Three Sisters

Well it's high time I gave an update on my three sisters experiment. I'm embarrassed to share these photos because the plot is in such sad shape. I haven't pulled one single weed, I haven't mulched, and the soil there is pitiful. The deer got in and ate my squash and beans almost down to stems at one point before we hooked up the fence charger. So the results are abysmal, yet I'm encouraged and will definitely do this again next year unless something goes horribly wrong in the near future.


The soil in this area is clay and rock with an amazing hardpan. We dug it up with a roto-tiller on the tractor and the tiller had a hard time breaking the soil. At a certain depth it was like asphalt and the tiller just rode on top of it. I think I'll try to plant alfalfa, buckwheat, or ryegrass here in the fall as a green manure and to break through that hardpan. All three of those have deep roots to help break up compacted soil but I don't know what would be a good choice for fall planting.

I'll also amend the soil more next year. When this garden is spent, I'll clean up the chicken house and spread the manure around. I'll probably till it in, let it sit for a week or two, till it in again, and then plant my cover crop. I may end up burning up the cover crop but I'm going to give it a try anyway.

Next year I may do mounds again or I may modify it and do long raised beds/rows. Whichever I choose, I'll definitely mulch well, especially in the walkways.

I'm encouraged because I can see how this could work really well. The corn is finally starting to grow (what didn't wither and die) and the beans are beginning to reach out and some of them are twining around the corn plants. The squash are blooming and spreading out like crazy things.

Some things I did right: I selected tall growing corn varieties with strong root structures. I am trying Hickory King (a dent corn that can be eaten as roasted ears when young), Country Gentleman (shoepeg), and Stowell's Evergreen. Shorter stalks and weaker root structures can't handle the weight of beans growing on them very well.

I also selected beans that grow well in cornfields and can thrive in the partial shade of that environment. I'm trying Genuine Cornfield, Ruth Bible, and Turkey Craw. Other bean types need full sun and won't produce well in a cornfield.

I planted six corn seeds per mound and then later on when the corn was about 4-6" tall I planted a bean for each corn plant. Some of my corn hills only had one or two plants to germinate and make it to 6" tall :( I planted one squash per hill. I think with amended soil and mulch, these numbers will be about right for my mounds which are four feet apart.