Three sisters - corn, beans, squash

16 years ago

I've noticed this question has been discussed before, but I want to ask about a layout I found in Sally Jean Cunningham's Garden Companions. She recommends planting 7 corn seeds 12" apart in a hexagon, with one in the center. She uses only 4 pole bean seeds, one on each corner. She plants this combination five feet apart and eight feet between rows. In between each combo (on the eight foot side, she plants one hill of squash. Has anyone tried this?

I'm curious to see if this works or not. If no one has tried it, I might do it anyway this spring. I want to use pumpkins and purple pole beans. Any suggestions or success stories? Thank you :)

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Comments (5)

jimster
16 years ago
It will depend a lot on the corn variety. Last year I made a 3 sisters garden with the hills of corn spaced 4 feet apart both ways and 4 or 5 plants per hill. The corn I chose was so tall and vigorous that it shaded the squash and beans too much. I got a good harvest of corn, enough beans for next year's seed and no squash whatsoever.

A historic vegetable garden at the Old Manse in Concord, MA had a 3 sisters much like mine but at 6 foot spacing. Squash and beans were doing fine when I visited.

In some sources I checked, such as the book Buffalo Bird Woman's Garden, squash was planted separately from the corn and beans.

It seems to me that the spacing you cite in Cunningham's book would work well, although 7 corn seeds per hill seems like a lot. But then, not every seed will grow. I recommend removing the tillers (suckers) because they create shade, but not many ears. I wish I had removed them.

Jim
lavender_lass
Original Author
16 years ago
Thanks Jim. Great advice!
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wiringman
16 years ago
i belonged to a garden club several years ago and we planted corn and ole beans together. the beans pulled the corn over.

i think it would work better with bush beans.

Dean
jimster
16 years ago
I forgot to mention that I grew field corn (flint corn to be specific) which is what was grown in the traditional 3 sisters garden. Sweet corn is said to be too weak to support beans. But another factor is the amount of beans. Four on seven corn stalks should not be too much load. Wind is also a factor. My corn lodged (got blown over) when it was about 6 feet tall (it ultimately grew to 10). I had heard that corn would right itself and, quite amazingly, it did with no help from me!

Jim
wiringman
16 years ago
i talked to a man that had the earliest corn around. he said his secret was to cultivate it every two weeks up until it was about three feen tall. his tractor would lay the corn down and with in a week it righted it self.

i cultivate my corn with a troy built 8 horse with a plow. it dose not lay it down.

i live in zone 4 and i start my corn in the green house and transplant the first two plantings. i get corn on the 24th of jury when the last freeze is the last of may.

you learn how to deal with the short season to get your crops to harvest.

Dean