www.ecoliteracy.org
Did you know that corn, beans, and squash are called the “Three Sisters”? A number of Native American tribes interplanted this trio because they thrive together, much like three inseparable sisters. Here’s how to plant your own Three Sisters garden.
What Is a Three Sisters Garden?
The Three Sisters method is companion planting at its best, with three plants growing symbiotically to deter weeds and pests, enrich the soil, and support each other.
Instead of today’s single rows of a single vegetable, this method of interplanting introduced biodiversity, which does many things—from attracting pollinators to making the land richer instead of stripping it of nutrients. In a sense, we take no more from nature than what we give back.
By the time European settlers arrived in America in the early 1600s, the Iroquois had been growing the “three sisters” for over three centuries. The vegetable trio sustained the Native Americans both physically and spiritually. In legend, the plants were a gift from the gods, always to be grown together, eaten together, and celebrated together.
Each of the sisters contributes something to the planting. Together, the sisters provide a balanced diet from a single planting.
- As older sisters often do, the corn offers the beans necessary support.
- The pole beans, the giving sister, pull nitrogen from the air and bring it to the soil for the benefit of all three.
- As the beans grow through the tangle of squash vines and wind their way up the cornstalks into the sunlight, they hold the sisters close together.
- The large leaves of the sprawling squash protect the threesome by creating living mulch that shades the soil, keeping it cool and moist and preventing weeds.
- The prickly squash leaves also keep away raccoons and other pests, which don’t like to step on them.
Together, the three sisters provide both sustainable soil fertility as well as a healthy diet. Perfection!
Which Seeds to Plant
In modern-day gardens, the Three Sisters consists of these three vegetables:
- Pole beans (not bush beans). Common pole beans such as Scarlet Runner or Italian Snap should work. The ‘Ohio Pole Bean’ is our favorite. We’ve also heard that some very vigorous hybrid pole beans clambering up skinny hybrid corn stalks can pull them down. So if you want to be extra cautious, look for less vigorous climbers. If you’d like to try traditional varieties, look for Four Corners Gold Beans or Hopi Light Yellow.
- Corn such as sweet corn, dent corn, or popcorn, or a combination. Your favorite sweet corn variety will do, although Native American gardeners traditionally used a heartier corn with shorter stalks or many-stalked varieties so that the beans didn’t pull down the corn. Varieties include the pale yellow Tarhumara corn, Hopi White corn, or heritage Black Aztec,
- Small-leafed squash such as summer squash (zucchini) or winter squash (Hubbard). Note: Pumpkins are too vigorous and heavy; plant in a separate bed. Native American squash was different, but a yellow summer crookneck is similar enough.
Read more
Three Sisters agriculture was historically developed and practiced by diverse tribes throughout North America. Our team acknowledges, with respect, that this practice has survived thanks to those who persisted in the face of adversity. We sincerely thank all who continue to keep this tradition alive, and encourage you to learn from them.
This video explains what each member of the triad brings to the partnership, and recounts some of the history and distribution of the practice. The Three Sisters are not only of historical interest, but they also provide lessons that are relevant to the sustainability of our current cropping systems
