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3 sisters garden layout10/18/2023 Simply modify the setup to suit your soil and moisture conditions. If you know you can grow corn, beans, and squashes in your climate, then you can grow a three sisters garden. You can grow a three sisters garden in a wide variety of climates. Every season, move each crop to the right, so the corn and squash can benefit from the nitrogen-fixed soil the beans grew in. From left to right, plant squash, then corn, then beans. If you have a good amount of space, beans, corn, and squash can be planted in linear plots and used for crop rotation. This variation has the added benefit of increased pollination for the corn. Rows of corn with beans planted in between is a great “two sisters” variation, with the option to plant some squash along one side. In this case, an alternate layout is best. You’re probably not going to want to carefully step around your pumpkins or watermelon every time you harvest beans or corn, and the squash leaves probably won’t appreciate being stepped on either. But, fresh corn and beans will be ready before squash. When growing dry corn and beans, everything is ready for harvest at the same time. If, however, you’d like to grow sweet corn and snap beans, you should consider an alternative. There are many variations on the three sisters garden, but the most traditional layout is something like this: several corn kernels planted in a circle, beans planted close to the corn, and then the squash planted in a wider circle around the inner plantings.Īn important caveat: This layout works great for growing dry corn and dry beans. The large leaves of squash or melon shade the soil to keep it cooler and retain more moisture, and their prickles provide a barrier against pests like deer and racoons. The beans enrich the soil with their nitrogen-fixing ability and help support the corn in the wind. In a three sisters garden, the corn becomes the pole for the pole beans. They intermingle with other plants, often benefiting each other in symbiotic relationships. In nature, plants rarely grow alone like they do in the neat rows of manmade gardens. “Companion plantings” exemplify permaculture’s goal of mimicking the structure of ecosystems. The three sisters grow better together than they would alone. That’s perfect for every homesteader who dreams of being self-sufficient. One, its crops provide a balanced meal with protein, carbohydrates, and vitamins. The three sisters garden is a beautiful example of permaculture principles for two reasons. The traditional “sisters” are corn, beans, and squash, although there are other plants that work well as additions or substitutions: sunflowers, amaranth, watermelons, or bee balm, to name a few. The three sisters garden was one of the main food production sources for the Iroquois and many other tribes across North America. In fact, it’s been a classic for over seven hundred years. It’s a classic component in permaculture homesteads. A three sisters garden is a way to grow a nutritionally complete meal the way nature intended.
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