How a Three Sisters Garden Inspired Change on Our Homestead

I wrote earlier this year about planing my first Three Sisters garden this year. I have been reading about the Three Sisters method for years, but I first learned about it when my daughter was in high school. She learned about the native peoples here in Maine and taught me then about the Three Sisters method, and I was intrigued. In my reading I learned that many Native American cultures practiced this method of farming, even Cherokee, which meant a lot to me because my great grandmother on my dad’s side was Cherokee, and so much of what I do from keeping chickens to making jam is inspired by her.

The idea behind the Three Sisters method is that you plant corn, beans, and squash together, as they will help each other out, creating a symbiotic relationship allowing for more food growth. The corn grows tall and straight and gives the beans something to grow on. The corn, of course, also has shallow roots, which means it will not compete the with squash. The beans use the corn stalks to wrap and grow upward toward the sun. Beans fix nitrogen from the air and put it into the soil. Corn needs a lot of nitrogen. The squash grows wide on the ground and provides ground cover. It blocks out the sun on the ground to help prevent weeds. I also found that the shade means the soil retains water better.

There was a part of me that thought this whole system was just too good to be true. I talked to my husband, Ron, about it for years, and he seemed skeptical. He has he ways of doing things and isn’t always open to change, but the more I read, the more I was convinced this was a method to try.

This year, I told Ron I was just going to try myself. I asked if he could leave some space in the garden for me to have my own space. He agreed and gave me a great space. I was late to plant because of the epic rain in June, but I decided to go ahead and plant because the corn would at least make it before the first frost, and I could hope for a late frost.

I read to plant the corn first, about a week ahead of the other two. I had a hybrid corn seed Ron had leftover, an heirloom pole bean seed, and a beautiful long pie pumpkin seed–all from Fedco Seeds here in Maine. I couldn’t find much information about how close to plant things, so I just guessed. I had some anxiety about this because I am such a novice in the garden, but after a week, I thinned the corn and then just planted a bean seed on one side and a pumpkin seed on the other. When I finished planting, I just so happened to run into my neighbor and her grandson working in their garden. I told them I was trying a Three Sisters garden.

My neighbor’s grandson is involved in water rights here in Maine and has worked a lot with Maine tribes, so he knew about the Three Sisters. I told them I hoped it would work. “It’s been working for thousands of years,” he said. I doubt myself so much that I wasn’t convinced but was thankful to finally get to try.

My measure of success was going to be getting corn to grow. And grow it did! The corn grew and thrived. The beans grew and thrived as they reached up and wrapped around the corn. The pumpkins flourished at the bottom of the jungle of corn stalks and bean leaves.

And the best part was that did nothing but watch and admire. At first, Ron told me I was surely going to have to fertilize the corn, but I told him I read that you don’t need to. It was a rainy season, but there were a few dry spells when Ron had to water his corn in the main garden. I never had to water my corn after the initial planting. I did not fertilize further, and the corn and beans and pumpkin plants flourished. I also only pulled weeds twice early on. Once the pumpkins were going, weeds just couldn’t grow very much. My garden literally took care of itself.

Ron, who had been so skeptical, was convinced. He kept saying, “look at how green everything is.” He kept asking me if I had added any fertilizer beyond the little bit of organic coop poop I had used when I planted the corn. I never did. I didn’t even add fertilizer when I planted the beans and pumpkins. I was in a big hurry and just put in the seeds and hoped for the best. Ron was impressed, and I am telling you it takes a lot to impress this man. He even went and got our neighbor, a certified master gardener, to show her and explain the process.

Sadly, the hurricane that visited Maine this weekend destroyed my Three Sisters garden, but most of the corn was ripe enough to eat, and some beans were ready. I am planning to try to raise the corn stalks back up or pull them, just to give the pumpkins a chance since it looks like we might have a late frost this year. The corn has been delicious, and I have to tell you I felt so proud of myself that my first time in my life to try growing corn led to such a success. And the whole garden just took care of itself. Even though the hurricane was a disappointment, the learning from this experience is a game changer for us.

As my husband and I get older, we are finding it more challenging to keep up the pace of summers growing food. I have been trying to convince Ron to maybe reduce the garden size, so we can see him more in the summer months. I think he’s listened, but most importantly, he plans to grow his corn and cranberry beans and squash and pumpkins using this method. The Three Sisters method of planting is a quality of life enhancer for us. We get more delicious organic food with half of the work.

I guess there’s a reason this method has been working for thousands of years.