Three Sisters Method of Planting Corn

For centuries, the Iroquois Native American tribes used the Three Sisters method for planting corn, beans and squash. They believed these three plants were gifts from the Great Spirit because they complement each other so well in the garden. Corn gives bean vines a natural trellis to climb. Beans provide nitrogen to the corn, improving soil fertility for the coming years. Bean vines stabilize corn stalks, allowing them to grow, even in high winds. Squash vines shade the soil and prevent moisture from evaporating. The organic matter from these three plants can be composted back into the soil after harvest, keeping the plots fertile for years.

Tiller
Mature compost
Corn seeds
Bean seeds (lima, green, pinto, yellow, white, kidney)
Squash seeds (summer squash or pumpkin)

Instructions

- 1
  Push your tiller blades about 6 inches into the soil, pushing it slowly up and down your garden plot until the soil is loose and crumbly. About 5 ½ feet square should be plenty for a small plot.
- 2
  Amend the soil with about 3 inches of mature compost. Till the compost under the soil. Corn needs plenty of food, especially in the first year. Beans won't provide nitrogen until the following year.
- 3
  Draw a grid in the soil showing 18 inch square sections. Mound the soil up into flat-topped mountains in every other grid square. Push four corn seeds into the top of each mound, spacing them about 6 inches apart.
- 4
  Water the corn with about a pint of water every three days for each mound. Wait until the corn grows about 3 inches high. This provides a trellis for your beans.
- 5
  Push three bean seeds into each corn mound about 3 inches apart from each other and the base of the corn plants. Water with about a pint of water per mound.
- 6
  Push a triangle of squash seeds in each space between the corn mounds. Space the squash seeds about 4 inches apart in a triangle. Water well with about a pint of water per mound.
- 7
  Wait until the beans reach about 3 inches long. Train them toward the corn so they begin to twine around it when they get larger.

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