How to Grow Corn the Native American Way

Cultivate the soil after the final spring frost. Work the soil with a garden spade down to a depth of 6 to 8 inches. Add 2 to 4 inches of aged compost over the soil surface to improve drainage, if necessary.

Create mounds for the vegetables. Make a 4-foot-wide, 2-foot-high mound for each group of vegetables. If you plant more than one mound of vegetables, space them 3 feet apart.

Plant four corn seeds first, placing each seed in the four cardinal directions -- north, south, east and west -- and spacing the seeds 6 inches apart. Cover the corn seeds with 1/2 inch of soil. Keep the soil evenly moist while the corn seeds germinate.

Plant six pole bean seeds when the corn seedlings reach 5 inches in height. Place these six seeds in a circle, 6 inches outside of the corn seedlings. Cover the bean seeds with 1/2 inch of soil, and water the soil evenly.

Sow four pumpkin or summer squash seeds 12 inches from the bean seeds, surrounding the other vegetables. Cover the pumpkin or squash seeds with 1/2 inch of soil, and water the soil well.

Pull weeds by hand to keep the soil free of weeds.

Sprinkle additional aged compost around the corn plants when they reach 12 inches in height. Scratch in the compost well with a hand rake, and water the soil.

Train the bean tendrils around the corn plants by wrapping them gently around the corn stalks as they grow. Train the pumpkin or squash vines to grow between the mounds, and not between the corn and beans.

Sprinkle additional aged compost around the pumpkin or squash plants when you see fruit set on the vines. Remove the tips of the vines after three to four fruits begin growing on each vine. This will help create larger vegetables.

Harvest the corn when the silk turns light brown and the kernels become plump and firm.