3 Sister's Garden-Update

Wow! I was looking back at my June 23rd post and pictures of my 3 sisters garden when I was really worried about how it would turn out and, well, I guess I shouldn't have been worried at all. It is amazing! I have wanted to try this for a long time and finally made it happen this year. I picked the first summer squash and included them with our 4th of July kabobs. I made a little video of my 3 Sister's Garden for those who are more visual.

Before you watch it let's talk a little about the "why" of this garden. I love the history and the idea of this Native American garden called the 3 Sisters (corn, beans and squash) who are said to grow and thrive together. As an only child, I have no idea about the whole sibling phenomenon,  but I would like to think that if I had sisters we would grow and thrive together. Who knows?

I am more interested in the mechanics of it. I cleared my mint patch down and out, stirred in compost and off we go! The squash was started in the house, the corn and beans were directly sown into the ground. I was concerned that the squash would get too large and choke out everything else. I think that did partially happen, but I still have all 3 things growing. I will see how the harvest is as to whether or not I will change how I do it next year.

The beans are supposed to climb the corn which helps not having to trellis them and the bean plants anchor the corn plants and add stability. The beans put nitrogen into the ground which helps the corn grow. The squash have shallow root systems and the leaves shade out young weeds and help hold the moisture in the soil. The spikes on the squash plants also keep pests away from the ever growing corn and beans.

In the video you will notice the fence surrounding the garden is ready to come down in order to allow the plants to spread out and to make harvesting easier for me!

If you see something I could, change, add or improve on please let me know!
Enjoy~