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The Three Sisters are the three main agricultural crops of some Native American groups in North America: squash, maize, and climbing beans (typically tepary beans or common beans).
In a technique known as companion planting, the three crops are planted close together. Flat-topped mounds of soil are built for each cluster of crops. Each mound is about 30 cm (1 ft) high and 50 cm (20 in) wide, and several maize seeds are planted close together in the center of each mound. In parts of the Atlantic Northeast, rotten fish or eel are buried in the mound with the maize seeds, to act as additional fertilizer where the soil is poor.[1][2] When the maize is 15 cm (6 inches) tall, beans and squash are planted around the maize, alternating between beans and squash.
The three crops benefit from each other. The maize provides a structure for the beans to climb, eliminating the need for poles. The beans provide the nitrogen to the soil that the other plants utilize and the squash spreads along the ground, monopolizing the sunlight to prevent weeds. The squash leaves act as a "living mulch," creating a microclimate to retain moisture in the soil, and the prickly hairs of the vine deter pests.
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Thanks for bringing this to our attention. Designing a sustainable garden for our congregation's campus requires plants that work together, like this example.
I have been trying to figure out what to do with a little patch of dirt that we have directly outside our apartment. I was thinking about squash and beans, but not corn. As the patch is quite tiny, I will try this mound approach. There is enough room for one mound.
So often the wheel is reinvented. Yet, if we just stop and listen to the ancestors, the answer is already there. Blessings. Kathleen McGregor