
That is interesting.
I recommend Good mother stallard bean and wapsi valley dent corn. Long pie pumpkin might do well in your situation, its a variety from new England and suited to cool short summers
As always, ... thank you
Variety selection is very important for successfully growing the 3 sisters. I successfully did a sweet corn, pole green beans, and zucchini. (southern USA)
I live in the Memphis, TN area, and I'm sure that it was done here by the Native Americans. They were obviously much better growers than I am, because I've yet to be successful with that method. I may be running into the same variety issues too. I've been trying for several years to grow sweet corn, along with green beans, and winter squashes like butternut and acorn.
The impression I've always had was that you could do it with any varieties, but I guess that thinking is wrong, and more research is needed if I want to try again. Thanks for sharing your thoughts on this, because I never came to that as a possible problem. I always put it down to being a poor gardener. I'm not sure if I'll try it again, since I seem to do better with mono-culture, but I'll do better research next time.
Yeah, the variety selection seems to be a key part of it all.
That jungle in the polytunnel looked amazing.
It was an amazing jungle for a while!
I've heard of people having good results using sweet potato as their ground cover component. Does look like cutting back the squash plants and letting the vines cover more ground so they don't get tempted to grow taller to compete for sunlight. BTW, squash flowers are edible and there's tons of recipes for stuffed squash flowers. Good rundown of your process.
That would be interesting to try.
Can you do another with the new planting you suggested next year as a follow up...Cheers, Good work by the way.
My recollection of garden crops, was that wooden stakes&/or wire /trellises with ties were used to support plants 😊
Beautifullly detailed, Thankyou for info & time
🙂
Last year was a very poor summer so will impact plants like squash beans and corn, if you are in Ireland Wales or the north it was a tricky season.
Thanks
I grew 3 sisters a couple of times in the last three years. And I saw similar results.
I tried those three crops together once, but the result was disappointing. Planting them separately would have given a much higher yield. From what I hear that's how they were sometimes planted, even if the hype nowdays is to plant them together. But as growers we know there are no absolutes, every plot of land is different and we have to experiment and find what works best in our own space. I really like that you tried the same combination of plants in the poly tunnel and outside, that's a very interesting comparison.
Try using a bush bean with the shorter corn breeds. I love the Cherokee pumpkins with this type of growing. They are very pest resistant too.
The issue is planting the bean seeds before the corn stalks grow high and strong enough to support them. The corn must be planted on a mound. When it grows to sufficient height to sustain the weight of beans, the bean seeds are planted immediately next to the corn stalks, and the squash seeds planted around the base of the mound. The squash shades the base of the beans and corn. Native American people would plant these 3 sisters gardens in the spring when it was warm enough, just prior to their move to their summer hunting grounds. Near the end of summer and approaching the cooler fall months, when they'd hunted, processed and dried enough meat to sustain them for the winter months ahead, they returned to their original camp site, to find their crops ready to harvest, and there they remained throughout the winter months, until the next spring.
That makes a lot of sense. Unfortunately I am exploring this method in a cool and short climate , where there just isn’t enough time or heat to wait for the corn to grow that high before planting the beans. Essential all these plants need to be sown really early in this climate to have a chance of producing anything, so the delay between the ‘sisters’ is hard to fit in.
This method definitely requires some experimentation to find the best combination for your climate. I tried this in USDA zone 7b, and while the growing season was certainly long enough for the crops to mature, there were several mistakes and things I had to learn from. Growing a prolific type of squash like Tahitian butternut probably was not the best idea, as it grows and spreads so quickly, it climbed the cornstalks and dragged them down. Growing the corn in spaced mounds was also not a good idea, as not all the corn survived, and the mounds were too far apart, meaning there was uneven pollination. Cramming too many bean plants into the same space didn't work, as they ended up competing with each other for vertical space.
One of the things that did work was growing other robust vertical plants in addition to or in place of the corn. Sunflowers, amaranth, and okra can all work well for the stalk type plant. Staking the corn is a good idea no matter which variety you choose to grow, as even under the best circumstances, they can still collapse due to storms or the cobs simply getting too heavy. Regular harvesting of the squash leaves (which are edible) can help prevent them from taking over, which I found necessary to clear a walking path through the garden.
I definitely plan on trying this again this coming year. I never thought I could grow corn before, but it finally worked in this setup, so despite all the issues, I must have done something right.
Yeah, a lot of experimentation needed, as there is with a lot of crops. But with the three of them together, it really can complicate things. An interesting challenge, and lots to learn in the process, but I am not sure it is worth it.
so many people that do the 3 sisters technique, forget a portion of the idea.
Planting order matters, BUT most importantly, when you look up the original description...
The were planted in mounds, with a corn surrounded by climbing beans and then at the edge of the mount there was squash.
One of the issues is that the western ideal crop is in rows on flat earth.
While the idea of each mound being on its own, and not conjoined in a continuous row.
I'll also say, you're absolutely right about climate playing a part, and I think you could get away with the real 3 sisters technique if you substituted the plants based on your climate.
But thats just what I've read, I'm looking forward to trying to 3 sisters method on my own garden in a desert, using drought resistant crops that use facultative cam.
Using Purslane as the ground cover instead of squash.
But idk, maybe I'm deluded xD
Where I grew up in Southern New England the Nipmuc, Pequot and Narragansett Indians used the yearly Alewife run to fertilize 3 sisters, we used in our gardens too. When the fish run so thick you can catch them by hand, grab them and dig a hole 2 ft deep (60cm) drop in 6 fish, fill in and wait 2 months til planting season.
I've tried 3 sisters planting since living near the Alewife runs but it just doesn't grow well without the fish.
I have headed about burying fish for fertility, which sounds really useful, especially if you have such abundant supply of fish at the right time.
I am trying a garden with MN13 corn, scarlet runner beans, and long island cheese pumpkins. Wish me luck. I'm expecting to pollinate the corn by hand. Thank you for this informative video, I know what pitfalls to look for
Good luck! Your success will likely depend on your climate!
I tried 3 sisters last season and my pole beans pulled my corn down and my squash disappeared. I like it in a nostalgic way, but it didn't contribute much to my food crops. I will probably dedicate a small space to it again but with different varieties and hopefully in time will find something that does well in my area.
When I grew flint sweetcorn in the UK the plants were over 3m high and it took so long for the first cobs to reach maturity I had to protect them against frosts for several weeks at the end if season.
Made me doubt whether most/any advocates of this method had ever actually tried it themselves.
It seems to need much warmer climates!
My experience in Nova Scotia outdoors is pretty much the same. Sweet corn needed to be transplanted early here, and then nothing would grow in the shadows/cold. The three sisters are evolved plants that filled a very tight niche, which no longer exists in Ag. I gave up trying in our niche of niche of niche environment.
Good way of describing it. I also think the shade cast by the corn is problematic in cool climates. Everything wants full sun!
this video is smart thumbs up
🙂
Every year I grow my companion planting with many different types. I have had much success with corn, squash, and beans
i had a nice patch of butternut squash this year. so vigerous i will not even attempt to grow something near it next year.
I tried three sisters this year, and it didn't work very well. The corn was the only one that was really productive. Most of the squash rotted before getting very big, and none of the beans produced anything. I think the issue was how I planted it, in kind of a loosely spaced block. I think if I had done rows or hills it might have done better. Next year I'm planning on doing a method that was traditionally used in France for growing Tarbais beans, where corn is grown in wide spaced conventional rows, and beans are trellised on them. I'm also going to grow squash between the rows in hills with plenty of compost.
Sounds like an interesting option, hope you have success with it.
Try adding Jerusalem artichokes and sunn hemp into the mix.
Also sweet potatoes.
There is a guy I follow on here who does restorative forestry and he was talking about a native perennial bean that grew in the americas. The pods were quite small so that may effect the outcome
Tomatoes and carrots do good together. I plant my astronomy domine sweet corn and purple pole beans together. I am in cold ask Michigan which is worse than Ireland. Maritime and cold continental. The beans help hold the corn up. Not too many beans though. Maybe 7 beans in a 3x3 meter area with dense corn. I put my sweet corn first week of May before a lot of rain or snow. We grow only heirloom seeds. Usually old French varieties 110 days or less. I will mix some squash in next spring maybe 3 plants in the 3x3.
Squash vines stop deer from getting in the corn. The stronger stalks of heirloom flint and flour corn could support the beans better. The nitrogen fixing is important the following year, so you grow the same group of crops in the same space and this year's beans fertilize next year's corn. Over time, careful selection of the corn will continue to improve stalk strength, you'd not save seed from broken stalks but just the ones that stood all season. You'd also save seed from the other plants behaving the way you wanted. Look up Joseph Lofthouse "Landrace Gardening" for ideas on tailoring crops to your local climate.
I was honestly VERY surprised that you decided to try the 3 sisters in the irish climate, poly tunnel or not
Yeah, it was a very strange thing to do, but I kept getting people suggesting it as a great option, so I wanted to see how easy or problematic it could be in this context.
You said you have a hard time finding hard corn in ireland. Is there no popcorn kernels? We can get them by the pound at a some grocery stores in the US.
I wonder if the sweetcorn plants inside hte tunnel were actually weaker than the ones outside because it was not exposed to wind. wind has the effect of hardening some plants.
Woodchips would take care of the pumpkin weed problem. I think there's probably a perfect balance but I'd rather a less agressive pumpkin and woodchip then finding perfect balance plus by the end of season I'd probably be left with something better under it. As well as the fungus quailty of the woodchips warding off mildew. I could also see this system used for winter fodder left in place for rotation pigs, cows, sheep, so forth if done on pasture. in maybe mounds. So, only harvesting the beans, and sweetcorn and leaving the pumpkin in place with maybe some wax paper under them or something. 12:25 (worth it to grow in polly tunnel?) - I could see it working as a no till system in a poly tunnel like an off year rotation or something. To give woodchips or hay a chance to really break down. While still using the space effectivly. maybe even a three sister system using amaranth, beans, and sweet potatoes with some in like a pasture style system instead.
I tried the three sisters many years ago, but didn't have much success. I don't really remember details, except that the corn was a disappointment and I think the squash were too. I'm in a sub-mediterranean zone, so summers are dry but not very hot or long, and winter squash are very hit and miss for me, with more misses than hits. It might have helped to try growing corn and squash separately and getting the hang of that before putting it all together, and the corn might have worked better if I'd had space for a bigger patch than one 8 x4ft garden bed.
The three sisters does work when you get the right varieties. With sweetcorn i would stick to bush beans and use the sweet corn like you use those wire cages. Good luck!
i remember in Romania my grandma use this sistem but the beans ware a short tipe variety
I looked up Ireland's plant hardiness zones. Out last frost here is mid May. Zone 5.
Plant hardiness zones don't seem to be a thing here in Europe.
I had good luck throwing a bunch of unpopped popcorn and black eyed peas from the grocery store in my plot. The squash I planted didn't do very well so I will try a different variety next year.
There is a reason the cheroke and other tribes not known for agriculture created this. It was heavy manual labor need for when they had nothing else. And it generated a low yied, not enough to replace regular hunting or create a proper farm. The way natives did agriculture is MASSIVELY different in how we think agriculture SHOULD be. In the sense of expected yield and expected ammount of labor involved. We expect things like a nice big field of a bit off mass production to either feed for the whole year or be enough to sell excess. Natives did more of a foraging method where they planted what they COULD and used all the extra time they had and in case of lacking resources, regular foraging, hunting and fishing made up for it. It just wouldnt be sufficienct for a farmer to use those methods. Its more of a hobby farmer. Someone that grows flowers and loves tending the garden but is interested in growing food. And of course, many of the crops where vastly different a couple centuries ago. Weve managed to create newn ones that while much better for mass production, may create issues when it comes to nutrient requirements of the plants and their ability to grow together. As before, they HELPED each other perfectly, todays version might just end up competing with each other and end up causing more issues than what they fix.
For outside plot increase # corn and reduce winter squash but add quick grow summer squash.
Let summer squash only produce a few squash then yank the plant out to allow more room for winter squash.
Kinda like "relay planting"
That would be interesting to try.
I think your corn fell over in the poly tunnel because it didn’t get any wind to strengthen it. Plans in greenhouses are often weaker because the wind blowing against the stalk outside allows them to grow strong. Cannibis is a prime example of this, as when grown in a greenhouse the buds themselves cause the plants branches to fall and snap.
Дякую за ваш досвід, теж хотіла спробувати цей спосіб посадки. Тут, в Україні, це може спрацювати. Вже знайшла високу міцну кукурудзу та сорт тикви, але тепер задумалася про квасолю. Можливо, краще буде посадити стручкову, може вона не так сильно буде рости. Також ви підтвердили мої підозри, що кукурудза може не встигнути вирости, щоб стати підпоркою для квасолі. Тож, мабудь, доведеться вирощувати її розсадою.
Що стосується кабачків - цікаво, чи вирощують в Ірландії патисони (pattypan squash)? Мені вони своїм солодкуватим смаком більше нагадують тикву, ніж кабачок, і вони не плетуться. Можливо, для "Трьох сестер" такий варіант краще.
Дякуємо за коментар. Підозрюю, що літо в Україні краще для такого виду посадки. Багато що залежить від сортів. Патейкових сортів я не вирощував, але хочу спробувати. Вони не є поширеними тут, в Ірландії.
Thanks for the comment. I suspect that the summers in Ukraine are better for this type of planting. A lot does depend on the varieties. I have not grown patty pan varieties, but I want to try them. They are not common here in Ireland.
From what I have read you are supposed to create a mound that the corn is planted in the outer margins.
Hi Bruce, as you mentioned, the three sisters was implemented in different ways by different groups of indians. But it is also important to consider which varieties were grown together. Cold climate corn varieties of New England would have been grown with similar climate beans of the same region. Even so, some bean varieties are less vigorous and better suited to grow with corn. This is a learning process on how to implement it best in your region, just as the Indians had to do as they moved accross regions. Even in the cold regions of Canada this planting method was used. You are correct that modern sweet corn has been selected and bred for flavor rather than for strength and nutrition. The key is to find varieties better suited for your region and for growing together. This is not as easy when you live in Ireland. But there are some seed suppliers who occaisionally have older hierloom seeds here in Europe. I have found some here and there. Use an online translator to widen your search to include multiple languages and you will find more suppliers.
Yeah, it is not so easy. none of these plants grow well here in Ireland. Our season is just too cool. And the issue is I want to eat the varieties I planted, and if they aren't suitable for he three sisters method, then it makes more sense for me to grow the crop[s in a more conventional way, than to try to find types of corn etc. that I down really want.
@@REDGardens Have you tried growing Painted Mountain corn? It is a short season cold weather flint corn from Montanna. It grows where most other varieties will not. I am within the EU and can send you some seeds to try. Send me an email if you are interested.
@@vijaynazari9246 I haven't tried it. Much more interested in dedicating the limited space to sweetcorn. But perhaps in a few years I will have the capacity to explore flint corn.