THREE SISTERS

[Chipper Chicken]

I love this thread, so glad you started it! I've been thinking off adding some chicken friendly sisters to the feed corn I planted for my chickens ( I am in Oregon, so I MIGHT still have time for a couple things...)
Did you choose heritage type seeds or personal preference or ?
Thanks! ;~)

 

[3forfree]

All seed for the three sisters were bought off a Burpee rack at a big box store.Not real happy with the corn seed, some grows, some don't. The rest of the seed has done well. Last year I saved seed from my zuchini, tomatoes, cukes, pumpkins, and EVERYTHING has grown, so I will save seeds again this year.

 

[Fluffnpuff]

I've done an organic 3 sisters garden for the last 4 years and have gotten very good results. I've never had a problem with corn getting overwhelmed but maybe that's due to the variation i use.

The above picture is a pic i took 2 weeks ago. It's a cross section of 1 corn row with pole beans in between the corns stalks, a row of winter squash/pumpkins, and then another row of corn/pole beans. I repeat this pattern throughout the garden.

I don't plant in mounds but rows. I plant the corn and winter squash/pumpkins at the same time in mid May but leave several feet in between the rows. I plant the beans when the corn is 5-6 inches tall and put 3-4 beans between each stalk but since young beans are a rabbit magnet i rarely have a case where the weight from beans break off the corn stalks.

The corn i plant are all old heirlooms like bloody butcher, stowells evergreen, country gentleman, howling mob, ect. Those types of corn grow tall stalks which may make them more viable for a 3 sisters garden as opposed to corn varieties with short stalks like mariah.

I agree with the previous comment that a 3 sisters was probably not geared towards towards eating fresh produce during mid summer. Most of the food i grow in this method is saved for consumption later in the year. Although i do eat a little corn in the fresh "milk stage", most of it i let harden to make homemade cornmeal out of. I similarly let the beans go into "shelly stage" and store them for chilli. Even most of the pumpkins and winter squash i store for use months later.

 

[lazy gardener]

Nice looking garden.

 

[Arielle]

I too started a patch of not 3 sisters but 2 sisters. Corn and winter squash, knowinf full well that we might not be able to get to the corn without wrecking the squash. I too think the old varieties are better suited to this method given that I'm not likely to be picking corn in the milk stage. Live and learn.

Perhaps next time I will grow the corn and beans together instead.

As for distance, the packaging for the corn reads plant 8 inches apart in rows 8 inches apart and this just floored me. Seemedvery crowded. I suspect that less intense fertilization and ammendments are neede if few plants per square foot are planted. And definitelyt he beans and peas sure help the corn growth, and is just plain good for the soil.

I am using this method because we are renovation long standing woods (50 years of growth) .

OP thanks for starting this thread.

 

[Fluffnpuff]

As for distance, the packaging for the corn reads plant 8 inches apart in rows 8 inches apart and this just floored me. Seemedvery crowded. I suspect that less intense fertilization and ammendments are neede if few plants per square foot are planted. And definitelyt he beans and peas sure help the corn growth, and is just plain good for the soil.


I am using this method because we are renovation long standing woods (50 years of growth) .


OP thanks for starting this thread.

8 inches between rows sounds way too close especially if you're trying it without Ammonium nitrate. On the opposite extreme i've read that "inferior" heirloom corn should be planted 12-18 inches apart with several feet between rows. I usually aim for around 10-12 inches between stalks in a row.

 

[Papas Chickens]

Im in Arizona and usining the Three Sister method, my native friend told me ti wait until the corn is atleast 6-8 inches tall before planting your beans and squash. My corn is at 5 inches so far so ill be planting my beans and squash this coming week. Im planting both pole and bush beans, I also have zuccini and cucumber growing, sadly though my tomatoes didnt grow that I planted frim seed.

 

[Arielle]

Quote: This really fits with what I was trying to peice together. I'm chuckling at the term "inferior"-- it is a matterof opinion isnt it. THe more I learn about sugars and how it feeds the bad microbes in our gut and the cancer cells trying to get growing in the intestines I'm leaning away from the "modern" high sugar super sweet varieties and looking for the strong corn taste of the older varieties.

I have been working on changing the taste buds of my family by decreasing the amt of sugar in their foods ( making homemade yogurt or plain and adding our own amt of sweet; and new recipes using less sugar) so I think we are ready for the " old fashioned" corns.

I'll remember the spacing that you have listed! THanks.

 

[Arielle]

Im in Arizona and usining the Three Sister method, my native friend told me ti wait until the corn is atleast 6-8 inches tall before planting your beans and squash. My corn is at 5 inches so far so ill be planting my beans and squash this coming week. Im planting both pole and bush beans, I also have zuccini and cucumber growing, sadly though my tomatoes didnt grow that I planted frim seed.

THis sounds like a good plan-- I planted my corn AFTER the squash so I'm expecting the corn to be covered and shaded by the fast growing squash. live and learn.

Sorry you tomatos didnt make it. Will you try again as you have such a long growing season??

 

[Fluffnpuff]

I have been working on changing the taste buds of my family by decreasing the amt of sugar in their foods ( making homemade yogurt or plain and adding our own amt of sweet; and new recipes using less sugar) so I think we are ready for the " old fashioned" corns.

Our society is definitely addicted to sugar. I'm also trying to convince certain family members that everything you eat shouldn't be like a bag of sugar exploding in your mouth. I have an uncle that refuses to eat heirloom sweet corn because it isn't super sweet. Last year i gave him some howling mob and stowells evergreen ears and he garbaged canned them after a few bites. Earlier this summer he asked if i was going to plant any edible corn this year.

My favorite heirloom corn to eat fresh is pencil cob. Most seed companies relegate its use to being solely for cornmeal but i like the taste. It doesn't have any sweetness to it but has a salty taste almost like it was coated in salted butter. I grew it for the fist time last year and i'm hoping that unique flavor wasn't some sort of rare fluke. I planted more this summer but it hasn't matured yet.

I have a question for other gardeners trying a 3 sisters method. What types of pole beans have you found that work well or alternatively is their any type that's best to avoid? While i've experimented with a bunch of different heirloom corn/pumpkins/winter squash i've only tried 2 types of pole beans. I use purple podded pole beans and rattlesnake pole beans. Both work ok for me, but the main reason i grow them is because they are easy to spot due to their purple color.